My first serious bow

[Sojan]

Hello everyone, as you can see I am new to this forum, plz tell me if I am doing anything wrong. I have been a silent reader for a little while now getting all hyped up about bows, and after making a sort of stick bow with only a knife which performed terribly, I decided to take it a bit more serious and give an actual shot at bow making. So here is my first bow! It is from a maple stave that I cut down and let air dry for a few months before splitting. I used a hatchet, knife, knife blade (as cabinet scraper) and a few junky rasps that we have lying around the garage. The hatchet was dull, so it caused a lot of tearing and inaccurate cuts which left weaknesses in the back. There was also a weakness in the stave on the upper limb, but all in all I am hoping it is not to bad. Anyway, since I  learnt everything on my own, I am here to learn, so fire away with the criticism and reproaches!!

[PEARL DRUMS]

You pretty much got it figured out yourself on this one. You have a hinge up top, bottom looks pretty close but needs more movement mid limb, and your stave was a bit wet yet. All in all, not a bad first attempt. Use a gizmo or straight edge to get your limbs bending better on the next one. Let that maple dry for another 4-6 months before you start another from it.

[PatM]

The big concern is that you appear to have used a hatchet on the back. Don't touch the back apart from peeling the bark.

[George Tsoukalas]

Congratulations on your first. Pretty neat feeling, it is .

Anyway, I agree with PD and add that the top limb is probably stronger since it is tipping towards you.

You've got a great attitude about learning.

 Jawge

[DC]

Next time when you notice your axe is dull, stop and sharpen it. Abe Lincoln apparently said,"If I was given an hour to cut down a tree, I'd spend the first forty minutes sharpening the axe."  Good job for your first though

[Sojan]

Thanks pear drums! Wow, how did you know how wet my stave was from a picture By a "Gizmo" or "Straight edge" do you mean something to tiller, or to ty the wood down as it dries? And yes, I was a little impatient, but I will let the other stave I got out of the tree dry longer

PatM Yes I did, the back is actually the center of the wood. For some reason the heart just could not take the compression, so I used the sapwood of the tree. Science that was were I split it, I wanted to try to clean it up to be flatter, but now that you say it it does sound like a terrible idea :/

Thanks allot Jawdge! And by "stronger" do you mean it is pushing the arrow harder? That's interesting, I would have thought a stiffer limb was stronger lol

Dc, yes you are absolutely correct (allong with Lincoln of course ) I did try to sharpen the hatchet, but I may have made more of a mess out of it than a good edge. I did pass it to a friend who does lots of mechanial stuff, and he said he would sharpen it for me

[PEARL DRUMS]

The pic didn't tell me it was green. The time frame you explained did. There are ways to make a stave into a bow in a few months, but I don't think that is the route you took. No biggy, let the next one dry more. It will take less set and be a snappier shooter for you.

[Strichev]

Also, get a draw knife. Draw knives are awesome. Apart from that, I would suggest you spend more time roughing out the bow, getting the tapers nice and even long before you bend it for the first time.

 I don't know about others but for me it helps to have as nice as possible bow roughed out before I start tillering. Otherwise I tend to get lost in trying to get it into shape and tiller it at the same time. Of course you can't do just one, but having a nice smooth even taper seems to make things simpler.

[bradsmith2010]

nice job for your first one,,
just keep asking questios,, we love to give advice,,
you'll get better on every one,,

[Badger]

   i broke all my early bows before I finished them so you are way ahead of me at this stage. Tell us where you live, you might be able to hook up with one of our bowyers. One or two sessions working with someone experienced can advance you a year right off the bat.

[George Tsoukalas]

Since the top limb is tipping towards you, that limb is stronger. The pressure on the handle should be just about even as you draw the bow.

I'm with Badger. I broke my early efforts or they came it too weak for hunting.

More on my site.
http://traditionalarchery101.com

Jawge

[PEARL DRUMS]

Jawgey poo I believe he is grabbing the string well above the area it should be knocked. That may be why its tipping so much.

[Eric Krewson]

Tillering gizmo;

You adjust the pencil to the deepest part of the bend on the weaker limb and run the flat side up the limb and it will mark all the stiff spots where you need to gently remove wood to get the limbs bending correctly.



Here is how to make one;

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001047#000000

[George Tsoukalas]

PD, could be but I don't thinks so. Jawge

[Sojan]

Also, get a draw knife. Draw knives are awesome. Apart from that, I would suggest you spend more time roughing out the bow, getting the tapers nice and even long before you bend it for the first time.

 I don't know about others but for me it helps to have as nice as possible bow roughed out before I start tillering. Otherwise I tend to get lost in trying to get it into shape and tiller it at the same time. Of course you can't do just one, but having a nice smooth even taper seems to make things simpler.

Yes, I am looking into getting a draw knife, but I am lingering because of many time constraints. Also, I don't want to buy a cheep one that wont last long, or go well (some seem designed to do small jobs like bark removal rather than full fledged wood carving). As for getting a good rough shape, that sounds absolutely logical, but this is all I could get with my current hatchet (of course there is still a lot of skill lacking )

nice job for your first one,,
just keep asking questios,, we love to give advice,,
you'll get better on every one,,

Haha! Thanks! I have busted a few strings already

   i broke all my early bows before I finished them so you are way ahead of me at this stage. Tell us where you live, you might be able to hook up with one of our bowyers. One or two sessions working with someone experienced can advance you a year right off the bat.

Thank you very much, that would be absolutely AMAZING, however, I am very limited by my school (yes summer too, I must catch up 1 year to enter university faster), and I also am in a small corner in Canada Quebec (around Sorel) so I doubt that would be a possibility. Thanks for the offer though!

Since the top limb is tipping towards you, that limb is stronger. The pressure on the handle should be just about even as you draw the bow.
Jawge

Ahh I see, so is this a thing that bowers actually try to do on purpous so the arrow can fly straighter? (i'm guessing making the top limb slightly shorter would work to the same effect?)

Jawgey poo I believe he is grabbing the string well above the area it should be knocked. That may be why its tipping so much.

Yes sharp eye, I do believe you are correct, thanks for pointing that out, my stances are horrid lol

Tillering gizmo;

You adjust the pencil to the deepest part of the bend on the weaker limb and run the flat side up the limb and it will mark all the stiff spots where you need to gently remove wood to get the limbs bending correctly.

I see, very interesting and simple tool! Maybe I can do that once I finish a proper tillering board!