I have been reading and learing here. First, a thank you for all the good information.
A freind of mine makes bows, and for my son's birthday I got a roughed blank from him and away I went tapering and tillering. Maple with purple heart and oak grip. First bow = epic failure. I tried to brace it way to early, and a nice loud snap. Nothing subtle about it. Pieces on the floor. So, second attempt, after a lot more reading, was better. Not great, and not shot yet. We need to get arrows first. It has been a long time since archery growing up. So, here are some images (If I can figure out how to post them). The marks on the wall are not perfect, just to give a reference. I think it is slightly out of balance and not perfectly tillered. It ended up about 66" ntn and 30-34# (as close as a cheap fish scale will read) @27".
What do you think?
The next project is going to be a pyramid hopefully around the 45# mark.