Underweight plum

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

I AM working on a pyramid plum bow and It is ready under weight  alot close to full draw, i think its not even pulling 20 lb.. im going to Heat threat It for the second time and try to add reflex in It... If that wont do It i think im going to cut the recurves off my broken elm bow and glue Them on. Annyone have some input?

[bownarra]

Yes...….start again.

[Del the cat]

Glue on a belly or back lamination, it won't need to be very thick.
Del

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

Glue on a belly or back lamination, it won't need to be very thick.
Del

what would you suggest? I only have hand tools, i think it would Cost less time to make a new bow dont It?

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

This is It, i quit working on this one, It gained a bit of weight, un-even reflex, f*#+ed up tiller but It atleast launch arrows.  Hope its going to last long enough till my next bow is done so i dont get in a rush..
Gonna need to search for some material for cauls and so

[Del the cat]

Glue on a belly or back lamination, it won't need to be very thick.
Del

what would you suggest? I only have hand tools, i think it would Cost less time to make a new bow dont It?

IMO That's just lazy thinking .
You only need to make the mating surfaces flat, and can be done with a plane and rasp. The rest is tillering.
Allow me to tell a story..
I made a boo backed yew primitive for my mate JT... 120#
It lasted a couple of years, then I noticed a nasty crack in the riser.
I cut that off and glued on a deeper riser of Walnut from an old table top... which just split in half... I think it was a generic cheap hardwood stained to like like walnut.
So, I cut a narrow trench in the belly at the grip and let in a trip of bamboo edge on (like an I beam) and then glued on an Ash grip...that was fine.
A few months later, he was demonstrating the bow and I noticed a crack in the bamboo going 1/3 of the way across the limb about 10" from the tip.
I let in a strip of boo, ending at one of the nodes... I noticed when I did it that the glue wasn't the same colour as normal when mixed and didn't seem to wet the surface as well as normal.
That repair started to lift.... so I took the entire bamboo back off with a draw knife and sanded down the surface, I made a new bamboo back.
I got it on the tiller and herad a "Tick" at 80#.... the boo was lifting and the glue line was no good. I pushed a knife into the gap and it parted like undoing a zip.... the glue was no good.
I'm currently waiting for some new glue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7B960-IA1U&t=10s
So does that show I'm a stubborn idiot or that I have patience, persistence and a willingness to experiment, improve my skills and learn?
I think we learn more from the failures than the successes.
Power tools save some time and save wear and tear on ones old elbows... they are no substitute for skill and patience.

I'm not trying to preach... make your own decisions for your own reasons. 
Del

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

Wow del, that for sure show some hard Will.
The thing is, i Just really want a decent bow so i have something to do when im walking with my dog because when we are out in the nature, she Just go her own way and all she think about is search for moving things. Once i have a decent bow i Will have all the Patience needed to make and break uncountable bows.

[bownarra]

Wow del, that for sure show some hard Will.
The thing is, i Just really want a decent bow so i have something to do when im walking with my dog because when we are out in the nature, she Just go her own way and all she think about is search for moving things. Once i have a decent bow i Will have all the Patience needed to make and break uncountable bows.

Yes I've done all that sort of stuff too and to each his own now I know the best way is to start again unless there is something very special about a broken bow.
There is a saying that goes like - you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear
When a bow starts going south it starts looking like a sows ear to me.
The best way to make a good bow is SLOWLY
Your picture shows good enough limb balance but the limbs are only bending in the middle. This iwhy you are getting set and coming in under weight. The load MUST be spread along the entire limb, each part doing its share of the work. If you don't get this key principle right you will keep coming in under weight or get a lot of set.
Your best bet is to get a stave roughed out and to a heavy floor tiller. Post pictures every step of the way and you are much more likely to succeed with everybodies combined years of tiller expertise.

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

Bow n ara, i Will do that but for now i cant decided wich stave il take. I dont want to mess up my best ones but on the other hand.. the best ones have more chance to succeed. I have some elm staves, varying from 2 inch to 7inch or so, a few yew staves but i dont think they seasoned long enough, bird Cherry, 2 wilde hazel staves,some hawthorn, 1 plum stave and 2 Bullets and 2 black locust staves. Wich one would be good to try and wich design you'l would opt? It Will be mostly for target shooting, not that It is a must to have high draw weight but It gives me a thrill if An Arrow jams into a target like a rocket

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

I think i made my choise, the bird Cherry. From the side It have slight reflex deflex. And front view is pipe straight. Its 68 inch long and 2 and a half inch in diameter. I tried a thinner stick of It in the past and its really tough and springy. I Will open a new topic for It when i get It slightly bending