Any Bowyers on here?

[quadrafire]

I'd ask Hornseeker but haven't seen him around here for awhile.

I have an older take down long bow that is unmarked, but probably a little over 50 lbs @ 28in. I'd like to make it 30-35 lb. Is this possible by slowly planing a bit of material from each edge and creeping up on that weight range?
It is laminated w/ glass.
If so, any precautions or tips??  Thanks

[scotsman]

Hiya,

I have built around 80 bows, both longbow and recurve. The amount the weight can be reduced depends a lot on the thickness of the glass overlays used by the original bowyer. You need to remove approximately .005 - .006 from the back or belly to reduce the weight of a longbow by one pound. Taking off too much makes the limb susceptible to twist. Reducing width does very little to reduce weight.

As a rule of thumb taking more than 5 to 10 pounds off is the most that can be done without compromising the integrity of the bow.

[quadrafire]

Crud
Thanks for the info. That's what I was worried about.
May have to hit up the classifieds for a bow in that category.

[JimmyHoffa]

Since it is takedown, I assume the limbs come off--so you might just get spare limbs that fit.  You can find all kinds in the lower weight ranges.