Hickory Bow... back at it after two years

[Johnny K]

Some progress!

I finally got my draw-knife and started roughing out. At first I had planned to ignore the grain and just make the bow straight. Then, I got a little more courage and adjusted my layout to accommodate the snake in one end... and while I was working on the other, my draw-knife slid along the grain, and I thought, "Oh, well, may as well follow the grain here too..." So, both tips of the bow are snaky, which I think is pretty awesome.

The pencil line on the first picture marks 1/2" from the back... any rule of thumb for how thick it should be for a 60# bow?
The width is 2" for half the working limb, then a straight taper to 1/2" at the nocks (I went with your suggestion, PEARL DRUMS, thanks for that tip, I think it looks great!).

Another question: What tools should I use to get it closer to final thickness?
My draw-knife sometimes lifts a splinter which results in a groove in the belly... kind of worried it might go to deep and ruin everything all of a sudden. Am I using it wrong or should I use some other tool? On my last bow I used an improvised table sander for most of the shaping, would that be a good idea here too?

Thanks,
John

[Peacebow_Coos]

Good deal!  at 72 you probably want to leave it fairly thick, I remember guys saying around 3/4 and that has worked for me with most woods, I use a ferriers rasp to come down to my lines each edge at an angle then rasp off the remaining ridge left in the middle of the belly.  Half round rasp works good for the radius in the fades.  Might wait for others to chime in on the thickness, is it a pyramid style?

[alwayslookin]

Use a card scraper or hold your drawknife at a 90 degree angle and take off nice curls or a rasp

[chef-d405]

Hickory is my preferred medium. It makes a great bow. You are off to a good start. Take your time. Don't be afraid to put it down for a bit. Most of my bow failures early on were the result of getting impatient and not stepping back to examine my work closely.

[burchett.donald]

 Johnny,
             I like what you done, following the grain on those tips...That's going to be / is a looker bud Awesome start man! I'll keep watching this build...
                                                                                                                                 Don

[Johnny K]

Peacebow_Coos,
Thanks for responding! It's not a pyramid bow, the limbs are a full 2" wide for half their length, and then taper "pyramidally" to half inch tips, so I think 3/4" might be a tad too thick. I have it down to about 5/8" now, and it still doesn't feel ready to bend... Anyway, we'll see I guess.

alwayslookin,
Thanks, I'll try that.

chef-d405,
Thanks for the tip. Yup, I try to take a break now and then... Wouldn't want to ruin anything out of impatience...

burchett.donald,
Thanks! It feels really good to know you have an experienced bowyer "looking over your shoulder"! And, btw, it was your first comment that encouraged me to try following the grain, thanks for that! I'm glad I did. 

Will post some pics when I make progress,
John

[Johnny K]

Any more suggestions on thickness anybody? Otherwise I may end up removing LOTS of wood with a scraper, afraid at any moment to go to deep... 

[Blaflair2]

Just kee flexing it, get it bending, put on a long string and get it being more. Brace it low and get it bending more. Brace it higher till u get to brace height and get it bending the rest of the way. That easy  go slow

[aaron]

step AWAY from the drawknife! a rasp is your best tool now. go slow. The next 1/8 inch  of wood removal will take a long time.

[Johnny K]

Blaflair2,
Thanks for the comment. yea sounds real easy. I guess my real problem is patience then...

aaron, Thanks for the tip. I've stopped using my draw-knife, and am learning to use a rasp. Taking a while, but I've almost arrived at a floor tiller. Looking pretty good so far.

Will post some more pictures when I get it bending a little more,
John

[Johnny K]

Hi everyone,

It is about two years since my last post here... but I never dumped the bow, just got real busy with work, school, University etc. I kept it sitting in the corner, and yesterday finally picked it up again.
I made considerable progress yesterday and today, here are some pictures. I have pulled the bow to full draw, am pretty close to desired weight.

-How's the rough tiller? Maybe get the top 1/4 of the upper limb bending a bit more?

-About the arrow shelf... dare I go deeper?

-The upper parts of the limbs have a bit of deflex (natural shape of the stave)... Leave it be or try to shape/reflex?


As always, any tips/criticism welcome!

[Johnny K]

Couple more pics...

[loon]

Nice. I would leave the shelf alone.. don't wanna risk it. Looks deep enough already.

[upstatenybowyer]

The tiller looks okay, but maybe a little whippy? I think I would have left the last 5-6" of the outer limbs a little stiffer, but maybe a few scrapes of the inners could take a little stress off the outers? Just my thoughts. 

[Johnny K]

Thanks for the feedback, I will leave the shelf be... About the tiller, yea, I think part of the reason it looks whippy is that both tips have some deflex from the natural shape of the stave...

I have sanded out my rasp marks, went over the belly twice with 80 grit, and have carefully sanded away any cambium that remained on the back with 180 grit.

One of the pictures I'm attaching is a side-profile. You can see a slight bit of limb twist near the tips (possibly a tillering mistake), and the aforementioned deflex. Is there an easy/safe/beginner way to get rid of the deflex? I have never used heat or steam on a bow, should I risk it or just leave it as is and proceed to stain and seal the bow?

Oh, and should I round the belly at all? It is currently pretty flat, but I can afford to lose a few pounds if it would improve performance/arrow speed.

Thanks in advance for any comments!


Edit: I guess the limb twist could not possibly be a tillering mistake if it's visible on the unstrung bow, lol.