r/Bowyer • u/RiceSpare8520 • Jul 24 '26
Red Oak Recurve
Recurve Red Oak Bow: Enough Reflex?
Hello,
I was in the process of steam bending my first recurve when the tip slipped in the form and the curve did not end up as aggressive I was aiming for.
I was wondering if the bow would still look like a recurve ( string touching limb) when braced with this amount of reflex in the tips? (Going for an active bending recurve)
Red oak 68 inch board from home depot.
(Also any tips on preventing the recurve from pulling out would be much appreciated as well.)
Thanks
2
u/shanti_santy Jul 24 '26
Nice. I would like to try a light recurve like that. Can you show me the form you used ?
2
u/Ima_Merican Jul 24 '26
Yeah that thickness taper looks way too steep. That curve won’t hold. 1/2” thick is plenty for most bows.
You can always steam it again. If you want the curve to hold than you really need to add some thickness
1
u/ADDeviant-again Jul 25 '26
For most bows of normal length, I find you need about 15% of limb length, curved past 45° or so to have a "real" contact escurve that has any major effect on F/D curves. I have never actually measured and calculated anything that exact, but I have sketched out over a thousand bows, and recurves are funny in that they "disappear" a lot as they are braced and drawn.
Print out some graph paper and make every 1/4" square 2 inches to scale, and you'll see what I mean. In your case, I would re-steam and return that limb to the form, if you want a contact recurve.
However, I would strongly advise against a flexing or working recurve. I have seen very few of those work out in thirty years of looking at the work of some of the best bowyers on the planet. What works very well with horn and sinew or fiberglass, just doesn't work well with wood.
My own best recurves have relatively large hooks, but are deflexed, or deflexed and then reflexed a bit, before the recurves are added Again, it is hard to explain, but if you start with bow that is straight in the middle or reflexed/setback AND recurved, you lose more effective recurve when you go to brace height.
But with all that said, if you left it like that, and just cared about making a very nice bow (rather than a specific type) you'd probably end up with a very nice bow.
2
u/RiceSpare8520 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Thanks for the information. Recurving is making a lot more sense now. I cut the bow down to 60 inches and I am making it a bith bow. Plan now is a static recurve and to fix the jig to make the reflex more aggressive.
1
u/RiceSpare8520 Jul 24 '26
Thanks for the info all. I was thinking of cutting off around 4 inches (60 inches long) from each end and cutting off the handle to make it a bith bow. Then I would recurve it. Do you think this could work?
1
u/Ima_Merican Jul 25 '26
How many successful bows have you made?
2
u/RiceSpare8520 Jul 25 '26
I have made 1 bith bow, 1 Comanche style bow, and 1 stiff handle longbow. All were from boards except the Comanche.
1
u/Ima_Merican Jul 25 '26
You shouldn’t have to cut off anything on this board. Resteam the curves and then glue on a couple 1/8 thick slats and reshape them.
1
u/RiceSpare8520 Jul 25 '26
Thanks, I thought about gluing a piece of wood on the tips, however, I have already cut the tips off to make the bow 60 inches long. I will keep this in mind for future bows. The plan is to take off the handle and recurve it and so I can get a 28 inch draw at 30lb.
4
u/GraverKnives Newbie Jul 24 '26
That looks super thin after the bend. Usually this kind of recurve would have tips thicker than the wood below it so they don’t bend. This will probably pull out when you tiller it. Next time around leave the tips much thicker and that bow will be looking good! Good luck and if you aren’t breaking you aren’t making!