Ottoman Turkish Bow, 128cm ntn, 60lbs@30"

Arry · Post by **Arry** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 6:53 pm

Dear all,

this will be my first Ottoman Turkish bow, so I am curious whether I have extrapolated the dimensions of the finished bow correctly.

What I am aiming at is a length of about 129cm ntn for a draw length of 31" (this is because I am 188cm tall and have rather long arms) and a draw weight of around 50#.

The width/thickness dimensions are a thinned-down version of the historic bow No1/8998 from Adam Karpowicz's book (p.41) which had approximately 100#, being 123cm long.

All dimensions are in mm.
Comments are more than welcome.

Fenris · Post by **Fenris** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:42 pm

Moinsen Arry,

finally you came

. And for the gods sake the bow will be shorter than initially planed. The dimensions look fine to me. Still it is possible to increase the length of the kassan by about 2 cm and the tip to 7 cm. The grip doesn't have to be that thick. 34 mm is sufficient. Also the Tip/Kassan bend can be made thinner (ca. 2 mm) The bow should come out at about 45-55 lbs @ 28 inch(!). I calculated 51,5. At 31'' it will be about 7-8 lbs more, so all together maybe 53-63 lbs at your draw. There'll probably be no stacking at 31 inch

.

regards Kevin

Adam Karpowicz · Post by **Adam Karpowicz** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 11:38 pm

Yes, the dimensions look OK. I usually overshoot the sal thickness by a mm to adjust. I agree with Kevin the thickness of kasan/sal can be less. For a light weight bow 16mm is plenty and the width of the tip can be 8mm (or even less).

Adam

Alessi Francesco · Post by **Alessi Francesco** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:10 am

I think it would be better to reduce the width to save mass: 26mm at the beginning of sal to 18mm at the end of kasan...even less,considering the low draw weight.

Francesco

Arry · Post by **Arry** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:15 pm

Kevin, Adam, Francesco - many thanks. I will submit slimmed-down proportions shortly. However, with all these reductions, I am starting to be concerned about stability. It is, after all, my first try.

Fenris · Post by **Fenris** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:29 pm

@Francesco

for sure you are right considering speed and efficiency of the bow and looking at your bows I think you'll have no problem of building such a narrow bow

. But for someone building his first ottoman bow, I think it is best to start with somewhat wider but shorter limbs for a light weight bow. And maybe to start with a more narrow version during the drying times

.

regards Kevin

Arry · Post by **Arry** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:03 pm

Second try. Changes are marked by bold numbers.

Fenris · Post by **Fenris** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 9:01 pm

Even though it may reduce efficiency I would leave the kassan/tip at 18 mm width and also increase the width of the kassan itself to about 25 mm. Both for stability reasons. The rest seems ok to me

.

regards und viele Gr??e Kevin

Arry · Post by **Arry** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:36 pm

Kevin, thanks. I have a question re your input, sent it via pm. This may result in more changes. Until then, this is the state of play. Also, I have deducted the measures of the naked wooden core by subtracting the sinew and horn layers. Do these look ok to you guys?

-Edit-: Kassan strengthened following Kevin's advice.

Arry · Post by **Arry** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:45 pm

Attached is the latest update of the dimensions. I tried to conclude the dimensions of the wooden core from the exterior dimensions.

Arry · Post by **Arry** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:49 pm

Also, preparations have progressed somewhat: Tepliks and a form for bending the arms, designed using the measurements that you were so friendly to confirm.

Arry · Post by **Arry** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:22 pm

And finished:

Kyudohund · Post by **Kyudohund** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:12 pm

Hi Arry,

the radius from Kasan to Tip looks too small, except you have green wood. Dry wood over about 5-7mm thick, will splinter or even break there.

Is there any sense why the Tepliks have recurve?

Peter

Arry · Post by **Arry** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:20 pm

Hi Kyudohund,

thanks for your remarks!

Adam recommends in his book a small radius for the part between kassan and tip so the string won't touch the kassan when strung.
And yes, I am hoping to bend some green maple wood into this radius. But it is good to know that kiln-dried maple might splinter or break if bend like this.

These are my very first tepliks, so just as everything else I do, they are a bit experimental

I thought they might be easier to tie to the sal if they are formed like this.

Please let me know if anything that I have planned so far seems strange to you.

Best,
Arry

Arry · Post by **Arry** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 4:56 pm

Following Kyudohund's remark, the (hopefully) improved tepliks. Tepliks v.2.0, so to speak ^^