GULP! New HBC R/D

[DanaM]

Lookin good Chris. Time to slow down even more. Careful now eh.

DanaM

[Marc St Louis]

Chris
Inner limbs are not bending enough, especially just out from the fades. You can tell from the thickness that they are quite a bit thicker. You really should go a bit slower with your tillering.

[Minuteman]

Well if ya gotta get scolded and told to slow down, ya might as well take it from someone that knows what they're talking about.
 Thanks ,Marc.
 I'm just happy its still in one piece. I'm in" super slow , 3 or 4 scrapes, then exercise the bow" mode now. I didn't think I was going too fast but I guess ya don't know the proper speed til ya go slow enough to do it right.
 I still have 69 1/4" of length if my weight comes in a little low. I'll get some dinner and scratch on it( and my head) a little this evening.
 I appreciate all the help and advice ya'll have been giving me.
 I'll post some more pics this evening.
 Chris

[Minuteman]

You want to leave the outer limbs alone for now including the outer red arrow. Work the inner limbs, where Matt has put a red arrow

Guess I should 've heeded Marc's advice . I can't seem to get the upper limb to bend in the fade at all.
 Theres one thing that I haven't been able to figure out throughout this whole process, and I know I'm missing it and I still can;t figure it out. What makes the distance a limb tip travels different from one limb to the other? I mean on this bow the upper limb (Right) is longer than the lower limb and it was stiff in the fade area and the first third of the limb. Now even with the inner part of the limb being stiffer and therefore stronger than the other one it still traveled farther. I shortened the upper limb once more by about another 1/2" er so. Its around 68 1/4" long now. 
 Ok, I'll refine my question to save my poor typing : Does removing wood from a limb, anywhere on the limb, always make the  tip move more? Can the portion of the limb that is bending cause the tip to move more or less .
 If all the bend is in the middle third of one limb and its whip tillered on the other one which one will travel further or does it matter?
 I went ahead and removed the scale from the tree so I wouldn't get hung up on draw weight , I know I've shot past where I wanna be. This has gone from looking reasonable to being a fiasco and I did it to myself
 Well got more wood in the drying box after I'm done tearin this one up.
 I'll try and get some pics up tomorrow of where I am with it. At  least I can practice on it and get the tiller as right as I can even if it comes in at 20# .             

[Justin Snyder]

The limb is only as strong as its weakest point.  If you have a weak area, the limb will pull back farther, regardless of where the weak area is. When Marc said to slow down, he didn't mean you cant tiller a bow in a day. If you feel rushed to finish a bow, you will mess it up.  If you start to feel that way, stop and breathe. Set the bow aside and take a breather. Sometimes I will put a bow on the tree and exercise it, take it off and walk away. I might come back later and do it again and again without ever removing any wood. When I do remove wood, I am in a nice relaxed state. If I am unsure, I will put it away again. Sometimes you can tiller a bow in a day, but most times it will take me 4 days.  Justin

[Pat B]

Hey Chris. You should listen to Justin . If there is anyone that knows how to successfully build a wood bow, its him!
Actually that is excellent advice. If your brain ain't into it or you're agrivated, best to put it down and walk away. Believe me!      Pat

[Minuteman]

Yeah, thanks guys,. Pat ,I'm gonna hit 'im up for tillerin' skills at Pappy's place come saturday mornin'! You're gonna be there too right. I'll bring this bow along and another blank if I can get one glued up in time.

[Pat B]

Yeah, His skills ought to be at their apex come Saturday morning.        Pat

[Minuteman]

I was kinda planning on introducing myself Friday evening and then looking him up come Saturday around lunch time er so.  I dunno the way things are going I may not have anything ready for the trip. My hikree pile is rapidly becoming  second rate stuff.
 Maybe I can buy some backing at Pappy's

[Justin Snyder]

I just went and dug through the pile of hickory at the hardwood store. I bought a 2"X7"X10' piece of hickory that is premium for backings. I am going to cut it all into backings. I will bring you a couple.  Justin

[Pat B]

Justin, I bought a similar piece a few years back. I cut it into 2 pieces...one 6' the other 4'. The 6' piece I cut into backing strips and a few belly pieces and the 4' section I will eventually cut into backing strips. I cut mine to 3/16" thick. By the time you remove the saw marks it should be about 1/8" or a bit less.    Pat

[Justin Snyder]

I'm going to cheat Pat. I'm cutting it all into 3/16" pieces, then Ill take it over to my cabinet maker friends house and using his high dollar plainer to smooth them out and get them even thickness. Justin

[Pat B]

Well, I guess that will work. Some of us don't have rich friends with lots of fancy tools.
  Do look out for swirls or irregular grain. The planer will tear them out sometimes.   Pat

[Justin Snyder]

I tried using it on bow laminations, but it chewed them up. This board has almost no grain run out and no knots in 8 feet.  I will cut it 6' and cross grain. Then it should be no grain run out and do knots.  The plainer should like that.  As for rich friends. They are more like poor dumb working class guys, like me. Justin