Your hard maple will make a great longbow. It has a very tight grain pattern and is very strong. Make sure they are pretty straight and true. Surface plain the boards and start by cutting a blank about 1 3/4" wide and 68 or 70" long. If you want you can glue on an extra peice in the center to build it up for a handle section. If you really want to get into building a bow buy a book called The Traditional Bowyers Bible. There is a good section on board bows that will give you dimensions for a good flat bow. You should also think about backing your bow with rawhide or linen or maybe silk, but the book talks about all that. Good to hear that others are interested in building and shooting these bows. Be advise you should cut out several blanks because you will proably break one or two, and once you have a bow that shoots all your buddies will start asking questions and want one too. I'll be happy to answer any questions that come up if I can. Good luck and have a lot of fun!!
