Building a Recurve Bow Form Jig

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User offline. Last seen 2 days 16 hours ago. Offline
Joined: 08/25/2009
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Got this question from a reader today:
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I am building a recurved long bow just for fun. I last made a bow as a child more than 50 years ago. I chose to sculpt the form from balsa wood. It is light, flexible, and easy to shape. The form is about 60 inches long, 1 inch wide, and 3/16 thick. I am going to cover it with layers of fiberglass. Does anyone have any idea how many layers of glass are necessary to make a bow of about 45-50 lb draw strength? Will it be necessary to gut out the balsa before I add fiberglass layers for the back side of the bow? I appreciate any helpful suggestions.