Terms

Backed Bow

A bow primarily of wood, but having a thin strip of another material along the back of the bow (see composite bow). Usually the material used was a thin strip of wood (e.g. bamboo or hickory), or a strip of raw hide or even silk glued in place. This backing did not add much (if anything) to the strength or efficiency of the bow, rather it helped the bow to return slowly to straightness. Bows backed with sinew are the exception to this, as the sinew greatly increases the tension of the bow.

 

Bow Irons

Assembly that holds the Prod onto the front of the Crossbow. Can comprise of plates, blocks, wedges and stirrup.

 

Composite

A bow made by laminating multiple materials together in thin layers. Materials most commonly used in traditional bows were different types of wood and layers of horn, often bound together with sinew and glued in layers. Modern bows usually use layers of wood, fiberglass and/or steel. Traditional Asiatic and Arab bows were often horn/wood/sinew re-curved composites. The different materials allow the bow to use the best properties in the best location to maximize their efficiency. Manufacture of these types of bows is a slow and painstaking task, as any weakness in any of the joints will give either reduced performance, or a bow which will break under load.

 

Longbow

Usually a 'Self' or 'Backed' bow, the longbow is effectively a straight (or slightly curved) length of wood with string on each end. Fiberglass, steel and composite longbows are also often made. It has no re-curves, no pulleys or cams, and is the traditional shape associated with the European archers of the middle ages.

 

Prod

Bow section of a crossbow. Can be constructed from fiber glass, sprung steel etc.

 

Re-curve

Any bow which has the tips of the working limbs bent backwards in the opposite direction from the draw when at rest. This allows the bow to develop extra power when drawn, to store and release energy more efficiently, as well as increasing velocity in the arrow by adding an extra flick in the arrow at the last second as the arrow starts to leave the string. The amount of re-curve can vary from a slight curve at the tips, (similar to a ']' shape) to a total curve whereby the whole working limb of the bow bends backwards from the handgrip, giving a totally reversed 'C ' shape, sometimes curved backwards to the point that the two tips will actually touch when unstrung.(Also known as 'retro-flexed')

 

Self Bow

A one piece bow, usually made of a single stave of wood, or any other single material (this now includes 'all steel' or 'all fiberglass' bows). Also used to mean a bow which may be made of 2 staves of wood of the same type, jointed at the midpoint (handle), to give a single length of uniform strength and uniform properties. This was often necessary due to the difficulty of getting a single bowstave of a decent length without knots, warps or other defects. This is the main European/African/American Indian etc. style of traditional bow but can be applied to solid fiberglass, steel, horn, etc.

 

Stave

Length of wood, a radial split from log, branch or commercially purchased timber from which the bow is to be constructed. (Also referred to as bow-stave.)

 

Stirrup

U shaped clamp or support at the front of a crossbow into which the foot is normally placed, enabling the crossbow to be held down while the bow string is locked into the firing position.

 

Tillering

The process of working a bow down evenly to reach the required draw weight at the required draw length and to ensure that bow limbs are balanced with respect to each other and ensuring that the "arc" of the drawn bow is even.

Offered by Brian.