Take your time, don't rush lesson learned..... bow in progress

[jamesh76]

I had 1 decent oak board in the garage after my first bow made. I wanted a 62" bow. Measured, laid it out. Glued on handle to find out I was on the wrong line..... I probably could have shortened 1 limb and leave it a inch longer than the other. However with only 1 bow under my belt, I decided to even it out a and use 58" of board length.  That is awful short for a 27" draw. Going with 40# and will see if I can get it done. I really need a little more work space. I had one edge of each limb a tad thicker than the other. It showed a little limb twist when braced. I'm not very good at sharpening cabinet scrapers but I got it to shave a little and believe I have the limbs evened out. Currently at 14" and 40#. Gonna take it slow with the tillering. Not sure I will be able to get it to 27". Cpuld go.down in weight but it would probably have alot of set.  I also have that junked piece of osage on my caul. Trying to straighten out 1 limb to get string tracking better on the handle. Loving this!

[jamesh76]

Left side needs work midlimb out, right needs some as well towards tip I believe.   Gizmo marked them spots as well as just off fades.  The fade area is hard to for me to get with scraper. May get the rasp out near the fades.

[bownarra]

Yes it is a fun craft to learn.
You could've left one limb a bit shorter after your misglued handle. The shorter limb would be the lower limb. I prefer my bows made like this.
The left limb is bending too much in the inner mid section, with the limb past this area being too stiff. You need to remove some wood in the fades/inner limb and also address the area from mid limb out to the tip. Your right limb is better but still with the same issues.
Have you got the bow braced yet?

[bownarra]

I also see that your handle to limb thickness fade is to much of a straight line. You need to make the transition from handle thickness to working limb concave. It is important to do this early on before bending it much. An incorrect taper increases stress on your glueline.

[bownarra]

Also pushing a 58 inch bow to a 27 inch draw will not be pretty! Go to 24 with it and don't ask too much. Somebody with a shorter draw might like a gift if it doesn't suit you.

[jamesh76]

Yes it is a fun craft to learn.
You could've left one limb a bit shorter after your misglued handle. The shorter limb would be the lower limb. I prefer my bows made like this.
The left limb is bending too much in the inner mid section, with the limb past this area being too stiff. You need to remove some wood in the fades/inner limb and also address the area from mid limb out to the tip. Your right limb is better but still with the same issues.
Have you got the bow braced yet?

Thanks, That is what I was seeing also and where the Gizmo marked on the inner limbs.  I braced it at 5 3/4"

I think I will tiller it to 24" as you recommend, 27" is just too much.  My daughter could shoot it, but I would have to lower the poundage for her. Doing so, it would probably take some set since I went to 40# already.  She would need about 32# @ 24.

[jamesh76]

I also see that your handle to limb thickness fade is to much of a straight line. You need to make the transition from handle thickness to working limb concave. It is important to do this early on before bending it much. An incorrect taper increases stress on your glueline.

Yeah, I see that now that you pointed it out.  I need to scrape into the belly right after that handle some.

[RyanY]

Going down in draw weight will actually prevent set. That draw length is not impossible for the bow length but the limbs will be more thin to get to that desired bend radius. Thus, you would probably need more width to get the desired draw weight. If you keep the draw weight up, you will be asking for more work from the amount of wood you have over-stressing it. For an 8" stiff handle and fades for a 58" bow you will probably need 2.25" width to mid limb or more to get to 40# draw weight. The bow will stack quite a bit at the end of the draw due to the increasing string angle.

[jamesh76]

Going down in draw weight will actually prevent set. That draw length is not impossible for the bow length but the limbs will be more thin to get to that desired bend radius. Thus, you would probably need more thickness to get the desired draw weight. If you keep the draw weight up, you will be asking for more work from the amount of wood you have over-stressing it. For an 8" stiff handle and fades for a 58" bow you will probably need 2.25" width to mid limb or more to get to 40# draw weight. The bow will stack quite a bit at the end of the draw due to the increasing string angle.

thank you!. Learning more everyday from members here. I appreciate and learn from the feedback. Thanks

[jamesh76]

Just ordered TBB volume 1 & 2.  This should  help some. I will eventually have the whole set.

[jamesh76]

Got my osage and staves put up finally. Now back to this bow. 30@15 going for 30@24/25. Been fighting a little bit of limb twist I think I got the strong edge down pretty good. Right lumbar looks funny. Gizmo is showing mid limb both sides and tips. Does it look ok coming out of the fade now? That's tough for me to eyeball. Brace is 6.25 at fades almost even on each fade.

[willie]

James,
 If you had a chalkboard behind the bow, you could trace the limbs bend then flip the bow and compare. you should be able to easily see differences at less draw than you have the string pegged at now.

[jamesh76]

Yeah, I need a better backdrop. If you look behind the workbenches on the wall you can see lines I drew when I planned to put it there. I'm getting there on this one. I usually flip the picture and impose it.

[jamesh76]

Dang left limb. Shows stiff mid limb with gizmo