Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: grinner on March 24, 2012, 11:11:41 pm
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Hi, I started making a red oak board bow and it is 72" long. And i made the libs 7/16" thick 26" then tapered to 3/4"> My question is did i do this right? I think i should have made a straight taper to the handle but i didnt. Will i still be fine? I til (http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l578/shawnbu1/DSCF2255.jpg)lered it and i thought it looked good. Here is a picture of it at 5 in brace.
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hard to tell from your fuzzy pic,but you might be stiff from mid limb on in both limbs,and might be hinged a lil outside of the fade on the left limb. not sure if i understand you right,but trying to make your bow a "certain" thickness will not usually work. can you give some more detailed info cus its a lil hard to understand exactly what your saying? like have you pulled it farther than this? if so how far and at what weight and length? and if you did do you have a full draw pic? and whats your front profile view look like?
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I Just made the limbs the same thickness all the way down instead of tapering it from the tips to the handle. Will it be ok like this? I have tillered it to 23 inches. But this is my first bow so i dont know how it is. I will try to take other pics a longer draw tommoror
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it depends on what your front profile looks like. if its a pyramid profile then yes,but by the looks of your bend id say it isnt,and why the areas outside of the handle is bending too much. other than a pyramid you need to establish a even thickness taper with most profiles. and you try to establish it early on during floor tiller when you still have enough weight to get your tiller right. even wth a pyramid profile you still have to tiller it,you cant just make it the same thickness and expect it to come out right.
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The front is taperd from 1.5; to the 1/2" tips.
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Hey bro, looks great for a first attempt! Post some more pics as blackhawk suggested and he'll hook you up with advice. Here is a video of me doing a board bow that may help. There are several good (better than mine) examples on YT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y7inwBgm38 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y7inwBgm38) :)
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I Just made the limbs the same thickness all the way down instead of tapering it from the tips to the handle. Will it be ok like this? I have tillered it to 23 inches. But this is my first bow so i dont know how it is. I will try to take other pics a longer draw tommoror
It sounds like you're pretty new to this, so please forgive me if I'm giving you advice that you don't need. But please don't draw it any further until you get the limbs working more from mid-limb and outward. There is no need to draw the bow beyond the point that you can see something wrong. Once you make a few bows, these things will jump right out at you. But you can see that most of the work is being done about 5 or 6 inches away from your handle. If you look at the limbs beyond that toward the tips, they're practically straight. If you don't get those outer limbs bending more, the bow will likely break at that point. This is the whole point of tillering - teaching the wood to bend the way you want it to, to even the stress out along the limbs and avoid overly stressing one spot.
For future bows, try to blend the the handle into the limbs in one smooth transition. You have a straight taper from the handle down to the fades, and then straight taper from the fades into the working limbs. If you tiller this in one smooth arch, you will avoid overly-stressing the limbs at the ends of the fades.
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OK thanks for the help i will work on the mid limbs today.
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OK I worked on it a little more today here are a few pics of it pulled back. But it only feels like it is pulling 20 pounds or so. :embarassed: Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l578/shawnbu1/DSCF2256.jpg)(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l578/shawnbu1/DSCF2260.jpg)
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thanks for posting more pics ;).....now to the diognositics of them ;)
your still too stiff in your mid limbs,and pulling the bow farther than you should. when first start making bows dont worry so much about hitting an intended weight and dont be upset if you go way under. the most important point is to make it bend correctly with no flat spot of hinges.
can you see where your bending too much about 5-6" from the end of your handle? and not enough in the mid limb?
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Yes, I see where you are talking about should i just shave some more of the midlimbs to get the correct bend?
Thanks for the help
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Yes, remove wood from mid limb on. More on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html
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hi george im also a beginner but from what i can see you are on the right track your bow looks great further more you have embarked on a very enjoyable rewarding hobbie of bow making have fun keep up the good work Cougar Bob
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a tillering gizmo will help you a ton, it's at the top of the how to page, Bub
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a tillering gizmo will help you a ton, it's at the top of the how to page, Bub
Strongly recommend you do as Buby says go to the tillering gizmo link and make one - it will be a piece of cake when you have one of those tools.
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Ya, Balckhawk stole my comment. ;) Just take your time with the tiller and never pull back further than any issue you identify (hinge or flat spot). I had to learn when to slow down and step back. Paitence pays off big! :laugh: Get some kind of bow scale to keep track of your draw weight as you go.