Thanks Jim! I think a lot of people mis read my post. [some definitely did, I didn't.] I said I made the limbs 1 3/4" wide. Thats wide enough isn't it?
With locust, I try to make my pyramid limbs 2" or more wide at the fades. And, my bows turn out around 45#. But they have no chrysals, even after several years of use. I do think your belly wood was just under too much strain.
I say
was because now that the surface has fretted, the strain is being carried below the surface, essentially behaving as if it were thinner.
I'm guessing that when you finished tillering, the bow was a little heavier than it is now. The good side is, the bow will sustain the weight it is now, and as i opined earlier, it will be a shooter.
Just go wider next time and try for the same weight, or a little less than this one is.
One other thing that doesn't get considered with ring porous woods is that a tapered belly requires more of the compression forces to be carried by spring wood where a growth ring feathers out. A pyramid bow is one thickness throughout and growth rings on the belly run from fade to tip, resulting in a uniform consistency everywhere on both belly and back.
That's why I make only pyramid bows.
Jim Davis
