advice for a nub?

[blades7558]

 hey i just finished this hickory backed hickory bow. its 70 inches ntn pulls about 40 lbs at 28 inches. i have a few questions about it.... it has taken a horrible set 4.5 inches to belly and 6 inches to back after being unstring and it doesn't come back much over time. when i tillered it the wood was around 9-12 moisture content(mainly because i didn't know what breed hickory it was to adjust the meter) im kind of dumbfounded as to why such a big set. i think i did permanently compress a hinge early in the tiller process but i worked the hinge out and both limbs are set.

next thing is should i make the handle area smaller in length? would this give me more poundage? (i was shooting for 50) and i was planning on making it a center shot bow, if i cut out the center shot part with a smaller length handle am i that much more prone to breaking  the handle?

last thing i swear... the limb tips are still wide at 3/4 and thick. i was thinking about adding a piece of wood to the backside and making a slight recurve out of it because it stacks pretty hard the strings are almost 90 degrees to the limbs at full draw. would this counter act the performance drag that the set has?

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[blades7558]

heres the handle

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[blades7558]

heres the limb tip

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[ken75]

blades first any set taken during the process is due in part to moisture but mainly to stressing the limbs too much too fast
second you can get closer to center shot but you have to add depth . go narrow and deep. this should give you near center without breaking
last you need to reduces mass in the tips but as far as reflexing tips by adding wood to the back its going to impart more stress and cause more set.
 heres what i would do reduce mass on the tips and shoot the snot out of it , grab another board and lets build another one.

[blades7558]

really? i stressed the wood to fast and to much? i didn't think of that.... hmmm so whats a good time frame to exercise / tiller the bow in? a few inches per week?  the handle is 1 and 3/4 thick from belly to back im defiantly not worried about cutting into it as is. i was definatly going to cut down the tips and keep a lighter string on it to keep up performance.

[Pappy]

Moisture probably has a lot to do with it,Hickory likes it dry, also when tillering never go over desired weight as you work your way out to draw length,Looks like it is bending a lot a few inches off the fads on the bottom limb,that will also cause set by not getting all the wood to work. I wouldn't glue anything on the tips to add reflex,if I done anything at all I would just flip the tips and for sure narrow them down a bunch,the damage has been done,if it was a selfbow you could put it on a form and reflex and heat treat the belly,that might help a little,but since it is a glue up,probably to late for that.Did you glue in any reflex  during the glue up  or did it start out flat. You could also pike it a few inches and re tiller to pick up some weight.
   Pappy

[Parnell]

It looks like your handle and fades are long.  I was making mine too long in the beginning.  Currently I pretty much do a 4 inch handle with 1.5 inch fades.  Early on I left my limb tips too high as well, it wasn't until I saw some bows from Mullet until I realized how much less material could be on them (in height) and them still have the proper tiller.  I'd say you want to get more wood bending out of your handle earlier on in the tiller.  I'm thinking most set is mid-limb and there wasn't enough wood working to distribute the compression through the course of the tiller process.  Hickory loves to be toasted well.  A heat gun is invaluable with hickory where I live due to high humidity, but with a glue backing - you'd have to toast the belly before glue up to help.  Where are you at that maybe you could meet up with someone for real life examples?

Keep on it!

[Del the cat]

Ok, it ain't perfect but you've got a shooter.
Look at it critically and keep makin' bows, next will be better.
The right limb is pretty good, the left is bending too much near the handle and the outer limb could bend more.
Handle seems a tad long to me, but it's a matter of style and preference, I make 'em as short as I dare, then a bit shorter!
Pretty good for a new guy , glad to have you on board.
Del