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Author Topic: first bow  (Read 2803 times)

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Offline blackpanem

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first bow
« on: January 20, 2012, 12:03:44 am »
the past couple days i gave bow making a try. i made it out of black locust and its ready to be strung. when i went to pull the string back it started making cracking noises, did i do something wrong? and how can i strengthen it because it got pretty thin when i was tillering it.
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Offline Josh B

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Re: first bow
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2012, 02:52:05 am »
If you post pics,it will easier to diagnose. ;)   Josh
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Offline Pappy

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Re: first bow
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2012, 08:48:30 am »
Are you talking about floor tillering,other wise I don't know how you tillered it with out a string on it. :) :) Pictures and a little more detail on where you are on the stave and how you got there would help. :) Cracking noise is never a good thing. :) :)
  Pappy
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Offline George Tsoukalas

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Re: first bow
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2012, 10:29:44 am »
Hard to say what you did wrong or if you did anything wrong. Let's see if my site can help you. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/
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Offline Josh B

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Re: first bow
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2012, 12:37:24 pm »
The only situation I can think of where cracking noises are not serious,  is if you debarked  it to get the back and left a a little inner bark in spots.  Those will lift and make a cracking or popping noise.  Again pics are very helpful for us to better help you.  Josh
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Offline aaron

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Re: first bow
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2012, 01:54:07 pm »
like gun doc said, the noise may be the inner bark popping off. Inner bark looks kind of like beige paper stuck to the sap wood.  if you have any leftover pieces of the locust, try scraping down through the layers to see what it's like .
I looked at your other threads and I applaud you for trying all this stuff at age 13- it's difficult stuff to learn . My suggestion is to find someone on this site and go (with your parents) to where they live and get them to answer some questions for you in person. A quick session with an experienced person will teach you more than we can with typed words. What state do you live in?
also, there are three stages to tillering: Floor tillering is where you judge the bend by pressing the tip on the floor. you only bend it about 6 inches during this stage. Next, you put on a string that is too long and start "real" tillering. this is where you pull the string and judge the bend . Never pull the string too hard- never pull it past your intended draw weight. the third stage is where you put on a string that is the correct length and continue "real" tillering.
good luck.
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Ilwaco, Washington, USA
"Good wood makes great bows, but bad wood makes great bowyers"

Offline blackpanem

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Re: first bow
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2012, 05:42:08 pm »
aaron, i dont know anyone with expirience. my dad wanted to this stuff but he never got around to doing it so i am trying it. but i didnt know you had to keep sapwood on the front of the bow. im guessing thats my problem?
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Offline Elktracker

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Re: first bow
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2012, 05:49:50 pm »
blackpanem you dont have to keep sapwood on the back of the bow (the side facing away when shooting it), you can but most people remove the sap wood on black locust and chase it to one solid ring on the back of the bow. You might want to think about backing it with something to help it hold together if you arent confident that you have one continuos ring on the back. You can use silk or linnen fabrick, thin rawhide, cirtian species of cherry bark or sinew.


Josh
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my friends think my shops a mess, my wife thinks I have too much bow wood, my neighbors think im redneck white trash and they may all be right on the money!!

Josh Vance  Netarts OR. (Tillamook)

Offline paulsemp

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Re: first bow
« Reply #8 on: January 20, 2012, 05:55:20 pm »
black locust is not the easiest wood to learn on. I do not leave the sap wood on black locust. Most on here will agree hickory is one of the easier to learn on. post some pics if you can. I started early like you and learned a lot of mistake on my own. I had no one to ask and broke a lot of bows. This website and the people on here could help take a lot of the guess work out. good luck!
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Offline bubby

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Re: first bow
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2012, 06:00:26 pm »
yeah if you could get some hickory or some white oak, not red oak, both of those woods are very forgiving, Bub
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Offline aaron

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Re: first bow
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2012, 06:36:27 pm »
if you don't know anyone with experience you are in the right place. What I mean is, tell us what state or town you are in and perhaps someone here lives close enough that you can go to their place and get some help in person. if you have the white sapwood on the part of the bow facing you, then you're in trouble. sapwood goes on the back- the part away from you. Check out George T's site , he posted a link above.
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Ilwaco, Washington, USA
"Good wood makes great bows, but bad wood makes great bowyers"

Offline blackpanem

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Re: first bow
« Reply #11 on: January 20, 2012, 07:29:01 pm »
ok thanks everyone, i tried hickory a few months ago actually, but i didnt have this site yet so it broke and only took about 5 pounds to draw. i live in pennsylvania but i wont tell what city for security resons.
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Offline Elktracker

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Re: first bow
« Reply #12 on: January 20, 2012, 07:34:05 pm »
Blackpanem im no pro but it would be pretty hard to track you down by just knowing what town you live in ;) Im sure there are some bowyers in your area and as aaron said you can always bring your dad with you. I dont think to many people are looking for victims on bow building forums, its more if your gonna make a large purchase is when you wanna look out on meeting people on the net :D ;) But ya never know :-\

Josh
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my friends think my shops a mess, my wife thinks I have too much bow wood, my neighbors think im redneck white trash and they may all be right on the money!!

Josh Vance  Netarts OR. (Tillamook)

Offline blackpanem

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Re: first bow
« Reply #13 on: January 20, 2012, 07:44:01 pm »
ya i know, thats what i told my mom but she said that i still shouldnt give away my information. but my dad knows nothing about bow making except that osage yew and lemon wood are good for bows
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Offline Elktracker

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Re: first bow
« Reply #14 on: January 20, 2012, 07:50:01 pm »
Well you better listen to your mom then, you will still learn allot from this website!
Also if you like to read you should look into getting the Traditional Bowyers Bible vol.1 it has allot of good pictures and info as well.

Jawges site will help a bunch too!

Josh from Tillamook Oregon ;)
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my friends think my shops a mess, my wife thinks I have too much bow wood, my neighbors think im redneck white trash and they may all be right on the money!!

Josh Vance  Netarts OR. (Tillamook)
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