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[---GUTSHOT--->]

That bow is looking good there Rich. I'd like to he the story's  all those rasps and files could tell.

[half eye]

Gutshot....yes sir, a couple of them is older than me....they probably got up to no good way before I got 'em ......ya sure
rich

Hope your sonr and daughter still crankin them bows back....is she getting used to the "fat" grip yet?

[Ranasp]

Alright, I followed the cracks that were already in the wood and now have something a bit closer to staves, albeit sloppy ones.  First pic shows the four splits I got, the rightmost and leftmost seem to be the ones to go for now.  Narrowing it down to those two, I don't like how blurry the ring looks on the right one although it's off to the right side of it and it looks like there's plenty of material to work with on the left of it.  The leftmost stave looks (to my uneducated eye) to be the best of the lot, the rings look regular and clean.

 On all of them I can clearly see where the sapwood is a different color from the heartwood.  So I should just knock off about the outermost three rings?  (yeah, "just"!  I'm sure it will be that simple. )

[half eye]

Ranasp, looks either one will work very well....but for your first I would recommend going with your first instinct. Also if you have picked out the "bow part" of it cut her down to close to size and save some ring chasing....if not then chase the whole thing and then decide, getting the sapwood off will also give a more concise view of what you have for sure.

As an aside: those logs were cut a long time ago, meaning to get a good judgement of rings it would behoove you to make a fresh cut on the ends (saw off a thin slab) so you can get an accurate opinion.
rich

[---GUTSHOT--->]

Gutshot....yes sir, a couple of them is older than me....they probably got up to no good way before I got 'em ......ya sure
rich

Hope your sonr and daughter still crankin them bows back....is she getting used to the "fat" grip yet?

Oh ya her hand and the bow has become one.

[Ranasp]

As an aside: those logs were cut a long time ago, meaning to get a good judgement of rings it would behoove you to make a fresh cut on the ends (saw off a thin slab) so you can get an accurate opinion.
rich

You're quite right, they were cut some time ago and left to cure in a corn crib.  I'll knock off the ends and see what comes up. 

[---GUTSHOT--->]

Ranasp on that black locus, I always hatchet that sap wood and bark off. Also BL is notorious for pin knots. I don't worry a thing about the ones In The sap wood but when you get a chasing a ring make sure you don't violate it around the knots. I just put a circle about the size of a quarter Around them and leave all of that. tyen after I finish my ring up I go back and ease off that wood around those pin knots.

[half eye]

OK fellas,
      When I was working the bow on the floor the one limb was slightly stiff just inside the recurve. So I slowly worked that to a point where it looked like even bends at a low brace...then bent it some more and rechecked and needed a slight tweek but got it so I was happy with the evenness of the bends. (took 3 pics the first 2 are before the final tweek with the bow inverted from pic to pic.....then the last bow pic is after I felt satisfied with the profile.
     At this point since I want at least 70# @ 30 inch I needed to get an idea about where I was weight wise. I'm going to explain how I go about that (at this point) please dont think I'm professing it...it is just the way I do it.
      Since I dont want to induce unnecessary set or other damage here at low brace I like to have an idea of what the bow should be at lower weight draw. What I do is say I want 70# @ 30 so I take 2/3 of both numbers.....2/3 of weight is 47# and 2/3 of draw is 20" so as a guide I worked the bow back to 50# which occured at 17 inches.....so I'm going to stop pulling the bow any further untill I sand down the belly (tiller) and the weight comes into range at 20" of draw.....then I'll work it back more untill I hit full draw.
 Many not be the normal way but it works for me.
rich

[PlanB]

grateful for your working methods, Rich. It definitely helps.

[half eye]

PlanB,
      I am sort of reluctant sometimes because I dont want to get someone on the wrong footing. Personally, my tillering improved greatly when I stopped chasing "miniature" corrections. By that I mean instead of working small areas to fix perceived problems I started looking at the bow as a whole thing. Like if ya see a hinge starting by starting on the strong limb you can get a true picture of the remaining hinge that actually needs to be corrected......but if you go right for the hinge and get it straightened out then go to the strong limb you wind up removing way more wood than was truly necessary.
     When one limb bends more than the other, as you weaken the strong you are simultaneously strengthening the other and the limb bends start "coming together". That is pretty straightforward....but keep that in mind also when looking at localized problems such as hinges and stiff spots.
     Essentially my mind is looking at the tree line and not so much the individual tree, if that makes any sense.
rich

[jandersson]

half eye, PlanB:
I was going to sinew it because of a bunch of pin knots on the back that I don't trust also I need to get it to an pretty decent DL. Would you recommend tone down the reflex a little?  I already took it down to 3" and was hoping to tiller some out of it or is that a bad thing to do? I want to make it a bendy handle would that affect what I want to do with the reflex? And my last question just to double check, when the bow is on the tillering tree you measure the DL from belly side of the handle right?
Thanks for all your patience guys!

[half eye]

Mr. Andersson,
       No patience involved sir. Was just trying to keep you from paintin yourself into a corner is all. If the backing is a matter of insurance against the pin knots you could back it with thin rawhide, or silk, or some such......if sinew is what you have then use it. If you do go with the sinew go only one good layer and maybe a small band down the center of the long axis (would be a narrow second layer).
      By having the small localized center reflex you may not get all of it come out as you draw the bow which is no big deal as the bow could be tillered into the classic 5 curve (gullwing) shape. My only concern is that by using sinew you are increasing draw weight and performance....if you go with something like rawhide then the bow is basically a protected self bow and would be easier for you to tiller out in the normal fashion.
      Wait to see what PlanB has to say because he may have a better idea for you.
rich

[David Ewing]

Ok... I'm at a stopping point. I almost have the hinge gone, but I've got a new problem... 

One of the limbs is more reflexed than the other. It's almost 2" more reflexed than the other. I have been talking with another bowyer, and he told me to reflex the not reflexed limb to be equal with the other. He also said to wipe Olive oil on the spot I was going to heat, then heat it so it did not burn the wood. My question is... Is that what I should do? Also, we're should I heat the limb to do this?

[half eye]

David,
      Please put up a couple of pics, nobody can give you advice blind.....thanks bud
rich

[PlanB]

Not at all Rich -- I don't have a worthwhile opinion on backing at all. My only thought was it seemed like a short working section. But I don't know the draw length, wood properties, with or without backing, so maybe it's fine. If the lilac and backing combo can handle the handle reflex plus the stiff tips on that 22" per limb working section for the draw length, then it would be a very fast bow, I bet. I'm not radical enough in the bows I've built to know, so still worried about chrysaling and compression problems in unbacked black birch. It maay not be the best wood to compare with lilac either. Kind of an unknown I'm just finding out about.