Pyramid bow in progress; pics I hope

[Hrothgar]

Here are a couple pics of a bow I started in October. Its hickory, 65"tip2tip, 2.5" at the fades, 3/4" so far at the tips, and the back has one layer of linen glued on. Next step is to get the belly toasted. I'm shooting for 55# at 28". I really enjoy making these bows, there pretty straight forward.
Eric

[JW_Halverson]

Looks great so far!  I can't wait to see it fully tillered and drawn.

By the way, I really like the Eskimo cable backed stool.

[Hrothgar]

JW~Thanks for the kind words. You know, its true what they say about bailing wire, duct tape, or artifical sinew...it can repair anything.

[Pappy]

Keep us posted on the  progess,Looks like a good start.
   Pappy

[Hrothgar]

After a 10 day break I'm finally getting back to this. I've had all kinds of trouble with the right limb--the one with the small knot and slight reflex. The weight is getting close but as you can see the tiller ain't perfect. Out of desperation I even used an 1/8 " drill to drill out the knot but the area is still stiff. Its pulling 40# at 21 ", the goal is 48-50# at 27".  The fades have been narrowed to 2 1/4" , the nocks are still 7/8", the handle is 1 3/8" wide and 1 1/4 " thick. Two more things, the belly didn't get toasted, and there is no twist in the limbs. Advice and opinions are welcome.
Thanks, Eric

[Pat B]

Get the right limb bending more before you pull it any further. Once you get the two limbs relatively even low brace the bow. You have pulled it too far on the long string. This will give you a false reading.

[Keenan]

 Looking good Erick, Like Pat said get that right limb bending  before pulling any more. Also if you are going to toast the belly, do it now. let sit at least one day after before bending.  Right now you would be about 61 lbs at 27"

[adb]

I'd also get your nocks reduced way down from 7/8". Most of mine start out at 1/2" or less, even on 100+# warbows. Like Pat said, get rid of the long string, and brace it, before you are totally fooled. I spend VERY little time with a long string these days... almost from floor tiller to low brace. Keep goin'!!

[mikekeswick]

If you reduce the width of the nocks/outer limbs too much now your bow will likely become whippy tiller-wise. Your right limb is too stiff in the inner two thirds. If you heat treat it the backing's glue will be damaged - don't do it!
 Hickory is sooo good in tension it doesn't need any backing if you try another bow with it. I'd say once you sort the tiller out you won't be far off your intended draw weight so go careful.
I use long string to tiller to about 20 inches or so that way you know the limbs aren't too strong too be braced without inducing some set. You can also be certain that one isn't stronger than the other. Unless the bow is fairly reflexed the weight you get on the long string isn't far off the braced weight. The only thing is to keep your long string as short as possible without having to bend the bow to get it on and a long string can give the impression that the tips are a little stiff.
Remember the golden rule - only bend the bow the minimum needed to see any problems.

[johnston]

Can't tell for sure and better eyes than mine have looked but..is that a hinge in the right
limb about a third up from the tip? Could be an optical illusion where it lines up with the
background...

It is getting there. Gotta love hickory.

Lane

[Hrothgar]

Happy New Year to all.
After a week's break I'm getting closer to finishing this bow. The stiff limb is bending, but I think it still needs to have more taken off near the handle area. The brace is about 3", and its pulling 40# at 22", but feels like it wants to stack. I really want to reduce the depth of the handle some, but with the big knot on top and the smaller knot on the side which has a natural crack big enough for my thumb nail to go into, I'm kinda leary about thinning the handle. Its 1 1/4 " wide and 1 1/2 " deep.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks, Eric

[toomanyknots]

Work more outer and midlimb before you  work on it near the handle (if at all). You can bring that stiff limb around without touching it inner limb near the handle. Remove wood starting in the middle of the limb and working out to toward the tip, removing less wood in the middle, more wood near the outer tip. A bows limb needs to be stiff near the inner part near the handle, which that limb clearly is. Which is a good thing, because now all you have to do is make the outer part of the limb not so stiff.  Thats the way I would look at it anyway. If you do get the stiff limb bending, and does look like the inner limb does need to work a bit, it usually will only take a quick swipe, just the smallest amount, to get it to work a bit more, at the middle of the bow near the handle in the most stressed part of the bow, so be careful. It would be a problem if the inner limb was not stiff. Looking very good! I like pyrimid bows too!

[PEARL DRUMS]

The right limb is dead nutz and the left limb is stiff half way, just a bit. I wont call it a hinge, but the left limb has a "funny" spot 10-12" from the tip that wants to work too hard. Take some mid limb material off and it will that load. Then I say shot the bugger 15-20 times and see what it says.

[Hrothgar]

Thanks for the input. I'll try working some more mid-limb. The thickness is the same on both limbs but because of the knot the stiff limb is necessarily wider.

Pearl Drums:  "dead nutz" ?...