Question before retillering

[JW_Halverson]

There are lots of people on this forum that will help you through your first efforts.

Ya got that right!  You got a lot of expertise at your fingertips and they are willing to walk you thru this.  Some say it is called "passing it along", others are less poetic and a bit more brutally honest.  We are "enabling" you into the addictive craft of bowmaking!

[Blaflair2]

After seeing the pic I'd strongly suggest on just starting over. An 1/8" maple backing with good grain would be good. U can make a nicer bow from a 5$ board at lowes. This site is oozing info, any questions ask.

If u wanna make that bow I feel it's like kicking a dead horse. Good luck and welcome

[bubby]

I'm not going to tell you not to do the redo, my suggestions for a hard backing is maple and trap it use inner tunes and wrap it instead of clamps, and then place it back side down on a straight board and  clamp the tips down so it is flat, just don't expect to make a silk purse from a sows ear, good luck, bub

[mikekeswick]

I think it's a waste of time too. The wood is already damaged. However I also see the value in using it as a learning tool just for the heck of it.
If I had to 'fix it' then getting the back flat, cutting to 68 inch, flattening the belly, possibly heat treating the belly (before gluing on the backing!!) and using either an ash or maple back somewhere around 3/16th would be the way to go.
It will never be a fast bow now but you could have some fun with it 

[Blob]

Heat treated it last night.  The form has ~3" of reflex.  Looks like it managed to keep ~1".  I'll be gluing the backing on flat.  I'll also be shortening it a few inches.

[bubby]

how long did you leave it on the form after heating

[BOWMAN53]

I'd leave the length.

[Blob]

Left it for close to 2 hours.

[bubby]

Next time leave it on the form longer, I wait till the next day

[Bearded bowyer]

Hi 
This is the sort of thing I love!
Don't listen to all the 'bin it' comments  . see what you can really do with it.
If It was my project I would massively thin out the tips. From the look of the bend in the photos, there is little bend in the outer half of each limb.
Back it with a good piece of hickory and get tillering.
It doesn't matter if it is fast or slow, or what it looks like. Just get it shooting the best you can, and enjoy the whole process. 
We are all so obsessed with chasing the ultimate performance, that we forget what it is all about.....
The love ( and obsession ) of making bendy sticks
Best of luck
Matt

[Blob]

It doesn't matter if it is fast or slow, or what it looks like. Just get it shooting the best you can, and enjoy the whole process. 

Thanks Matt this was my goal all along.

Did the glueup on Friday night.  Used 1/8" Maple and TBIII.  No pics this time.  The back side of the same form that I used for heat treating is perfectly flat.  I clamped the tips and the center and wrapped it with twine.  Left it on the form overnight then put it in my furnace closet till yesterday afternoon.  Currently has approx 1/2-3/4" of reflex.  Just bending it on the floor indicates the draw weight is up consideribly.  Will be a couple days before the next update.

On a side note, this is what I did yesterday:

[Blob]

So now that it is glued up.

Layout is currently 63" ttt, 1/2" at the tips, 1 1/2" in the center.  Parallel for 10.5", tapers to 1 9/16" at 21", and then to 1/2" for the final 10.5" of each limb.

Good, Bad, Ugly?

The bottom line in the photo is the center line.

[BOWMAN53]

Bad. Multiple run ups

[adb]

It's hard to tell for sure, but it looks like you didn't pick an ideal piece of wood for your backing strip. Looks like the grain has multiple run-offs throughout its length.

[Blob]

Do you guys even realize how negative you are?   This is what I have to work with.  The backing strip was given to me from what was available at the time.  You are taking away any bit of joy that I am trying to have in building and sharing a bow, even if it does turn out to be a failure.  I do not have the resources that most of you have, I am doing all of the work on my kitchen counter!

I'm not expecting perfection from this bow, I just wanted it to be better than it was.

All I wanted to know in this latest update is if the layout was decent or if I should do it differently.