Yew Flatbow Project (Trade Bow) Finished Pics on pg. 3-4

[dwardo]

Dwardo, did you see in the first picture where the back is splitting vertically below each nock? that's what's worrying me. seems like it has potential to continue travelling down the back.

Sorry I didnt, i was browsing on a phone   
Not had that happen to me yet. Could only guess at too sharp a nock as above or too strong for a string yet? I will bow out now lol sry

[PEARL DRUMS]

I would suggest rasping the tips down to a 45 deg angle and gluing another piece of dense wood or horn on. I think those slight cracks could easily be handled. Did you happen to try and brace the bow when it was much too stiff causing undue stress on the tips?

[Weylin]

Thanks for all the helpful input. I went ahead and put on some ebony tip overlays and they have solved the problem. I didn't completely finish them, just enough that they can do their job for now. It's possible that the bow was still a bit too strong for bracing. I was only attempting a very low brace but in retrospect it seemed like a lot of pressure. I'll be more careful about that in the future. now I'm back to checking the bend and taking a little wood off.

[Weylin]

Here is the bow on the tillering tree being pulled to 22 inches at it's target weight. Please bear in mind that it is a bumpy stave with lots of dips and dives on it's back. I know that makes it hard to see the tiller from a picture but I thought I'd put it up here anyway.



and at brace

[Jude]

Lookin good to me

Julian

[Buckeye Guy]

Looks a little hingey to me on right side just off the fade. Other than that keep going !!
Guy

[Keenan]

Weylin, looking good. It will help people to understand character tillering if they see your unbraced profile. From what I remember you had allot of dips and dives in the back.

Buckey,  I think what you are seeing is a natural dip in the back. If you go back to page one you'll see the major dip. 

This is a great example of character tillering. Often people will ruin a bow by trying to get the whole limb looking perfect and forget to keep in mind the original profile. The important thing is to get all the wood bending the same. So if it is not flat to start with. you will not have a consistant arc but rather a mimic of the natural profile being bent.

[Weylin]

Thank you Jude and Buckeye.

It was my intention to get an unbraced photo for that very reason but my camera died before I could do it last night. 

It is really deceptive, I'm constantly second guessing myself about what's a hinge or a flat spot and what's natural. I think I have it fairly close. I'm just taking wood off really slowly, exercising it alot and trying to see past the rollercoasters. I'm also still trying to pay attention to how it feels between my fingers.

[Bryce]

been watching this thread for awhile and i gotta say i like what i see. whoever gets this bow is truly lucky.
the character in this bow is epic. love it.

[Weylin]

Thank you, Bryce. I hope my recipient likes it, Im pretty intimidated by the name that I drew. It's gonna be hard to give away 

[Blacktail]

that looks really nice..i have been over to keenans house a few times because of optical illusions(thats what i call it)..and the humps can do that....i think it will make a fine bow...john

[Mangeur de lard]

I know what you're saying, second guessing yourself, not being sure if you should or shouldn't remove wood here or there... Sure is coming along nicely though.

[Buckeye Guy]

Its hard to see the amount of bend in the dips and humps ,and even more so on the internet!!
It just looked to me like it might be starting to bend more there than other places!
When I start getting my eyes drawn to an area they quit seeing the average of the whole so I unbrace and draw a straight line on the side of the limb thru the area .
Then back on the tiller tree and flex it with one hand as I hold the straight edge to the mark to see exactly how much the line is bending ! Then I have a true picture of how much it is bending through the dip or hump ! No need to be deceived !
Guy

[Gordon]

As Keenan indicated tillering a character bow by sight is tricky. What I do is first establish the correct overall thickness taper. After that instead of paying attention to how the tiller looks I make sure that the thickness taper remains consistent through the character portions of the limbs.

That said, I'm not certain that the overall thickness taper is quite correct. It appears to me that the outer limbs are not bending sufficiently.

[Weylin]

Ok, I have it all finished up and ready to ship out. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out given the uncertainties with the wood and my skill level. I've gotten pretty attached to it. It'll be hard to give to the mailman. Here are some pictures, thanks for everyone's help.