80@28 hickory board. Finished pics and FD.

[icu812]

I picked up a flat sawn 1x4" by 8' hickory the other day that had flawless grain orientation. The mill  skimmed the top of the half circle growth rings perfectly and had on excellent orientation on all sides. The tree (a rather large one) must have went through at just the right angles. Not one single grain violation on any of the 4 sides. Laser straight rings.

 Anyway, I roughed it out at 65 ntn, 66 ttt, 2 inches wide tapering straight to 1/4 tips. Trapped the back 40% for the whole length. Stiff handle with 4" glued on handle riser and some maple tip overlays. It's 1/2 thick its entire length. Just got it on the long string, tight when the bow is at rest, and its pulling 65# at 20"!! This bow is apparently pulling well over 100# if braced and drawn to 28". I was going for 75# finished, but dang! I've never had one of this dimension pulling so heavy. My last hickory from a board was the exact same dimensions and finished 68@28 pretty much right out of the gate. Anyone got any ideas? Is this board a freak of nature? Reducing the belly as I speak.

[bradsmith2010]

i would say by my calculations, the bow would pull about  85 @ 28 and then would loose 5 pounds at shooting in , giving you your 80 at 28 and some room to fine tune the tiller,, ,, you would make your goal of 75,,,if you are careful with the tiller

[icu812]

Maybe I'll just keep pushing it then. 80 would be fine with me! The tiller looks spot on so far. Pics later today if it survives.

[icu812]

Here it is at 20 with 3" brace. The photo is slightly off balance but the limbs are currently pulling equal distance

[bradsmith2010]

I am not very good a tiiler by photo, I hope some others chime in,, but I feel like it is bending a bit much close to the fades,, and it could bend a bit more mid limb out,,

[icu812]

24" with 3" brace. Work outer thirds a little maybe? This will only be my third shooter out of a dozen attempts if it survives. Still pretty new to this game!

[icu812]

That's what I was thinking too. Outer half/third.hasnt taken any set so far so at least I haven't stressed it too bad yet! I know pyramids Are supposed to take the most abuse close to the fades cuz that's where the most wood is,but I have a hard time determining just how much of the load to place on them

[JoJoDapyro]

Looks like outer thirds to me. Try taking a photo against a solid dark background.

[half eye]

I agree with Mr. Jo Jo, outter half isn't doing it's fair share. That should give you the draw ya want without giving up too much power.(IMO)
rich

[Del the cat]

+1 It's looking like a Molly at the moment 
Del

[icu812]

Here it is at brace...just finished shooting it in. Finished 80@28 (good call bradsmith). Flipped it a few times to see which way it shot best. Ended up shooting great with 1/8 positive tiller. LAUNCHES my 850 grain bamboos. I wish I had a chrono. This thing is blistering fast and by far my best shooter to date. I've given away all my tried and true selfbows to family, so The only thing I currently have to compare it to is a 60# samick sage with 650g arrows. No comparison! The hickory board outperforms the sage hands down.

I've  only made a dozen bows, all unbacked boards, and 4 or so became shooters..two of which have survived a year+ and thousands of shots. A couple met their demise after a few hundred arrows. I'm uploading a video of the hickory shooting so i can get a little tiller critique before I finish it and wrap the handle. Thanks for all the help so far.

[Sidewinder]

That bow is looing good. Lets see how it finishes out. I'm sure its gonna be a dandy.

[icu812]

Here it is. 5 shots at 28". I really hope some more experienced eyes approve of the tiller cuz it sure shoots sweet! It seems to me like the upper limb is a little week mid limb, but it only looks that way from one side (laying down string facing me) and I think it's the prop twist playing tricks on my mind. If I flip it (laying down string facing away) the tiller looks spot on.

Here's the vid. There is no nock point on the string and no reference point on the handle so I was just wingin' it. Nocked them a little high looks like. Should get the point across for tiller check though.

http://youtu.be/dQhgJEqQ0C0

[Sidewinder]

Man that one looks great. I did'nt freeze frame the FD but it sure looks good me. Nice job on that.  Danny

[Zedd]

I am considering building a board bow and this looks like a great start. Would my first bow be best selected from a great piece of board such as you describe. I am thinking it would by minimizing the need for creative tillering. Considering how great your bow turned out, what else should I be looking for when shopping for a board? Besides straight grain, and not cutting through a grain (grain violation?), is there a certain number of rings/inch that would give me the best chance of success? What else should I be looking for? Thank you for your time.