My first self bow started-now questions begin

[gudspelr]

I was REALLY lucky to get a hold of 2 HHB staves and even more lucky to have Marc St. Louis giving me some tips on how to go about turning them into bows.  I got started on one last night and figured out pretty quickly what is meant by a "muscled" back.  I'm not sure yet if I'll go back and get more of the bark out of the low spots-guess we'll see.  I also don't really know if I laid the bow out correctly, but I figure lines are fairly easy to draw over again  .

This one shows a little brown mound that I only found after removing some of the bark.  Looks like some twigs were starting to grow out of it?  I removed most all of the bark from around it after I took the picture.  I only found 2 of these and tried to be really careful not to cut into them.




Some before and after




A rather poorly drawn handle section that I'm not sure is big enough... (1" wide handle, 4" long, 2" fades on either end)




A pretty darned straight stave.  Has a bit of reflex to it and some bumps back to belly, but that's about it.




Anyway, was just a little excited and figured I'd share.  Hopefully it doesn't end up on the garage floor in pieces....  Gonna need to build that tillering tree sometime soon.


Jeremy

[bubby]

lookin' good, and sound's like you have got some top shelf help to start, keep posting pics and ask ?, remember there's no dumb question's, just dumb answers , Bub

[Del the cat]

Now you've started you'll never stop
Del

[gudspelr]

I've only built a laminated glass back/belly bow before this and I must say, I really like working a chunk of wood instead of all the laminations (not that there's anything wrong with that).  I'm dying to start taking wood off to the lines, but am trying not to be one of those guys that rushes into the next step and end up ruining the stave...  My biggest thing at this point is trying to figure out if the layout for the limbs is correct.  I see a lot of guys discuss following the grain with the limb edges, but honestly I can't hardly see the grain and it at least doesn't appear to make left/right hand turns....  Once I'm convinced the lines aren't counter to the grain of the wood, I'll happily take to removing wood .


Jeremy

[osage outlaw]

Looks like a good stave and a good lay out on it.  HHB is some good stuff.  Good luck with it.

[gudspelr]

Ok, so here come the questions.  I got the stave down to the layout lines (which I changed up to a bit wider).  I started working the fades into the belly of the bow and began removing some material on the belly so I could start towards getting it floor tillered.  Now, this being my first self bow, is floor tillering simply trying to get the limbs bending evenly (and not a whole lot) before getting a string on it?  Here's a picture of me pushing on it to bend:




I realized after looking at the picture my wife took, that it looks a lot different from that perspective instead of looking straight down...  Is that a hinge I see starting at mid-limb?  Should I look at removing more wood closer to the fades and tips and how far do I want the limb bending before I put a long string on?

On the note of removing wood, I remember reading a few different places where folks mentioned how hard HHB is.  Boy, were they right!  So far, I've used a farrier's rasp/file, draw knife, and 4 way file/rasp (which has seen some heavy use before this project-need to pick up a new one).  I've seen videos of guys getting nice curls of Osage scraped off the belly when they tiller and I'm just not seeing that happen with this wood...  Any thoughts on wood removal or just stick with the rasp?  I also find myself being a bit nervous of removing too much wood and ruining the stave.  Guess that's just kind of normal for a newbie.

Also, the pencil mark you see on the side of the handle portion corresponds to the widest part of the limb.  Should the fade be further back (towards center) from that spot or is it ok?  I hope that makes sense.

Thanks for any help.


Jeremy

[Del the cat]

I'm not a great fan of floor tillering. My view is once it starts flexing and you have an even(ish) thickness taper. Get it on the tiller with a string which will just go onto the bow without having to flex it (not an 8' long string.)
It's easier to see how it flexes a you pull down on the string, up and down, up and down, you can watch it move dynamically. You can also put your spring balance on it and make sure you don't draw past the target weight.
I think floor tillering is ok for experienced eyes if that's how you do it.
If you haven't seen my website or Bowyers Diary yet, it's worth a look. The diary shows everything I do warts and all. (Google 'Delsbows' or 'Bowyers Diary' to find me)
Del

[Slackbunny]

That sure looks like a hinge. But pictures can be deceiving, if something is twisted towards or away from the camera it can really throw off the perspective. I would do what Del said and get it on the tillering board with a long string. Then you can really see where it is bending and, just as importantly where it is not.

Have you built yourself a tillering gizmo yet? I have found that little tool to be absolutely invaluable in avoiding hinges and finding the high spots. Its especially usefull to us amatuers whose eyes haven't developed that keen sense of proper curvature.

[Pappy]

Looks like it is stiff in the fads,I would get that moving a bit and then on the long string,I make the long string just long enough to reach from tip to tip,I use a 49 and rough up the area at the point you are at the scrap out the file marks,I have
good luck with a scraper on IW, I would be very careful with the draw knife at this point,really easy to pull up a splinter and go deeper than you want. Unlike others I use a tiller stick till I get it bending and get a low brace,then go to the tiller board[rope and pully system.] Easier for me to see and keep things even. First brace is usually even with both limbs bending evenly. Looking good so far and good lay out,watch that mid limb and you should be fine.IW is some tough wood.
   Pappy

[gudspelr]

Thanks for the good suggestions.  I'm hoping to get to a few stores today for tillering tree materials-going to need to find a scale somewhere.  I've seen the tillering gizmo before, will have to see about getting one made up.  Guess I'll try and get things bending a tad more, at a minimum on the other limb (haven't removed much at all yet on that one), and try to get a long string on it soon.  Thanks again for all the help.

Jeremy