Riser OOPS

[hartj57]

I've been working on my first bow for a while now. It is made of Red Oak.  Today I cut the shape of the handle out.  However, I inadvertently cut in too far and made it much narrower than I had intended.
The intent is to make the bow finish at around 45 pounds.  I still have a decent amount of thickness in the riser.
 
Does this still look viable?  If not, should I add another strip of wood to the back of the riser to reinforce it?  What are my options here?


P.S. Yes, I know the fades are quite uneven. Is that a huge problem?

Signed,

An aspiring young bowyer.

[aaron]

looks fine to me keep going slowly

[Pat B]

I agree.

[bradsmith2010]

yes agreed keep going more slowly this time,,

[osage outlaw]

Are you planning on blending the riser out into the fades a little more? 

[bubby]

Do blend the riser in smoother to the limb

[mikekeswick]

Your handle isn't too narrow. 3/4 inch wide is fine.
What i'd be worried about is the bad glueline at the fade. Next to your watch in the photo with your hand.

[blackhawk]

Chances are good that riser will pop off the way it is, and with a bad glueline(especially if a titebond type glue was used).

[hartj57]

Is there anything I can do to fix my glue line on the riser?
Also, are the fades supposed to bend when you tiller the bow, or should the bend end at the fades?
Sorry for the super simple questions.  I am very new to bow making and woodworking in general.

[osage outlaw]

Check out this link.  I think it will help you out.

http://poorfolkbows.com/oak.htm

[bradsmith2010]

if the riser pops off, ,re glue with epoxy(or if it starts to lift there)
I like to make my board bows with no glue on handle,, so nothing to pop off( I like to eliminate as many variables as possible to insure success)
you will make more mistakes as you go,, all the best bow makers here have made lots of mistakes and try not to repeat them,, lots of great advice here,, just continue with what you have,, 

[aaron]

the cut the fades more like this. then tiller to keep this part rigid. the bend should begin in the part of the bow that has no glued on riser. if you let the glued on part bend it will almost surely pop off.

[Knoll]

the cut the fades more like this. then tiller to keep this part rigid. the bend should begin in the part of the bow that has no glued on riser. if you let the glued on part bend it will almost surely pop off.

+1
And I've found that french curve is good tool for getting that curved fade profile per Aaron's line.  I print french curves from online sites & then glue to flexy cardboard.

[hartj57]

Check out this link.  I think it will help you out.

http://poorfolkbows.com/oak.htm

Awesome.  Thanks for the link, osage outlaw.  It has a lot of good info!

the cut the fades more like this. then tiller to keep this part rigid. the bend should begin in the part of the bow that has no glued on riser. if you let the glued on part bend it will almost surely pop off.

thanks so much! I've been wondering about that!  I'll also try the french curve idea Knoll posted.

I don't know what I would have done without this community (actually, I do; I would have broken my bow).  You guys rock!

[Jim Davis]

Practice drawing the curve on paper a few times. It's really not that hard to just sketch onto the bow with a pencil, when you know what it should look like. If it doesn't look right, just scrape it off and try again.

Jim Davis