Hickory flat bow help question

[Don W]

This hickory bow has been a challenge. Some due to my mistakes, and some I only have theories on, but  still probably my mistakes.

But I might have possiblity overcome the mistakes, which brings me here.

First I got in a hurry tillering and realized I wasn't going to hit my 50# target, so I stopped at about 42#@26", then I recurved the tips with steam and heat treated the belly with the heat gun.

That raised the draw weight so much I couldn't get it strung. Instead of going back to a longer tillering string, the stubborn German took over, and in stringing, it flipped backwards, bent it backwards and snapped the tip. Yes I've had bows try to teach me this lesson before. Maybe I actually learned this time.

So I shorten it, but the tip still seemed week. After trying to build up the tips with some laminated stripped and failed, I found a simple side nock fixed the issue.

I tillered it, but by the time I got here it wasn't bending through the handle as much as I wanted.

Next point, this bow seems extremely accurate for me as it sits. I've only shot it 6 or 8 times but at 20yards they were all in the plate, and I wasn't really paying attention.

So after all that the question.
Is it possible to work the handle and fades, get them bending, without loosing draw weight? It seems logically it would work, but logical doesn't always apply. I'm not sure I want to try, or just shoot it some more to see where it goes.

[RyanY]

Working the handle and fades would decrease the draw weight.

[Eric Krewson]

When I have a bow well tillered an it is still over poundage i often drop the poundage with just a little more bending into the fades.

[Pat B]

That section of any bow is where most of the strain is because of the leverage of the limbs. I usually tiller the outer 2/3 of of the limb and then bring the bend back into the fades.

[Don W]

I worked the fades and the handle. I got it down so I can feel the bend in the handle, which is what I was hoping for. If it lost draw weight it wasn't enough to see it on the scale, which seems to follow my thought process. Now to shoot it in a bit

[NonBacked]

That first picture looks like a pretty good shooter. What was the final draw weight? Could you post a close-up picture of your fix on the side knocks?

[Don W]

That first picture looks like a pretty good shooter. What was the final draw weight? Could you post a close-up picture of your fix on the side knocks?

[Don W]

...

[Don W]

54#@28"
I just chrono'ed it with a 509 gr arrow 2 shots, both 161fps. I'll take it! Now to see how long it last