maybe this counts as one of the 12 steps.....

[elk country rp]

i also picked up this little beauty after letting it sit for the last week. it had some tiller issues just getting to brace, so i took the wise path & left it alone for awhile. today it called to me, so i spent some time feeling tapers & fixing them.
saweet!
the previous tiller problems have magically disappeared (at least in my opinion...)! my only concern for this bow is the draw weight. we're looking at 70#+ if i don't remove some wood. i've heard enough horror stories about cherry to make me pretty cautious about going too fast with this one. the wood is beautiful (you'd never know that from my phone camera, though), and it just feels "right" to me, but what do i really know? anyone who's done alot with cherry is welcome to advise me! and anyone at all is welcome to advise me on tiller- as always.

raging bowaholic,
Rob

braced, 12", 20"



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[Pappy]

Looks pretty good to me,maybe a little flat in the middle 1/3 of the right limb but not bad,if I
wanted to take a little weight I would work on it there,if not leave as is. Haven't worked
much Cherry so don't what to tell you there.
   Pappy

[knightd]

Left limb is still a bit stiff in the fade area..But looks as it is coming along real nice!!

[nickf]

you're one hell of a crazy bowyer rob but a pretty skillfull one! hehe

Cherry is a wonderfull wood indeed, it's got the lowest hysterese of all woods (thus should be one of the fastest aswell!), but it's pretty weak in tension, so most cherry-selfbow stories look like "it was one of my fastest bows. untill it broke! ". The bow you've created here isn't a selfbow, though. The maple you backed it with is listed as a tension-strong wood, ideal for backing lighter woods such as.... indeed, Cherry!

your effords with the mbw testbow prooves you've got some quality stuff and skills. Cherry behaves similar to walnut, but might be a slightly better choice because of it's low hysteresis. I bet this bow's performance won't let you down!

Nick

[elk country rp]

tillered!

i had some propeller twist to deal with (unsuccessfully it seems), so it ended up around 55# @ 28", but it shoots great! the propeller twist is holding stable & keeping the string centered, so I'm going to take John Strunk's advice & not worry about it (come to think of it, he told me not to worry about alot of things that bows seem to like to do). i'm thinking the grain on this cherry board is just twisty when it gets a load. there's no twist unstrung, some twist at brace, and a little less at full draw. i scraped 15# away before i decided to just appreciate it for what it is.

the tiller is different on the tree vs full draw. i made the handle fancy & cut a shelf- now it doesn't balance on my tree. in the full draw pic the upper limb is stiff, in the tree pic it looks fine. i sanded the first 8" of the upper after looking at the full draw for awhile. then i took it for a walk & bruised a few neighborhood trees with blunts. this bow seems to crave blood! it kept whispering in my ear, urging me to shoot the muley doe grazing in that meadow over there. kinda bummed i didn't see our neighborhood black bear/burglar tonight on my little walk!

cheers,
Rob


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[Aosda]

Nice job.  Looks good in the hand.  I see the slight stiffness, but I wouldn't mess with it.  My Maple bow has the same issues, but it does sling an arrow

[Badger]

Dirtto Nicks post to a "T". The fastest bow I have ever built in my life was a maple backed cherry bow that last 3 shots. I still have to wonder if the chrono was misreading. I was shooting around 180 grain arrows through it and getting something like 270 something fps. On the 3rd shot the bow blew apart as it slammed home.

[boo]

180 gr arrow was like dry firing 

Great looking bow, i bet it shoots great at 55 lbs. Id have loved to shot it at 70 though.

[elk country rp]

thanks for the kind words everyone!

180 grains- yikes!! makes me flinch just thinking about it! (i've never even seen an arrow that light)

this bow's up over 100 arrows now with no creaks or pops, so i'll keep flingin' til it blows! hopefully, i'll find a chrono to get a speed check before then.

i have every intention of buiding that 70#'er fairly soon! this one stacks at 29", which actually impresses me- i figured it would blow before it stacked! the stack is sort of a built in draw stop to keep me from over stressing the wood    the next one will be closer to 70" so i can keep it smooth through 30". i might just have to do it soon, before i forget what this one taught me.

it seems like every bow i build has a different personality- the HBI i finished last likes to hammer arrows, the linen backed hickory holmie likes to creak alot, but shoots very accurately (it's been trying to break for about 200 arrows now, but hasn't), my little 42# maple/walnut bow felt kinda fluffy (sold it)------ this maple/cherry is hungry! i have to fight the urge to shoot furry things with it.

so many bows to build,
Rob

[elk country rp]

tru oil is dry, tiller has held, twist hasn't changed, guess i'll call her finished!

in the head on full draw, you can see the propeller pretty clearly. it hasn't affected the shot yet, so i ain't gonna worry. i sure do like the way she looks & shoots!

cheers,
Rob

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[Dauntless]

What a beauty Rob!  Very elegant lines, perfect tiller.  This looks like a BOM contender to me.

[burn em up chuck]

very nicely done.

                             chuck

[cracker]

Very cool bow makes me wanna drag out the piece of cherry I got stashed away.Ron

[elk country rp]

thank you!

i've decided that i love the maple/cherry combo. she sure is easy on the eyes.

i can't wait to get to a chrono!
Rob

[Aosda]

Nice finish.  I like how the grain lines blend on the handle and sharp looking arrow rest.  Now for the little furry things, if you get enough of 'em you can make a bow sock for it