Help Needed, Rookie Board Bow Attempt

[ParamedicArcher]

Hello All,
I am very new to primitive archery and excited to find such a great new hobby (like I needed one!). My job (see forum handle) is very stressful, and relaxing hobbies that I can share with my two young sons are a necessity. I have read over so many posts here I almost feel like I've made a thousand new friends.

That being said, I could use some bow first-aid...

I recently followed Sam's Poor Folk Bows red oak board bow build along and have some concerns...

Everything went great, though I tillered w/o a tree, using the 'big mirror' method. It looked and felt great through the tillering process. I took it to full draw a couple of times and all was well, I thought.
Now that I have applied finish I see an obvious hinge in the bow that I somehow missed completely. I noticed it after I applied stain, allowed it to dry (barely, I was so excited to try the thing out), and took it again to full draw. I heard a creaking, almost like a tiny tiny twig breaking @ the site of the hinge. I set the bow upright against the wall and realized how off I was with tillering. My question is this:

Is it too late for this bow? I've spent a lot of time with it and my sons and I have a weird sort of relationship/bond with this dumb piece of wood believe it or not. I'd hate to scrap it and start over if there's anything I can do.

There is no visible damage anywhere, just obvious improper tillering. I used Sam's drywall tape/ TiteBond II backing method and it (the backing) looks to be in fine shape.

Any thoughts are welcome.

[Hrothgar]

If you are positive the hinge and the creak aren't the result of cracking, it is never to late to bring out the rasp, scaper or 60 grit sandpaper and make adjustments. Having said that, expect the bow to lose a little poundage.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

[tattoo dave]

Yup, re-tiller and get rid of that hinge. I also learned the hard way never to put finish on a bow until after shooting it in...a lot.
Keep us posted, and we would love to see some pics.

Tattoo Dave

[bushboy]

I'm pretty newbie at the bow building thing ,but u could retiller it and your not happy with the weight u could back it a i/8 strip of oak and glue it up with an 1 1/2 relex through the handle .using small blocks of 2x4 ,lay the middle one flat and the end ones on egde. This will give you room to get your clamps. On! Let it dry for about 4 days just to be sure.make your self a tree simply by notching a 2x4 ,start with a long string to get it bending evenly then brace it!remember not to exspect string tension when tillering to feel like the weight your aiming 4!a 50 lb bow should be relativily easy to pull on the tree,if u struggle it's way to heavy! Knowing that notched trees are not the best as they can damage your bow and that cable type are way better but if used properly can be effective.I only use a notched tree to about 22"!I then look at the brace for fine tuning.note it helps to take photos as you tiller it so you can get it off the tree as son as possible!hope I have'nt given you any bad advice I'd like for the old vets. To tune me in if this is the case!have fun!bobbyjoe

[bushboy]

Oh yeah,forgot two things,not really sure how a lamination will work on glass tape? You might just want to get rid of it with aheat gun! And for full draw inspection I get my wife to take a photo!