Update !! This bow is now responsible for my first 2 trad kills a 7 point on sept 22 and another 7pt in velvet on the 24th
Ok I started my first backed bow. Its Boo backed Ipe. Not knowing what I was doing I pulled advice from websights and then tried to apply it. Sanding the boo down was a bit of a chore and even though I was told to get it down to 1/8" and that I could even taper it to 1/16" at the tips. I got it to 1/8" on the tips and it was 1/4" and thought to myself this thing is aweful flimsy. So I stopped sanding. (maybe mistake # 1)
Now I floor tillered the Ipe and got it to around 45# (just guessing) I was told the perry reflex and the backing would add at least 20#. I glued it up and when it dried let me tell you it was like I never floor tilled. It was at about 90# lol. (mistake #2)
Now I was lucky enough to be able to use pappy's #49 rasp to remove another 1/8" of the Ipe. The cheaper rasps just weren't working, they tore the wood and splintered the edges. Everything was going good on the tillering board except that the Ipe is so dark it was hard to see the pencil marks from the tillering tool.
At about 24" I thought I heard something when exercising it on the board. I looked at the back and the belly and didn't see anything. (mistake #3) I continued to tiller it out to 26" (my draw length). It was 52#, I was shooting fo 50# so I was pleased. As I was taking it off the board my heart sank. (remember the noise I heard and dismissed) I saw daylight in between the boo and Ipe. The glue had failed from mid handle to about 4" past one fade. I was upset and ready to toss it in the trash out of anger. I had spent a solid week probably over 40hrs trying to get this bow ready so I could use it to kill my first deer with trad equipment.
Pappy suggested that I run some super glue in the opening and then either sinew it or wrap it with leather. I filled the gap with super glue until it dripped out the oppisite side and clamped it in the vise. After it was dry I tokk two 72" leather boot laces and soaked them in water. I laced them like you would a serving around the handle and let it dry. During the week I soaked the laced with repeated coats of super glue and then sanded it all smooth. I went out to Pappy's the following Saturday and put it on the tillering board only to find that my tiller was off. The fact that the Boo and Ipe had come apart had given me a false tiller you might say. I now had one limb to stiff at the fade and the other bending too much. I tried fixing the tiller and while its not perfect I was unwilling to lose more weight. I shot it and really liked it. At 44# it shoots harder than my 55# hickory.
While trying to stain the boo I got frustrated because the stain didn't want to dry. I took the stain rag and wiped the whole thing down with the walnut stain and laid it up for 24hrs. It dried but I had lost the light color of the oak accent strip in the handle and made the mesquite handle darker. (another mistake)
It seemed like everything
"Went Wrong" When it was all said and done. I have a Boo backed Ipe bow thats 44# @ 26" Its 59" NtN 1 1/4" at the fades and 3/8" at the tips. It isn't what I had hoped for cosmetically (even though its my family's favorite) and it did come in under weight. It still a sweet shooter and my hardest hitting bow. Pappy shot it several times and was drilling the bullseye like it was one of his own. My last mistake was shooting it the first day I didn't spray any permanon on like Pappy tells me too. I got 37 ticks 1 which was carrying Lyme disease. I have a 6" bullseye on my stomach and they started me on meds today.
