Build Along 65" 135# recurve "Challenge Bow"

[Badger]

  Something I have done in the past with relatively green staves is just to slowly crank them down over a period of several days. Maybe I will try this first.

[Badger]

   Here is the stave I am using, the more bark I remove the worse it looks, I may have to change staves.

[Don Case]

Can you point out what you don't like please?

[Marc St Louis]

Splice it Steve, that's what I would do.

Seems to be some discoloration under the bark

[Don Case]

So that brown mark isn't bark he hasn't removed yet?

[Badger]

  I started the deflex process the old fashion way, wood still has a lot of moisture so I will use rubbers to pull it down over a period of several days. Once I clean up the staves I will show the trouble areas. I don't want to use a premium stave for this one. I started off with a 2" block and every few days I will put a slightly thicker block until I have about 4" deflex at the tips.

[Badger]

  Mark, the cambium and some of the bark is still on, I won't remove  the cambium till it get just a bit dryer. My big knot is still covered with bark. I hate how wide this bow is I am tempted to let the handle area bend a little and narrow it down a bit.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I think your going to need that width Steve. That's a lot of weight for a "short" bow. Im thinking stability wise.

[Badger]

 Yea Pearl your probably right.
 Mark, should I have the tips touching the board with a 4" spacer under the handle? I was thinking to spread the deflex over about 12"

[Marc St Louis]

Honestly Steve I don't think you will need more than 2 1/2" in width.  If you go too wide then all you'll get is a knife edge on the side of the limbs.

The advantages of using billets is that you can do much of the prep work to them before gluing them up, like adding reflex and bending the recurves.  The disadvantages, in the case of a selfbow, is the splice being exposed at the handle.

Having the limbs straight at this point means you're going to to need a bit more than a 4" spacer beneath the handle.  If you look at the picture of the one I posted,  http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,46138.0.html,   the braced picture shows the limbs as being relatively straight and that is with a 6" brace height.  I think you will need 8" to 10" under the handle

[Badger]

  Mark, I couldn't find that bow, would you mind posting it on this thread. I plan on using that as a model at least to some extent. If I do another one I will probably go with a splice. My crown is pretty flat on this stave but as you say if it starts getting thin it aint doing much anyway.

[Marc St Louis]

Steve
I included the link to the bow in my last post

[Badger]

 Deflex Jig

[Badger]

Deflex jig loaded

[Badger]

   I thinnned out the center 12" of the bow so it will be the only part to take deflex hopefully. I am using multiple inner tube strips to apply several hundred pounds pressure to each limb tip and hopefully it will gradually pull it down over a few days. I will then let it sit for at least a week in this position and will hopefully have about 6" deflex at the tips. Not as much as Mark recomended but it should help. After sitting for about 1 hour it gained an additional 1" from when I first wrapped it so seems to be miving pretty fast. I have come back the next day and found staves broken in half using this tecnique so I hope it doesn't happen here.