First Successful Build

[AniKituahBowyer]

My first 2 attempts (Black Walnut and Cherry) failed, though I think it was a design problem, in retrospect. This is my first successful build. 61" knock to knock, Osage self bow. The tillering is a little off (thin on the upper limb), and I'll probably back it to improve the draw weight (currently ~40# at 28" draw).

[willie]

AKB
welcome to the forum. a pic showing the width profile would make it easier for someone to comment about design.
short bows and cherry can certainly make for challenging projects

[PatM]

   Yikes. Not many woods will handle that except Osage. 

 Slow down the next one and get things balanced at low brace first.

[kbear]

Hi AKB. Welcome to the obsessive world of primitive bowyering. My sincerest commiserations to your family and friends...... who you will no longer have time for....... hehehehe

I feel your tiller would benefit from the use of Eric Krewsons' Tillering Gizmo. Tis basically a block of wood with a pencil stuck through it that marks flat spots on a bent limb. Have a quick search for it. It will take you ten minutes to make one, and will improve your tillering dramatically.

[Yard Dog]

Congrats on the first successful build.... You are now addicted !!!

[George Tsoukalas]

Ani, congratulations on your first . It is a wonderful feeling.

What I would do is look at  bows at full draw when I would go to 3d shoots t give me an idea of what a good tiller is.

The other thing is to go to the Bow of the Month portion of this site to get an idea good tiller.

Jawge

[Eric Krewson]

OK, the truth; Your top limb is badly hinged out of the fade, the bottom limb appears to be not bending at all from mid limb out.

My appraisal sounds harsh but you should have seen what a disaster my first bow was, it blew up after 30 shots. You are on the right track, keep at it.

PM me and I will send you a tillering gizmo, I have a few extra, not as fancy as the one in the picture but very functional.

[High-Desert]

It's good to see newer guys posting their first bows. This a great way to learn and get the needed constructive criticism that will make you better. Ok your next bow, like George said, look at the BOM section and find a bow with a similar design and try to mimic the tiller. Good job and what a great start.

[bjrogg]

Congratulations AKB and welcome to PA. It's a great feeling to shoot your first bow. It's very addictive and always something more to learn. I agree with Eric's critique and though it may seem like a harsh assessment it is a honest one. This is one of the most important and difficult parts of building a bow. It must be tilered properly to last and perform to its potential. Having said that very few of us have properly tilered our first bow. Learn as much from this one as you can. Watch to see how it does or doesn't hold its shape. I suspect it will take a lot of set right out of the upper limb. If you look at your full draw picture you can see how the upper limb is bending a lot just a couple inches out of the fades. This is called a hinge and must be avoided at all cost. If you have a spot bending to much don't remove ANY wood from that spot until everything is bending evenly again. Also it may or may not work for you but I think most of us anchor closer to the corner of our mouths and it appears that your closer to your ear. There are horn bow and flight bow shooter who do anchor at their ear and if it works for you I don't want to mess you up.
All n all not a bad first bow. I'm sure you will build another if you haven't started already. I look forward to seeing it and thanks for posting.
Bjrogg

[AniKituahBowyer]

Thanks, All! I really appreciate the feedback!

Yes. I am now officially addicted. Have been since going to a cornstalk shoot in Talequah, OK, back in October. 

Yes, my wife has noticed my absence and much negotiation has taken place to get me the time I need in the workshop.   

To the tillering: Did about an hour of target practice with it before receiving everyone's comments and it held up okay over ~50 or so arrows. I revised the tiller last night (see pics 1&3 below). Thoughts?

Dimensions: 1 3/4 wide at its widest point (see 2nd pic for taper) 64" overall. I'm proceeding with a little decoration, laying in crow feathers on the back with tite bond III and covering that with lacquer.

Thanks for the welcoming messages and constructive criticism! I've been lurking here for quite a while, and it feels good to be part of the community.

[AniKituahBowyer]

Oh! and thanks for the tip about the corner of the mouth  :-)

[willie]

Looks a lot better.

I see white knuckles on the bow hand in both pics. Maybe it's just the lighting but could you have been torquing the top limb forward in the first pic?

Did you see some interesting bows at Talequah?

[Philipp A]

I agree with willie, this looks a lot better. You have made a lot of progress on the tiller! I think you should still either narrow or thin the outer limbs a bit , since I think you still have a lot of strain on the bow just past the fades.

[AniKituahBowyer]

Thanks, Fellas!

Phillip, being so new to this, I'm kinda nervous about taking too much off. Any suggestions for a ball park?

[Yard Dog]

Tiller looks much improved..... Doing a good job..... That's what I did when I started..... These guys are great at giving you advice, even if it stings a bit... lol