My first (working) bow finished

[PatrickH]

72" ntn, 75# @ 30 inches, 1.5 inches of string follow, red oak flatbow with a rawhide backing (a white cowhide dogs chewtoy), i worked it down to 400 grit sand paper and burnished it with linseed oil on a spoon. my first bow broke and was coming in way under wieght, on this one i was a little more careful but overestimated my strength as i was using two hands to tiller it while looking in the mirror, when i got it finished i realized 75# was a bit much... maybe my next on i will try for around 50#. sorry about the pictures they were taken with my phone. any advice or constructive critism will be much appreciated. thanks in advance

[randman]

Nice Job for first bow Patrick. 75lbs WOW! tiller looks nice (hard to tell much more with the small pics). What's the back view profile look like? Width, etc? My only critique is the handle fades all around are too angular and short. On your next one, make em longer and smoother (think curves not angles). Now that you've been assimilated, I know you'll be makin more

[PatrickH]

Oh okay i forgot a picture of the back. i put a rawhide backing on it, but i dont like the bleached white rawhide i got at the pet store. I will have to look for somthing more natural for my second bow. the dimensions of the back are 1 - 3/8 inch from the handle out . it starts to narrow in the last 8 inches and also remains stiff for those 8 inches. i think your right about how angular it is kind of ugly lol, i think on my next one i will use the same dimensions but allow the fades to be more gradual and make the tips a little thinner. since it will only be 50# i think that will give me a little of leeway if i stick to similar demensions right?

[johnston]

From what I can see it looks fine except for the handle like randman says.

My only bit of advice would be to get a camera.

Lane

[tdog]

Good job. Nice to get the first shooter, now time to start another.

Mark

[gstoneberg]

Patrick,

I think you're posting the thumbnails instead of the pictures.  That's easy to do by mistake when you're posting URLs.  Make sure to get the 600x480 sized picture URL if that's how you're doing it.  If you figure out how to get the full sized picture, you can go back and edit those posts.  That will help present your bow so much better.  What I can see looks great.

George

[tattoo dave]

Looks like a fine job to me on your first. I was thinking about trying that pet store rawhide too. You should be able to dye or stain it, so it's not white. Keep up the good work.

Tattoo Dave

[Del the cat]

Nicely done.
75# no prob to take off a tad, much better than being under.
It's good to have a go with some heavier weight, gives you an idea what is best for you.
Your first is always special, but the second will be even better.
Those few extra pounds will give you a bit to play with when you look back on it a few months down the line and decide to re-work it a bit to tune it up.
You have to live with a bow for a bit before you can tune it up and really call it finished, sometimes a tiny bit of work can make a big difference to how it shoots.
Good to have you on board.
Del
(As you are a new guy, you probably havn't seen my website or bowyers diary. Google 'delsbows' to find me...)

[Arrowind]

Good job!  Nice bow!  I wish my first bow was that good.   

[George Tsoukalas]

Nicely done! Jawge

[Will H]

Good Job!!