board bow tillering

[swimbill]

 ???Hi
New to the forum and bow building.  I am attempting an oak board bow and have some questions.
1. the grain is not perfect, should i back it? (please dont suggest drywall tape, putting somthing that ugly on oak offends my eyes.)
2.  after floor tillering i put it on the tree to tiller how long should the long string be
3.  i am trying for a 40#  should i pull it down to 40# right away

any help will greatly be appreciated.

[Pat B]

I would back it if the grain is questionable! You can use silk, linen, rawhide or paper for this, or you can add a wood(hickory, etc) to make it into a backed bow.
  Your long string should be as short as possible; loosely strung between the nocks. Once you get out to about 8" on the long string and everything is OK with the tiller you can brace it low, 4" or so, and that will tell you more accurately how close you are; string alignment and limb bend.
   If your ultimate weight is 40# you don't want to go over that mark. Try to get everything working as you go out to the 40# mark at your draw weight.  Pat

[JackCrafty]

Gordon has an excellent build along that will probably answer you questions, and then some.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,4815.0.html

There are disadvantages to backing a bow.  If you back the bow right off the bat, you won't be able to steam bend or heat treat the wood.  You also won't learn how to choose a board with "good" grain.  You need to break a few before you get the feel for it.

That said, the main advantage of backing a board is the safety aspect.  A backing will also make it easier to get the feel for tillering without the worry of wasting a lot of time or material.

The easiest backing is cloth (linen, or polyester-cotton blend) glued down with wood glue.  Make sure the cloth is thick.

[Bowbound]

Do as the guys have suggested. If you really don't like the look of silk etc then you could always put a snakeskin over the top. Would give you camo as well. As for the tillering, first get the nice bend even and then bring it back to 40lbs slowly. Never take it past 40 lbs though as this is unnecessary and will cause the wood to take more set than it needs to.

[swimbill]

thanks for the advice, i will keep you aprised of my progress.

[George Tsoukalas]

Yes you should back it but how bad is the grain. Here' s my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

[swimbill]

 Jawge 

the grain is not awful it runs off in 2 or 3 places on the back near the handle area. 

[Pat B]

Go to a thrift store and buy a few silk neck ties(A buck or 2 apiece). You can get interesting patterns and designs to decorate your bow as well as protection for the back.   Pat