From a board sprang a bow

A few days ago I decided to build a "D bow" from a maple board. The grain runs parallel to the edge of the board, and shows no noticeable damage from the kiln drying process. Therefore, it is good bow wood. The "D bow" is a simple design reminicent of the eastern woodland style bows that have been used in my area of Connecticut for thousands of years. There is something very satisfying about creating a bow in a style that has a long history with my neck of the woods. I have grown up in a Connecticut eastern woodland for much of my childhood and have enjoyed roaming the woods with traditional archery tackle. To me, the most fitting bow for these adventures is the eastern woodland style "D bow". Below is a picture of the maple board before I started.

...laying out the dimensions on the board...

These bows bend throughout their whole length. They have working handles and are at their widest point at the handle. After inspecting the quality of the wood, pondering my preferred draw weight, and consulting the Traditional Boywer's Bible: Volume 1 I decided on the dimensions: 68.5 inches long, 1.5 inches wide for the middle two feet, then tapering to 0.5 inch thick nocks.

The above picture shows the bow in its intermediary stages of production. The vice, hand planer, and draw knife all played crucial roles in resurrecting the once-dead maple plank. I was extra careful during the tillering process (below) because this was my first bow from a kiln-dried board and the grain did partially violate the back of the bow in certain places.

In the end the bow held up just fine and I reached my draw weight target of forty pounds. To be exact it was 41 pounds at 28 inches. After shooting about 50 arrows with a 4.5 inch brace height it only had a 1.25 inch set! I was amazed. The sanding and other finishing will probably drop the draw weight a couple pounds into the high 30s, but no complaints- this bow will just be used for stump shooting.