Hazel longbow, 100# @ 28"

[FilipT]

To answer all your questions:

1. Loops are completely intact. They don't get larger and look the same as in pictures above.
2. Spectra is not fake, it was bought from legit seller. Brand is Power Pro, 300 yards.
3. Bow has now about 20 mm of reflex and it's 35 mm wide. I accidentally wrote that is 40 mm wide in the first post. Sorry for that. It was actually 38 mm and I shaved sides by 3 mm in order to get it a little bit lighter. It's 28 mm thick and 70" nock to nock.
No way that this is the monster now!
4. I will measure again draw weight again as I got new scale so I will write what it says.
5. Adjustment ring was made on lathe machine and has chamfers so it wouldn't cut the string.
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Anyways, I am still perplexed about this.

[JNystrom]

I've used power pro and stopped using it because of that insane stretch. I think the fishing braid makers lie about the true strength of the fibre. You could do a strength test for it, if you are interested in.
Spiderwire has proven a lot better when it comes to fishing braid, zero strech with that one.

[WillS]

If it's a good piece of hazel (they can vary dramatically) then at 38mm (or 35mm even - width makes very little difference to weight at this stage) and 28mm thick you're still looking at potentially 140lb or so - especially with some reflex.  At this stage the bow hasn't been drawn more than a few inches, so it's still completely fresh. 

I've got a bow in the workshop at the moment which is exactly 40mm wide and 29mm thick and it was at least 140lb last time I checked, and has no reflex.

[WillS]

Oh, and it's 76" ntn.  Yours is 70" so I'd say you're at least looking at 145lb, if not quite a bit more - but that's if it's really good hazel.

[FilipT]

@JNystrom, you may be completely right but I don't know for sure. Were you using exactly this:
http://img.tacklewarehouse.com/watermark/rs.php?path=PPSL-1.jpg&nw=302

On picture spool says 65 lbs, but I have 80 lbs one. Also 300 yds like the one on picture.

@Will S
In my experience, hazel is very weird tree. Trees that grow near each other and be of same size can have completely different properties. For example, one of my hazel flatbows came out to be 60# at the end which I wanted and under my draw knife wood seemed to be not too hard.
But one other hazel flatbow with almost the same dimensions came out at the end to be little under 50#.

This hazel was very hard to work with. I think it has much bigger SG than these two examples above. But I doubt it's above 140lb.

It's funny that people put hazel in the category of weak or even not too good bow woods, but that probably depends on location.
It's also interesting that Gibbs made really big hazel bow in order to get 150# (is that so?).

[WillS]

I think you might be surprised.  Reflex of any kind bumps the weight significantly, especially at the very beginning.  If you were confident enough to brace it at full height and draw to 25" immediately you'd see just how heavy this bow could be, but by the time you've got your eye in, worked on the tiller, missed a few minor hinges, caught them too late etc etc, that reflex will be gone, the weight will be dropping and you'll end up somewhere sensible.

You still need to get a rough estimate of weight so everybody knows what you're actually dealing with, otherwise all we can offer is supposition and guesswork.  It could be a 70lb bow or a 140lb at this point, and your approach will change dramatically depending on the answer.

I can't remember now what dimensions Joe used, but it wasn't that big.  Possibly just over 30mm deep.  It's more about how you make a bow though really.  Two people could start with the exact same stave, exact same dimensions and end up with completely different bows based on how often the bow is drawn on the tiller, how slow the process is, how well they treat the bow etc. 

[FilipT]

I pulled the bow on tiller so that the tips touched bracing line and the scale says this is around 100#. Does that mean that bow will be 100# at full draw with short string? I think I read something like that before.

Also, did a read about spectra power pro and the result is mixed opinions. A lot of people say that it stretches too much and some people say it doesn't at all. I just love contradictory opinions.

P.S.
I have already pre made FF string for 70" bows but it's endless with thin padded loops. If I were to use this, this would have slightly bigger brace height than usual as string is 66,5" long and not 67" but I could finish the tillering. On the other hand I worry that nocks will snap during tillering. I wouldn't shoot the bow with it though.
Use it or not use it???

[Del the cat]

I pulled the bow on tiller so that the tips touched bracing line and the scale says this is around 100#. Does that mean that bow will be 100# at full draw with short string? I think I read something like that before.

No!
Just to clarify and reinforce what Badger said about the long string.
If the long string just dangles down about 6" or less it will pull to the same weight and length as when braced.
IF it is a VERY long string (say dangling down a foot) it won't read right.
I recently checked this on the last warbow I made (120#)
So get a string that will just slip on to the bow. Pull it to your target draw weight and read off the draw length, that will agree pretty closely to the draw length when braced.
Del

[FilipT]

Ah, ok, I pulled with string that lay against the belly. I will pull again to the 90# and see where it it shows as draw length. I am not completely sure but I think it was about 20" where it showed about 90#.

By doing math it seems that at the 28" bow will be 141# or have I calculated wrong???
90# @ 20"
20" - brace height (6") = 14"
that means 90# @ 14" -> 90# / 14 = 6,43
28" (full draw) - 20" = 8"; 8" * 6,43 = 51,4#
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51,4# + 90# = 141,4#

[JNystrom]

Yep, it was excactly that. Try spiderwire, if you don't have anything else. Not that spiderwire is any bad, its just slippery. I have shot all my flight shoots with spiderwire and really heavy tension at brace. 80 pound 50" shorties and such.

About the poundage, just go ahead and thin the bow a lot. There is still heat treating to be done....

[FilipT]

Sh*t, guess I got fooled with that "no stretch" ads. Look I would rather wait few days for my pay pal to activate fully (waiting for my card) and order proper spool of FF bowstring material than anymore experiment with stuff that may not even work.

Regarding poundage, I am not at ease with thinning the bow yet. You know that poundage drops rapidly with each mm or less. I would rather slowly tiller and than reduce the weight than reduce the weight now and be surprised with underweight bow.

[Badger]

Felipe, your math wont work, your bow is 90# @20", braced or not braced. The string angle is what mainly influences weight, not a build up of pressure in the wood from drawing it further. Let your string hang loose a few inches when you check it instead of tight against the bow. I have been doing this for years. I keep mine on a long string all the way to 24" now and then brace. I just read the weight where it reads, no math. It is pretty accurate.

[FilipT]

But again, not talking about math, is it or is it not 90# at 20"? Btw, that math formula circulates on archery forums, that was not my invention.

[Badger]

    If you went to full brace on the bow right now I think it would be much closer to 90#@20". My string hangs a little loose and when I pull a little tension on it is usually sitting at about 5 or 6". This give me a pretty accurate assessment of my draw weight with no extra figuring.

[Badger]

   What is your target draw weight? I like to pull mine to target weight every time I put it on the tree. If it starts to take set early on you know to lower your expectations. The final few inches it is not unusual to loose a little weight to set but you want to avoid as much of that as possible.