Winter project - Yew Recurve bow

[Dazv]

Form amazing work gordon one of my favourite bows is a yew bow you made one time and this bow will be awesome. With this bow did you use a long string or did you put it at a low brace first??? Thanks for sharing gordon.

[Gordon]

Dazv, I did not use a long string to tiller the bow after the sinew job.

Thank you all again for the great comments.

I expect I will be posting more this weekend.

[Kviljo]

Is there a reason for using such a broad tillering stick and clamp on the grip? I recently read the book "Target Archery" by Elmer, and in one passage he explains why it is important to use a narrow tillering stick. A broad tillering stick does not allow you to specify where on the grip you want the pressure/pivot point. This blurres the slight differences that is needed between the upper and lower limb. Part of this is also that the pressure point on the string should be somewhat higher than the pressure point on the grip. Only an Apache draw with all fingers under the arrow would allow the bow to be tillered with the pressure on the string directly beneath the pressure point of the grip.

[Gordon]

I don't kvilgo. I'm an engineer by profession and as strange as it may sound the reason I like building primitive bows is because I don't have to overthink it. I suppose it is an escape of sorts. I just let my hands, tools and the wood do what they want and things just seem to turn out alright more often than not. Now a days I don't use my tillering tree for much more than exercising the bow and measuring draw weight (though I can estimate draw weight fairly accurately without it). What I've found is if I make the upper limb a little longer and softer, leave the tips a tad stiff, properly align the string with the handle and get both limbs working nicely the end result will generally perform pretty well.  And that's good enough for me.

[Cameroo]

I knew you'd say that Gordon  What's "needed" by some is not necessarily needed by all!  If it feels good, looks good, shoots good, what else matters?

I'm lovin this build along.  Thanks for taking the time!

[hedgeapple]

Gordon, I love the rounded belly on this bow and the hazelnut build a-long.  My question is when and why should one round the belly of a bow?

[Gordon]

Thank you Cameroo, you seem to understand.

Hedgeapple, one reason that I will round a belly is because it creates visually pleasing lines when done correctly. That said, some woods will tolerate a rounded belly more than others. Compression strong woods such as yew and osage lend themselves very well to a rounded belly. Other woods such as ash and serviceberry should generally be left flat. A practical reason for a rounded belly is to direct compression forces away from the edges which is useful if there are knots along the edges that might otherwise be a problem. Another is that it is easier to reduce weight without changing the tiller when the belly is rounded by scraping along the outer edges. But in the end, the main reason that I do it is because I can.

[mikekeswick]

Gordon, I love the rounded belly on this bow and the hazelnut build a-long.  My question is when and why should one round the belly of a bow?

With heavily ring porous woods like osage a rounded belly means you don't end up with those weak spots in a limb where the latewood ends and the next softer earlywood ring shows. If an earlywood ring occupies too much of the limb width it's a perfect place for a hinge to start. If you round the belly then instead of occuping virtually the entire width of the limb the earlywood rings will feather out to a point. Also some woods just like to be rounded somewhat, like yew,labernum etc. It's a good idea with most woods to employ a rouneded (slightly) belly when coming out of the fades then 'morph' into a flat belly for the rest of the limb. As Gordon says it's also much more pleasing on the eye. When things look right they normally are

[hedgeapple]

Thanks Gordon and Mike.  You guys answered my question and them some question that I didn't know I had. 

[Hunter Van Winkle]

Wondrous artistry, so beautiful to behold, I can only wonder how marvelous is must be to shoot.

[Kviljo]

Hehe, I guess that's a good enough reason, Gordon   I have just gotten so used to working with a narrow tiller and the advantages it has, so I thought I would share it. Of course, there are many ways of getting the same result. Seeing the bow being drawn by hand is probably just as good. However, I don't think this is to overthink the issue. Too many beginners do this mistake by tillering the bows symmetrically, not taking into account that the bow then will end up with a weak lower limb when drawn by hand.

Brilliant bow, btw!

[Gordon]

Too many beginners do this mistake by tillering the bows symmetrically, not taking into account that the bow then will end up with a weak lower limb when drawn by hand.

Yes, I agree with this.

[Arrowind]

Gordon,

Thanks for taking the time to do this build along.  I've been following closely.   Awesome work!
When I first started making bows about a year ago I spent a lot of time studying your Hackberry build along.  I learned a lot!  So thanks for that as well.   

I'm currently building a recurve myself and I've bent the tips using steam and a form I made from a 2x6 and trying to copy the one you have here.  Now I have an issue with string alignment which I'm trying to correct.

I've never used dry heat but have a heat gun that seems to work pretty well.  My question is how long do you need to heat the bow before the wood starts to respond...I have to say I'm a little worried about over bending it to the other side....

[Gordon]

Arrowind,

First, thank you for the nice compliments. You have to be careful using dry heat on an area that has already been bent by steam or boiling. The reason is that the original bend may come undone if you apply too much heat. So the answer to your question is that you apply only enough heat to get the job done and not a bit more. The way I do this is by utilizing weights to bend the wood while I am applying heat. I show and describe the process in this build-a-long. One caveat though, you should only employ this technique if the adjustment required is relatively small. For larger adjustments I recommend aligning the limbs by bending the handle using steam and a press. I also show this technique in the build-a-long. Good luck!

[RBLusthaus]

Outstanding work. 

I thank you for the time you put into creating these build alongs.   In case you are not sure, they are very much appreciated as they are a much better learning tool than any book could relay.  I anxiously await the next installment.  Thank you.

Russ