Primitive Archer

It was great meeting and hanging out with you Paul, wished you could have stayed longer but enjoyed the time we had. Had a good weekend, it was kind of windy and rainy but most that I wanted to do was in the kitchen and shop. Biggest projects was to get the yot and cat head euro mounted and about 40 lbs of bear fat rendered, got that going and Jimmy Blackmon showed up with the bow he has been working on, 1 of Gary's old blanks Gary had sent him while he was in Afghanistan, he did it justice.
 Pappy

I'd be happy to donate one of my favorite tools, Shinto Rasp for the beginners tool kit for bow making. 

Interesting project, Ryan. Once you get the tips shaped and you still have visible cracks a thin overlay should give enough strength to hold their shape.
 Have you thought about a bracing jig to get the bow with such radicle hooks braced. Basically it is a board with 3 pegs, handle at one peg and the hooks at the other two. You can probably find a drawing or photo on Google.

That’s definitely a concern of mine. I’ll be taking an inch or two off the tips of the recurve so they’re not so aggressive. Just left them long for the bending process. I’ll have to decide how much deflex to glue in choosing between overall reflex and stability.

Charring wood has been a method for waterproofing wood that goes back centuries

Dry-heat is a risky method of bending wood regardless of species