Newbie here -- to the forum and bowyery in general!

[Whiskeyjet]

Yeah I went way beyond rounding corners. The back is flat and the belly is fully rounded, like an elongated D.  The area near the fades is too thin also, and early midlmb too thick.  The hardest part for me was and is getting planar surfaces and just flat out removing wood with the stanly sure form.  I have a spoke shave and have no idea how to use it properly. Working on learning that with YouTube now.  After shooting it a few times, it started picking up more set.  When the sun hit it right, I could see little criss cross lines on the center belly.  I could re tiller it but I want to just leave it as is and move on to my next experience.  I have a bandsaw now which really improves the rate at which I can make errors!

[GB]

Kalvek - IMO I wouldn't bother with trying to steam and straighten it out, esp. if you're going to back it.

[Kalvek]

Whiskeyjet -- Ohh, okay. I've heard of other people having some trouble with the Stanley Surform as well. I was going to look into getting a Shinto saw rasp because I've heard of people having a hit or miss experience with the surform. That's a shame about your first bow, but you'll do better with the next one since you've learned from your experiences with this one! Haha! I wish I had a band saw -- it would make things so much easier when removing or cutting wood, but I just don't have the space for it.

GB -- Yeah, I'm thinking you're right. It looks to be a bit of a hassle to try and figure out how I was going to steam it, and when I laid it flat on it's side and measured how much of a crook there was, it was just 5/16 of an inch off of center.

Unfortunately I just went to cut the board down to size and discovered some cracks inside the board; I think the board was probably too dry. I'm going to have to find a different board, I think.

[GB]

Yeah, I'd look for a better one, too.  If it was osage, I'd cut out the profile and see if I could still use it.  Red oak, not so much.

[Whiskeyjet]

Yeah lots of early growth in there too, not that that is the first or second priority selecting a board.

[Kalvek]

Live and learn I guess. I went out to Lowe's the other day and think I found a new board already, and it looks much better than the old board I picked out. Not nearly as much early growth in this one as there was in the old one. I suppose I can always use the old one for handle blocks, though, if it's not too cracked inside.

[Springbuck]

I'd keep cutting that one down shorter and shorter until that crack disappears.  See how they are perpendicular to the growth rings?  Thats a drying check that follows the radial grain.  It's suspicious that it was hiddden, but you'd find almost any others while roughing out the bow,.. Try tillering a 62" bendy handle for practice if it'll give you that much. Why not?

[Kalvek]

Ah, I wish I had seen your response sooner, Springbuck! I already started work on another board, and was cutting that older board down for a handle and a tillering gizmo.

I should be getting in a Shinto Saw Rasp that should make roughing out the bow a lot faster than it was going to be with the Nicholson rasp that I had, though, so I may post progress pics of the other board.

[mullet]

Welcome to Florida, Kalvek, thanks to JW my indentity is blown. There are a few of us in Central Florida and one or two in the Jacksonville area. Only built one board bow and wasn't happy with it but you can't go wrong with the advice you are getting. There should be some good sources for "tree wood" in North Florida, ya just have to get out and cut some. (S

[Kalvek]

Hi Mullet! Thanks for the welcome! Ah, good to know! I'm currently in Alachua county, but don't know when that might change in the future. Sorry to hear that your experience with a board bow wasn't the best. It does seem a lot harder to find a board that is up to the standards we need for a bow.

Good to know! I was wondering though, don't I need some kind of permit or permission? I can't imagine that I would just be able to wander onto any piece of open land that doesn't look owned and just cut down a tree. Also, what /are/ the types of trees in Florida that can offer up some good quality wood for a bow? My reason for using a board for my first bow is that I was planning on making this as a gift for my best friend's birthday, since she didn't have a bow herself but does like archery, and that's only a few months out.

I imagine that if I cut down a tree to use for wood, I would need to let it season for quite some months before it would even be ready. Do you know of anyone in the North Florida Area, or just in Florida in general, that might sell seasoned bow staves? I did see one person on ebay selling bow staves of varying length, but the listing didn't mention if they were seasoned or not.

[Whiskeyjet]

Seasoning time depends on a lot of factors, but can be reduced by roughing out the blank.  If you have an attic that would help

[Kalvek]

Sorry for the late reply, Whiskey! That's good to know! I currently have an attic, but don't know how long I'll currently be living where I am. I may either be moving into an apartment or moving back home with my parents until I can find a better job that's actually in my field. So I don't know that I'll have enough time to season a piece of wood.