Have to agree with pat & justin,looks good,go slow youll get there. Ive made several redoak bows from boards, I think in redoak the better the grain structure the less it tends to set,but you can flip the tips and aleveiate some of that. You could also back it with hickory or some other good backing, cloth is protective,doesnt really enhance whats all ready there. I recently bought rudderbows dvd on board bow building,I really liked it,goood info,maybe a little corny. But worth the 20.00!