Must get this bow right

[Filip]

Alright I went and corrected the fades, this should look better but now the right limb is stiffer. Do I have to correct that if I want to shoot three fingers under?
I know that the draw length is 28''. Being honest, I don't really know what draw weight I want. My previous bow was about 35 pounds, so I want this one to be around 40. My scale is in kg not pounds, I guess 18 kg, around 39.7 pounds will do just fine.
Blackhawk, I'll get those photos of the bow drawn in hand hopefully some time today.

[Pappy]

That looks pretty darn good to me,I would shoot it and then check again.Nice job.
   Pappy

[Filip]

It's not fully tillered yet, I got 4 inches to go before I get to 28'' unless I can try shooting it at 24''?. If I get the tillering done today or tomorrow I'll go the archery grounds, Thursday afternoon, and shoot it couple of times

[Pappy]

I like to shoot them some at the shorter draw,sometimes that will change things
from what you get on the tree just exercising them.
   Pappy

[Filip]

Oh I see what you mean Pappy, I would do it now if I could. I don't have a target in my garden and archery club only uses the field at certain times and days I wish I lived in more remote place where I could just go outdoor and find some clear, open space where I can shoot...

[wolfman6]

Heck I used to shoot behind the dumpster at my appartment complex. Wound up meeting a neighbor who was also a tradtional archer. If theres a will theres a way, Ive even seen people shoot horse bows in their appartments!

[mikekeswick]

Yes you need to shoot it at 24 and use the now stiffer right limb as your bottom limb. Also important to check the tiller when hand drawn. Good luck!

[Filip]

Now there you can see the bow drawn by hand, right, stiffer limb at the bottom. I only shot one arrow down into the ground, I will hopfully shoot some more tommorrow at the club.



Unfortunately the handle is a little small . I have used Bubby's design but at the start it was 6'' not 8'', I have changed the dimensions but kept the ratios/proportions, anyway the grip is 3 inches not 4. Could I change it so that if you look at the design, the dimensions go 1'',4'',1'' or will that cause some sort of risk?

[Filip]

Update!

I went hunting for earthworms in my garden. Yesterday I shot about 110 arrows into the ground pulling the bow to 24'', today I gave ten shots before taking a picture. Have a look at the photo please, what do you guys think? I plan to get up early in the morning, get the draw length to 28'' and go shooting at the club 

[bubby]

i think it's looking pretty good, you can reduce a lot of mass buy trasitioning the fades into the grip area and it will be a lot more comfortable
you can remove all those sharp anglesand round it all together

[randman]

Like Bubby says, transition the scallop of the grip to just before where the fade gets thinnest at the start of the limbs and it'll be more comfortable and look better. About where the red lines are on this pic. Just make sure the widest part of the limb (from the back view) is just before the thinnest part of the grip fade (from the side view). Other than that, the tiller looks great!

[Filip]

You have been great I can shoot again! Thank you very much for the help! I went shooting today and it has been pretty good, I get very little, if any, wrist slap. The only thing that I didn't like or perhaps wasn't used to is that I couldn't see the tip of the arrow when the bow was drawn, I still have the handle to shape as you suggested but whether I could see the arrow tip then doesn't really matter as I could aim with the knuckle.
So I have the handle to shape and the overall finish to apply but that will be done some time in the future, I won't have much time as I'm going back to school and the exams are getting closer. I'll post pictures of the bow once it's finished.
As for the finish, I was thinking beeswax because I have more of it that I would ever need for waxing the string. I heard that it can be used, I'll have to research that a little more. Have you used beeswax before? what do you think about using it to waterproof the wood?

[Adam]

I've used it and think it works very well.  My preference is to mix it about 50/50 with deer fat.  Heat it up slowly and rub it on with a rag.  It will soak in pretty quickly on endgrain, so i usually dip the tips in the melted wax/fat.  I tend to reapply this a couple times per year, or more if I use the bow in damp coniditions as the wax will eventually wear off the bow's surface.  I'm sure other finishes would do a better job of sealing and protecting the wood, but I like using the lower-tech option.  Plus, I think it smells good 

[bubby]

mix the bees wax with mineral oil, makes pastwax and will rub in real well, or mix with deer fat, if ya have it , Bub