Static advice - One more inch to go!

[bubbles]

Hi there,

Just wanted some advice - this is my first static I've attempted.   Flat sawn hickory backed with quarter sawn hickory - 2" wide at the fades, parallel limbs to mid-limb - tapering to 1" wide for the 'curves.  64" ntn shooting for 45# (when measuring recurves you measure around the recurves? not just straight nock to nock?)  I glued it up with 2" of reflex (not including the recurves) most of which has pulled out.  Just wondering what you guys think the max draw is on it? Will it make it to 28"?  I have it tillered to 26" right now and it's shooting pretty good despite still having wide tips. 
Also, what the procedure for making the string groove and narrowing the tips?  Do I just take the natural string path around the recurves after a couple shots and make that the center of my tips and narrow according to that? I still have width on the side nocks to move the string a bit to one side or the other.
Also, let me know if I'm on the right track tiller-wise. 

Thanks

[BOWMAN53]

28" for your draw is fine just go slow the last few inches.  for the string grooves, string the bow, run a pencil along the string edge where it touches the limb. unstring, and use a rat tail file between the lines. when you narrow the tips make that grrove you center line.

[BOWMAN53]

and take a few scrapes off the top mid limb.

[PatM]

Definitely get that upper limb coming round more.  28" should be no problem, especially at that width and  lower weight.

[bubbles]

Got it, thanks.    What are good dimensions for the recurves?  Is 1/2" x 1/2" too narrow for side to side stability?

[PatM]

You can go narrower if your alignment is good. The best idea is to narrow the back and leave the belly side wider. Make your string groove generous in width and depth.
 The Bob Martin style of recurve is a good reference.
 Check out page 61 for a diagram.
 http://books.google.ca/books?id=BNIlcwksKroC&pg=PA53&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

[bubbles]

Awesome, thanks Pat.

[Marc St Louis]

Tiller looks pretty good.  Just pay attention to what the bow tells you as you draw it back.  You can go as narrow as 3/8" for the recurves as long as the string tracking is impeccable.  For the string grooves do as bowman says but in addition pull the bow back, after you brace it, till the string lift off the recurves and let it down then trace a pencil mark.  A little trick I've been using for several years is to temper the recurves with dry-heat after steam bending them, it allows you to lower their mass a bit.

[BOWMAN53]

Tiller looks pretty good.  Just pay attention to what the bow tells you as you draw it back.  You can go as narrow as 3/8" for the recurves as long as the string tracking is impeccable.  For the string grooves do as bowman says but in addition pull the bow back, after you brace it, till the string lift off the recurves and let it down then trace a pencil mark.  A little trick I've been using for several years is to temper the recurves with dry-heat after steam bending them, it allows you to lower their mass a bit.

good catch Marc, i knew i was forgetting something.

[bubbles]

Thanks Marc - yeah, I shot it a couple times to find where the string settled in  and then traced the lines. The string seems to be tracking well down the grooves.  I'm going to wait to get it to full draw before narrowing the statics.

[PatM]

Keep in mind that if the recurves are glued in place with the backing your ability to heat treat them  after is minimal to none.

[bubbles]

Yeah, I wasn't going to heat treat. Don't want the glue releasing. Maybe on the next one before I glue on the backing.   I boiled the tips to bend them to the form - how long after boiling would you heat treat? Is checking a concern?

[PatM]

I've seen guys heat treat right away but I always let the wood dry. Since you are making the wood  "green" again it makes sense that it would be more prone to cracking when hit with high temperature.
 It also makes sense to clamp it so the curve is preserved. If you just try to heat treat it without doing that some woods will just give up the curve when heated.
 Elm is an exception from my experience.

[Marc St Louis]

I wait till the wood is cold after steaming, usually about 1/2 hour, then play some dry heat on the recurve while it's still on the form, from some distance so it heats up slowly.  This allows the wood to slowly bleed off any moisture that may be left in the wood from steaming,  As the wood gets hot I slowly bring the heat-gun in closer till I'm only a couple inches away from the wood.  The wood here is not going to bend so some good scorching won't do any harm, just don't set it on fire  .  It's important to keep the recurve secured for this or it will straighten out from the dry-heat.

[PatM]

After steaming I wouldn't hesitate to use dry heat but I think boiling adds too much moisture to the wood to safely do that. I'd rather not take the chance.