Ok. Well , with this bow trade endeavor, I've learned a ton about my bow-building process and the joy I derive from it...which is why I do it in the first place. So, I've learned that having the pressure of building a bow for someone on a schedule diminishes the joy and adds stress, and I probably won't do this again for quite a while. I have build several bows and given them away as surprise gifts, and that was great. I've built a couple of bows for my kids and for myself, and all of those bows have turned out really nice, and all of those bows have been good shooters that I've been happy with. Some bows have ended up better than others, but I've been happy with all of them. So....
I ended up settling into two staves that I was going to turn into two bows...one for this trade and one for a buddy I grew up with. The one for the trade turned into an absolute beast as far as getting the tips aligned. I've never had such trouble with a build, but I finally got it in shape and braced. Unfortunately, the heating and manipulation must have weakened the wood, and not far into the tillering process, it popped a splinter. I am going to eventually glue that splinter down, back with rawhide, and try to salvage something from it, but for now, it wasn't worth investing my time trying to make it work for the trade...especially when it shouldn't have popped a splinter making me think I hurt the overall integrity of the wood.
The other bow I was making for my 6'4" friend....well, I made that bow 67" long and made the limbs wider than I usually do to try to prevent set with his long draw. I decided to re-do this bow for the trade. I was going to cut it down some, but I was already approaching final tiller with recurved tips, and I don't think I can shorten the bow significantly and re-establish the recurves I want and have those recurves actually hold...so I decided to keep the length and just make it the best bow it can be....it'll just be a longer bow that will last longer and shoot with great stability...right?!?
So, the bow has some twistyness, and a little snakiness, and I've had the worst time tillering. I've worked my ass off on it, looked at it till I feel like my eyes are going to start bleeding, and done my best to get it right....BUT I'M NOT HAPPY WITH IT!
I can only speak to hand-shock based on and comparing to what I've created in the past. The bow has more shock than my other bows, but I don't think its terrible. Now someone else may think its awful or maybe that it's great...IDK, but again, I'm not happy that it has more than my other bows.
It has taken more Set than I want. I'm not horribly worried about that, as the tips are still a couple of inches in front of the handle, and according to TBB, a little set with recurves should result in a bow that is easier to shoot accurately. Regardless, I'm sure the set is due to the difficulty I had and my inability to tiller the bow perfectly.
So, the bottom line is this...I'm going to make this bow as beautiful as I can make it. I can stack arrows tight at 20 yards, as it does shoot very accurately (at least it shoots very accurately for me). It is not a speed demon, as it is having to move a lot of limb with the 67" length which is also causing more hand shock than I am happy with. That said, it will absolutely kill the snot out of big game if it is hunted with, but it is not what I wanted to be sending MO Coon Catcher as a bow indicative of what I know I can produce.
MO...I'm going to finish this bow up to the best of my ability, and if you get it and like it, great. If you get it and don't like it, I apologize now, and I want you to know that you are at the top of my list, and you will be receiving the next bow that I make that turns out great.
