First ash bow- advice

[richpierce]

 (oops this belongs under Bows)

I am making my first bow.  I want it to pull about 55 pounds at 29".  I guess it's not any particular classic style.  I just want a successful bow that shoots well and doesn't break.   Right now it's probably overbuilt. 71" nock to nock, 1 and 7/8" at the fades, 7/16" wide at the tips.  It's not straight but the string comes across the handle.  The stave developed a natural reflex while drying.  I have not done any bending of the stave.  Here are some pictures.  I don't have another bow to judge floor tillering so I think it is too stiff.  It takes quite a bit of pull just to get it to begin to bend on the tillering stick.  I think about 40 pounds and it's not bent far enough to brace yet.







I once tried to make a bow of ash and it broke.  I didn't know muich and think I had a hinge and didn't go slowly.

Questions:
1) Will I be OK with the natural reflex?
2) Should I bother to try to straighten the bow?
3) Should I take it to desired finish weight at brace height, check the tiller, then take wood off uniformly, get more draw?

Other helpful hints appreciated. This is a great site.

[Holzwurm]

Hi,

I've worked with Ash in the past before and basically 3/4 of the Staves that I have now are Ash, so hopefully I can be helpfull. You'll find that as Ash/Oak/Hackberry dry they tend to bend in whatever direction they like - as do most woods. Either you can let them do their own thing as it dries and then worry about it the bending after, or you can put it in some sort of a jig as it dries to ensure that it doesn't bend too severely to the point where it is no longer any use.

As that is not an option for you, i'd reccomend trying to bend the bow in the opposite way, either via a heat gun or from steaming the bow. I've never really had alot of luck with starting from a straight stave and making a Ash bow without some sort of steaming. You'll find that 3/4 times it will break. Steam and bend the bow and then get back to work and it should work out for you. If you do not have any apparatus for steaming the bow, then you could probally just soak it in salt water for a few hours (Ash will suck up water like nobody's business) put it in some sort of a jig and then either let it dry or heat gun it for a little while. You'll find you'll have alot more suscess with just steaming the bow than soaking it in water (not to mention that method is infamous for your stave splitting so I'd generally reccomend leaving it oversized when you do this step)

That's just what I'd do however, It's your bow so make it so.