Please help with my first bow

[cmaz]

Hi,
i'm new to the board, but i've been lurking here and elsewhere for a couple of years now, trying to gain the information to build my first bow.

i went with a red oak board bow and sort of mangled Sam Harper's, Jawge's, Ferret's and a build-along over at tradgang plans into my design.

It is 72" tip to tip. 1³/₄" wide with the last 15" narrowing to ¹/₂" at the tips. i was shooting for a 45# bow at 28" draw weight but got confused tillering and now it is well under weight. While tillering i had it pulling 30# at 20" on the long string. Then when moving to a low brace i got confused about draw length versus actual limb travel and tillered all the weight out of the bow.

Anyway, it is now pulling a mere 26# at 28" but i still want to finish it off just for the practice so i'll be more ready for my next attempt.

Here it is braced:





And here it is pulled to 28":



i'd like to do as little as possible at this point so i don't reduce the weight any more than i absolutely have to. i think i can clearly see one last area that needs some scraping, but i'd like to get some opinions before i go and make any more stupid mistakes.

i know the pictures suck, but thanks for any and all help!

[Ifrit617]

It looks like most of your bending is being done around midlimb, without hardly any bend from midlimb to the tips... Also your brace height looks pretty high. Other that its pretty good for a first!!!

Jon

[colt]

i'm no expert, but i would say give it a couple scrapes near the fades and towards the tips on the left limb and then match the right limb to it. some have said though; if it ain't broke, don't tiller it.

[bubby]

at 72" you can pike the bow(cut some off each end) and pick up some weight, have you cut the nocks in yet? ya want to get off the long string when you have about 8" of limb movement, the long string will misslead ya on more than one area,you can either finish this one up and give it to a kid and start another bow, that's what i'd do, or come down 3" from the ends and cut in your nock's, then adjust the tiller if needed, that will raise the #'s a bit, Bub

[Cameroo]

I would stay away from the fades myself, looks to me like they're already bending plenty! I would leave it as is, and on your next one, try to get the outer half of the limb bending a bit more.  I have no idea what the front profile looks like, but with your outer limbs basically stiff like that, you may be able to take some meat off the sides to reduce the mass without changing the tiller much.  But I'm sure it'll shoot an arrow just fine the way it is.  You could pike it as mentioned too, it's really depends on what you're after I guess.

[Grunt]

I'd go ahead and pike it to 68". At 72" you have enough length to cut her down.

[bryan irwin]

 like the others looks pretty good but could stand to bend more at the handle and tips and cut it off it will gain a little more weight.

[medicinewheel]

Yes, as everyone says: little scraping towards fades and tips, piked by at least 2" and you will be done.  Also lower the brace hight.
And really nice for a first!!

[gstoneberg]

I can't say I remember seeing a bow stringer short string before.  Make sure you pike the bow before doing any more tillering.  Things will change when you shorten the limbs.  I would think 4" would get your draw weight well into the 30s.  Good luck.

George

[half eye]

cmaz,
      That bow is very nice for a "first". I really dont see anything wrong with your tillering. I say that because both limbs are symetrical to each other. Like the other fellas said ya got way enough bow so if you shorten @ limb by 2" ya wont be adding much strain at all and will get some more weight. Seems like you could also "flip" the tips a bit as a second option.
      What ever you do, like the bow or not, keep it !!! when your working on #100 it will be real nice to see where ya came from, and when you look at the symetrical tiller you'll know then that you did a good job.
      One last thing, do yourself a big favor and make your grip area smaller (shorter) and your fades more gradual, it will help you at higher weights and to achieve more mid-bow bend.

Like I said at the beginning, your bow has an even, symetrical, tiller and looks damned good...ya might just want to keep it as is. Just an old man's opinion however.
rich

[bubby]

rich is right about the handle, most of mine have a 4" handle with 1 1/2" to 2" fades, get more working bow that way, Bub

[medicinewheel]

...
      One last thing, do yourself a big favor and make your grip area smaller (shorter) and your fades more gradual, it will help you at higher weights and to achieve more mid-bow bend.
...

Very good point!
I'll look nicer after all, too.

[cmaz]

Wow! Thanks for all the kind words and advice!

i haven't cut any nocks in it yet, and as gstoneberg noticed, i am using my bowstringer as my short string (for now, i have all i need to make a flemish string, but i just haven't got around to it yet). Will using the bowstringer instead of an actual string be a problem?

i was thinking it could use a few scrapes on the left side around 15" in from the tips. i am somewhat confused about the tips. On at least one of the guides that i used to put this together it mentioned that one should leave the tips so they don't bend. (And now, looking around, i can't find where i read that.) Is this true? And if so, how much of the limb should be left stiff? On this bow, i left the last 9" stiff. Can anyone give me more detail on what the thickness contour of this area should be?

Thanks for pointing out the handle. i had fogotten that i have not finished that area. That is not my intended handle size. i laid out a 5" handle section with 2¹/₂" fades. i only shaped in a rough fade that is 1¹/₄" long (because if i filed off the whole 2¹/₂" area, it would have taken my penciled-on handle dimensions with it ). Guess i've got to at least rough out the handle area right now. Will extending the fade length give it more bend at the fade?

And lastly, i don't think i'm going to pike it (i think i'm just going to finish it off just to see what i get), but if i were to do so, how exactly would i go about it? The profile of the bow is 1³/₄" wide all the way out to 15" from the tips where it takes a straight taper to the tips, which are ¹/₂" wide.

If i pike it and cut off 2" at each end, would i then have to reshape the width profile? That is, would i have to move where it begins to taper to the tips? Or would it be fine to just have a 13" taper?

So many questions! Thanks for all of your help!

[Buckeye Guy]

I would finish the handle and let the rest alone!
I generally leave 5-6 " stiff on each tip .
If you shorten a bow you will most likely want to change where the tapper starts.
You are doing fine ,many differant designs make fine bows

[MWirwicki]

Tiller is very important, yes.  But don't get all caught up in it such that you're reducing the bow's draw weight to achieve the "perfect" tiller.  Think of tiller as the means to get your bow to its desired draw length without breaking.  When you reach that draw length and it didn't break then you've succeeded.  Especially on your first bows, there is no need for additional tillering.  Now yes, a near perfectly tillered bow will likely last a bit longer and be more efficient than one that is not but, you're going to make more bows.  As you do, all of the characteristics of your bows will improve.

I agree that you have room to pike or shorten your bow and gain back some poundage.  Like others said, you can probably afford to redraw string nocks two inches shorter than what you currently have.  This will change your tiller some, which you may have to correct.  Remember: remove wood....remove pounds.  Hopefully, you won't shorten it, re-tiller then end up what you had to begin with, just shorter. 

If it were me, I would finish it as is.  You successfully made your first bow!  Be proud.