more newb questions

[jayman448]

hey guys. ive started floortillering a roughed our stave ive had for a while of birch. i know its a garbage wood but ive gotten this far so i figure i may as well finish it. anyways i know birch tends to eventually frett and then fail. i was wondering what i can do to combat fretting? would tillering it with more of an elliptical cross section help perhaps?

[willie]

I have made birch bows with fairly flat bellies from 2-3 in dia saplings, so trapping the back might be helpful. birch here varies from .45 to .62 S.G., so if your wood is fairly light, it could be easy to over ask too much from your stave. A light toasting helps, from what I hear

[jayman448]

i dont know if it makes any difference but the tree was large enough that it had to be split into quarters to make staves. but toasting is a good thought. any tips on toasting? ive never done that

[Pat B]

Fretting isn't caused by the type of tiller but how well the stave is tillered. It's been years since I worked birch so I don't remember much about it. I'd suggest a long, wide bow with a flat belly to start with and then be very careful about the tillering.

[willie]

jay

in another forum there was a good discussion about birch and heat treating, as I recall, there were reported benefits, but also chrysals in the long run. Maybe birch cannot be tempered to the same degree as other woods, or maybe the bowyer just   overstressed the bow? who knows. If I remember correctly, the bowyer was using a possibly lighter old world species.

elliptical cross section

I took that to mean the shape of crossection cut through the limb, ie rounded back, rounded belly. rounded edges....

if you were refering to the the tiller profile, ie. stiffer inner limbs, with bend progressing in the outer limbs, then I would agree with Pat B's comment

[jayman448]

I was referring to rounded belly rounded back shape. I dont know why but it seemed like a good idea? Haha.

[loon]

yeah, I don't know why English warbows used to have that cross section. is it more durable somehow???

[willie]

Loon

I would not say that the rounded cross section of the warbow makes it more durable because of it's shape, so much as the yew makes it durable and a rounded cross section is easier to make?  Pat B,s advice about being very careful when tillering birch may be because birch, like other less preferable bow woods, are not very forgiving when the limits of the wood are exceeded during tillering, or being overdrawn, or shot when the wood is damp, etc.  Slight mistakes with birch, can make the bow become a mediocre shooter, sooner than later.