Questions about how to finish bow

[bubby]

If your thickness is half an inch you don't have to narrow, you originally posted it was 1/4" thick and not 1/2" it's a little stiff inner third, take a six inch board or straight edge pull the bow to about 12" and run it along the bellywhen you start to get a gap make a mark when the gap closes make a mark, don't remove wood between the marks but do remove from either side, does that make sense?

[aaron]

Go really slow now. You probably have less than one sixteenth of an inch to remove from the thickness.

[aaron]

I think the tiller is pretty good, but as bubby said, the inner third looks stiff, so remove wood from there, except the first inch or so next to the handle fades. Right where your glued on handle ends is a place you dont want any bend, so leave that part alone.

[Dweena]

There seems like there is a twist on one of the limbs, it becomes more obvious when drawn to the 18" length. Hmmmm. I definitely will be going slowly now...I'll let you know how it goes, thanks so much for the thoughts!

[aaron]

Dont worry much about the twist, but do check that one edge is not thicker than the other. Measure the "SIDES" of the limb to see that they are the same.

[Dweena]

I've done a bit more work on this now, and even done some shooting at half-draw. At this point I have the bow at 20lb @ 25" draw length, and here is what it looks with the bowstring on:



And here is how it looks on the tillering tree at that draw length:


I am still having a twist in the right limb as you look at it here, it's not severe, but.
The left limb looks like a more even curve, but stiffer than the other.
I would welcome your input, as I'm at a very delicate stage with this bow!
I'm excited that it had held up so far.

[aaron]

look great to me. congrats! Don't let it sit on the tiller tree drawn for longer than absolutely needed to get a photo. Better yet, draw by hand and get a friend to snap the pic. .

[Dweena]

Thanks Aaron! The bow shoots straight and sweet so far, just done some blank bale shooting but getting good groups at half draw at about 12 yards.

I definitely hurry it off the tillering tree as soon as I can get a good picture...probably have it on there less than half a minute all told. Still, that is a long time to linger at full draw, much much more time than it will get in normal use. I have not yet pulled this to my full draw length of 26.5 - 27", and I intend to tiller it past that to 28 just to be careful. I'm aiming for something like 23 - 24lb at 28", hoping that will make it approx 20lb at 27". Does that sound right?

[aaron]

yes, 24 @ 28 will be about 20 @ 27. At this point , I would sand it, round off any sharp corners, and shoot about 100 arrows. After that, check the weight and tiller and make final adjustments if needed. Don't put a final finish on it for about a month in case the tiller changes.

[Dweena]

So sounds like you think it's OK to start pulling this to my full draw of 26.5 - 27". That's pretty exciting!
I already have sanded it and rounded edges, so it's ready to start those 100 arrows.
I so appreciate the feedback - I've been enjoying this project for sure.
-Dweena

[bushboy]

Maybe try plumbers sand cloth.120 grit, comes in a roll and sand like shining a shoe.great for rounding edges and handles.make sure all sharp edges are nicely rounded is key.i use this sandcloth on all of my bows,boards or staves.never used it with linen so i'm not sure?