Reflex pulling out

[zenlunatic]

Hello everyone, I'm  quite new to the world of building bows with only one under my belt. My latest project is a red oak board, bamboo backed with a little reflex/deflex steamed in. Started the tillering process today and got the bow bending quite well and even. However the more I continued tillering and the farther I drew the bow on the tillering stick a good majority of my reflex started pulling out. I left the tips fairly wide about 5/8" and was careful not to take to much wood away when tillering. In fact I left them slightly thicker than the taper of mid limb. Did I not steam in enough initial bend? I put in about 5" of initial reflex and now even at a low brace it appears almost all pulled out. Unbraced you can still see the bend but it is not as pronounced as it was before tillering. Can I use dry heat and just put some more bend into the tips, or should I just leave it alone because the tiller and draw weight is geting near perfect. By the way, I have been browsing the board for awhile and this is just an awsome community with a lot of great knowledgable folks.

[El Destructo]

Hi, Pictures would be a great help...so we  cansee what is going on....but I would not put no heat back to it now....you said that this is Backed with Bamboo....dint heat it...the Boo may separate on you...I am sure that you will get plenty of answers to this here in a bit...and most will say the same thing ....send pictures!!

[Pat B]

How long ago did you steam the stave? You may still have moisture in it. Also, when adding R/F to a backed bow, it is best to not pre-shape R/D in the stave and backing before glue-up. If you add the R/D at glue-up but without heating the effects are more acceptable as the back and belly work against each other and give added performance.
   One other thing, the boo can easily over power the red oak belly. That is not the best combo. Heavier woods like osage or ipe would be better suited for boo backing. Maple or elm would have been a better choice for the red oak.    Pat

[zenlunatic]

I steamed the board/stave about a week ago let it sit for a couple of days. I did not steam or heat the bamboo before glue up, I just sanded it down to about 1/8" and glued it up with a bunch of clamps. After the glue set it appeared to hold its shape well. I know red oak is not the best choice in wood but it's cheap and available, and I'm just a beginner. I really want to learn the ropes before digging into better wood. Thanks.

[Ryano]

Like Pat said, theres no need to steam in reflex when your using a glued on backing. Just pre taper the belly core and force the bamboo and core into shape on a form during glue up. This makes the bow hold its shape. I would recomend the Dean torges video hunting the bamboo backed osage. He covers all the information you should need to make any sort of backed bow.

[Pat B]

I'm not trying to tell you what to make or not but if you are a beginner and are wanting to learn the ropes a simple straight limbed bow would be the best, in my opinion, to learn on. The R/D design can be difficult enough for a seasoned bowyer to build and tiller. I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Using wood that is cheap and available without regard for proper design for that wood or wood combo isn't teaching you the proper methods and materials or patience. That is not the way to enjoy our craft. IMHO     Pat

[Jesse]

Welcome Zenlunatic
Like others have said. A R/d bow can be a pain. Listen to Pat B and the others they will give you a great head start. I have learned so much since I have been on this site its  amazing.like a free schooling from all the best teachers available.  post some pics        Jesse

[Rich Saffold]

Zen, The 5" of reflex is too much strain for that design and wood combination as well. Usually an inch of net reflex in an r/d design can put your bow at the top of the speed food chain Like mentioned it may have still been wet from the steaming..

These designs hold their shape better if the belly is floor tillered first and then glued up in the desired shape. Plus r/d profiles take a lot of experience to really get the performance out of them.. Much of wood bow speed is also derived from the archers skill as well, and a good on with a straight bow will outperform an average one with a tricked out bow.

If your red-oak board is straight enough for a self bow I'd try to make a few of those to get experience.. When learning, tillering lots of bows is key to developing the skills needed to be consistent and knowledgable.

Rich

[zenlunatic]

Thanks for the help and information. Like I mentioned earlier this place is a gem.  As for the bow, the tips appear a little stiffer today. Perhaps there was a little to much moister in the wood that went unoticed until I started tillering the limbs. Nevetheless, I'm going to let it sit for awhile before attempting any more work on it.  I'm confident that there is still a good bow in what I have, even if it is not exactly as I intended.  The fact that I spent my one day off from work yesterday in the garage with my 10 year old son scraping and sanding outweights anything that may be lost in bow performance.  I'll post some pics when i'm finished.