david, my first bow was a lot lot like yours, red oak board from home depot with sheetrock backing. the main difference between our bows is, your handle and rest section look beautiful! mine was sloppy and crude. i love what you did. the tiller looks good! i left my tips very stif as well, so much so to the point that hand shock was horrible. i knew to leave them stiff, but they looked like a ramp from the belly of the bow. yours looks much smoother
you are well on your way to surpassing many, myself included. keep up the good work, and enjoy the next three months when you get your stave
with a start like that you can't go wrong -did you folow sam harpers website? that is how i built my red oak bow.