new bow and needing help!!!

[OffTiller]

well, i have almost finished an unbacked hickory mollegabet. I have it tillered better than any bow i have before and don't know what to do next. i know i need to round out the edges but am worried i am going to break another bow, which would be sad considering i have spent 2 weeks on this one. So do i round out the back side edges or leave them sharp? and any techniques that will help me not end up shaky and sad. thanks everyone.

[Crogacht]

Definitely round them a little, sharp edges concentrate stress.

If you're worried just go very gently with light sandpaper etc to take that sharp edge off and remove any tool marks.

[OffTiller]

thanks for the tip. been staring at this thing for an hour.

[huisme]

Thin the tips. No matter what step your at, the next step in making a good molly is to thin the tips

In all seriousness, now that you're sure of the tiller I'd start to be really harsh scrutinizing the tiller. Take pics, trace the profile no paper behind the bow, everything you can think of to try to find something wrong that you can fix. Better now than after it's caused set.

[mikekeswick]

Personally i'd trap it and then heat treat....but that might be a bit scary!
Don't worry about rounding the back edges off - it will make it more durable.

[DarkSoul]

The best advise I can give you if you're worried about the bow breaking, is to post plenty of pics here and listen to the guys that will give you advise. If you're not sure what to do next, we Will steer you in the right direction. You need to be hyper critical with a molly's tiller, which is especially difficult for a beginner.

[blackhawk]

Got any pics? Unbraced,braced,front profile,n drawn a lil ways..if your still new to this an experienced eye might be able to see something you can't ? 

[Wooden Spring]

I always put my bows on the router table with an 1/8" roundover bit for all of the edges. I'm lazy, and the router is quick. If you don't have a router, 80grit paper on a random orbital sander will work just fine.

[Don Case]

I always put my bows on the router table with an 1/8" roundover bit for all of the edges. I'm lazy, and the router is quick. If you don't have a router, 80grit paper on a random orbital sander will work just fine.

That doesn't sound lazy to me. Three or four passes with a scraper or sandpaper and I'd be done before you got your sander plugged in or your router bit found. For some jobs power tools ain't easier.

[Joec123able]

I always put my bows on the router table with an 1/8" roundover bit for all of the edges. I'm lazy, and the router is quick. If you don't have a router, 80grit paper on a random orbital sander will work just fine.

Sanding by hand with no powertools to round edges is pretty freakin easy

[PEARL DRUMS]

Mr Spring is a board user I believe, hence the straight edge and power tool usage. Why not, your already cheating using boards...