# selfbow vs laminated longbow



## Pete731 (Aug 9, 2002)

I would like to know the difference between a selfbow and a laminated bow (longbow)?

I would like to know the pros and cons for each model!

Thanks


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## Arthur P (May 28, 2002)

A selfbow is one that is whittled out of a single piece of wood, generally a stave split out of a tree trunk or large limb. A board bow is also a selfbow, but made from a board instead of a stave.

Backed bows are selfbows that have something glued onto the back of the limbs, like a different type of wood, sinew, cloth or fiberglass.

When people talk about laminated bows, they are usually referring to bows that are made from wood strips that are laminated together and sandwiched between fiberglass laminations on the back and belly side of the limbs.

Selfbows take a good piece of wood to make and there cannot be very many places where the grain of the wood is cut across (violated). The rule of thumb for a good selfbow is that it will shoot an arrow that weighs 10 grains per pound 100 fps plus the bow's draw weight. So, a 50 pounder should shoot a 500 grain arrow 150 fps.

A bow is usually backed when the base wood is either not too good or when the bowyer messes up and the wood grain is badly violated. But it can also be done to improve the bow's performance, especially with sinew. It can also be an intentional design, when you have one type of wood that is strong in tension glued to be back of another type of wood that is strong in compression.

A laminated glass bow gets most of it's power from the fiberglass and the wood isn't much more than a platform for the glass. Hoyt even makes high grade target bow limbs without any wood at all and uses a special high density foam for limb cores. 

Selfbows and backed bows shoot slower and have very limited lifespan compared to laminated bows.


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## Pete731 (Aug 9, 2002)

Ok! So if I have the choice to buy a $110 selfbow vs a $160 laminated longbow, I better choose the laminated one!

I like the buy a bow that will last forever


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## Arthur P (May 28, 2002)

Absolutely! Though maybe the 'last forever' part is stretching reality a tiny bit.  

I like selfbows and shoot them quite a bit. I certainly don't fault anyone for making and selling them, but I can't imagine paying someone else to make something for me that is so easy and enjoyable to make for myself. When one breaks or wears out, I just make a replacement.

I'm learning to make lamintated bows now also, so I may never have to buy another bow.


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## AK in PA (Nov 30, 2002)

Authur gave a good description as to the physical differences between laminated glass bows and selfbows. I'd add that in most cases selfbows win hands down for quietness...of critical importance for the hunting archer. I'll also add that selfbows, if properly designed, well tillered, and made from quality bow wood such as osage, should last every bit as long as glass laminated bows. 

There is a further difference in selfbows and glass laminated bows. Since selfbows have to follow idiosyncracies in wood grain, of course every selfbow is unique, but there is a deeper, less tangible difference. There is a sense of history, romance, and woodsmanship in using bows crafted from natural materials. There is an allure and warmth about them that is difficult to describe.

If you want a bow that doesn't care how it is draw and shot, or by whom, that will draw and shoot the same in steaming hot weather as it will in freezing cold, and requires little attention to such differences, then a glass bow is probably the way to go. If you want a bow that will fall in tune with how YOU draw and shoot it, one that you will come to recognize its tiller and distinct feel, and offers more than just "performance"; one that becomes a part of you, than you might consider a selfbow. 

'Coupla selfbows...



















~AK (partial to selfbows) in PA


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## mhogan (Jan 29, 2003)

Wasn't long ago I asked a similar question on Bowsite and you helped me out Adam. 

I like the bow with the built in front sight.


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## danarcher (Nov 22, 2006)

*Trying to make my own laminated bow*

Can anyone give me some general directions on bow limb thickness, width, etc? I tried making a bow with Padauk as the main piece laminated with Yellow Heart on each side (looked very nice). I added a nice handle and feathered the wood in. The limbs were about 2" wide at the base (handle) and 1" at the tip and the thickness went from about 3/16" at the tip to 3/4" right before the handle. Bought a string and the damn thing snapped in half at about 26" of pull. Actually snapped 2/3 the way up the top riser. Looked good when I was tillering and appeared to bend nicely to 28" draw with my tillering string (tillered primarily with 60 grit sandpaper on a circulating hand sander)

General question. When I look at other long bows, it appears that the thickness is pretty much the same from the tip to the handle (not as tapered as I made it). Could that have been part of my problem? Maybe the wrong wood choices?

Thanks for your help.


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## Abel (Jun 2, 2004)

Read the book "Traditional Bowyer's Bible vol. I"


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## don s (Mar 7, 2003)

Pete731 said:


> Ok! So if I have the choice to buy a $110 selfbow vs a $160 laminated longbow, I better choose the laminated one!
> 
> I like the buy a bow that will last forever


for some people, price, has nothing to do with it. it depends on the person and what they prefer to shoot. a selfbow can last you a lifetime and a fiberglass laminated bow can de-laminate on you. it's all a matter of preferance.
don


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## peaceatwork (Jun 5, 2013)

One point that I am unclear about is if a single board bow is backed with another wood, would that still be considered a self bow or would it be considered a long bow. especially as I enter a 3d shoot competition.


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## CFGuy (Sep 14, 2012)

Omega longbows. Nothing further to say.


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## MGF (Oct 27, 2012)

peaceatwork said:


> One point that I am unclear about is if a single board bow is backed with another wood, would that still be considered a self bow or would it be considered a long bow. especially as I enter a 3d shoot competition.


What makes a bow a "self" bow is being made from a single piece of wood. That single piece of wood does all the work. I think (I could be wrong) that a bow backed with something that's just decorative would still be considered a self bow. If the bow is backed with something that does work, I don't think it's a self bow any longer.

The main distinguishing feature of a "long bow" is that the string doesn't touch the limbs except at the string groves. There's no recurve to the limbs when the bow is strung. I'm not sure what you'd call such a bow that is short. LOL, it seems kind of silly to call a short bow, long.


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## guyver (Jan 3, 2012)

CFGuy said:


> Omega longbows. Nothing further to say.


that bowyer(kegan) has made some selfbows too iirc


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