Osage Molly- finished pics on pg 3

[upstatenybowyer]

Here's one I finished up in August of this year. This was my first attempt at this style of bow, and I didn't research much so by all means, feel free to tear me a new one if there are things I could have done better. For me making mistakes is how I learn best. So here it goes:

65" ntn
1 6/8" wide from the fades until levers (20")
levers are 8" long, 1/2" wide at lever fades tapering to 3/8" at nocks
levers are 6/8" thick at lever fades tapering to 3/8" thick at nocks (too thick?)
65# at 27" (a little too much for me)

the wood was quite snakey, especially on the upper limb which is obvious from pics, which made tillering a challenge
the bow shoots quite fast- I was sinking arrows deep in the target bag from 50 yards (missing a lot too)

[upstatenybowyer]

a few more...

[selfbow joe]

I think it looks good. But I'm a beginner on making a bow.

[loon]

It looks a bit hingey near the handle, you should use a tillering gizmo? though the parallel limbs on molly bows might be better off with an elliptical tiller? Pretty much all my mouthing is theoretical though, very little experience :p good job, you actually made something that shoots! No handshock?

[Stick Bender]

Never made a Molly , buy I like the charechter in that bow @65 lb I would bet it spits a arrow pretty good congrats nice looking bow.

[aaron]

There's a lot I like about this bow. Challenging stave. Levers not overly thick. Tiller looks good considering the side-view profile. I think the tips could be narrowed a bit. How much set did it take?

[ajooter]

I love the way the growth rings feather out in your handle area.  I know its a molly but the limbs seem overly stiff midlimb towards the tips..it seems really apparent at brace.  I noticed the same brace shape in your beech flatbow.  Seems like you could get a lot more movement out of the outers on both bows.

Another ?...do you sleep..ever?!?!  Or just make bows 24-7?!?!  Im jealous...i havent been in the shop in awhile!

[osage outlaw]

It looks like most of your bend is happening just out of the fades.  You might want to work on getting the rest of the limbs bending evenly on your next one.  What is the brace height on your bow?  It looks like it might be a little low.  That looks like a challenging piece of wood.  Good job getting a bow out of it.

[BowEd]

No malicious intent here but I see you've left the wood be what it was as far as undulations etc. before tillering and that's ok,but it looks like to me this stave would have been pretty easy to completely balance out heat shaping on a form before tillering,and still can be as far as I'm concerned.No propellers either to mess with.
The fade transition to your levers could be longer and a touch more streamlined look maybe even eiffel towered width reduced over a stretch of 4" for sure.Making it a little thicker as you do this but still working to compensate.That takes some tweaking and testing to get these right.These type bows are actually a little more work than a straight tapered type limb.Getting it to work more from midlimb to the transitioned base of your lever would give you a more rounded look bending.
Your cranking bows out I see and making different styles.Good.Your learning in high gear now and doing great,but mistakes will be made if considerations before wood removal are'nt completely thought out first.Just a normal learning curve everyone has to go through though.
Keep it up your doing great!!!

[upstatenybowyer]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. 

loon, aaron, ajooter, outlaw, and bead- I really appreciate your honest and thoughtful feedback. I knew there were/are things I could have done/do better and you folks have given me a lot to consider. This is why I love PA. How else would I ever get to learn so much from so many experienced people? I am truly grateful.

[Stick Bender]

I have stick I'm working on now that is similar in design and it was wavy in some areas a little more then yours  and a u shaped whoopitidoo  I tried form straitening for the first time  & it came out fairly well your bow looks like a good canadate for it but have to say I like the charechter  look of yours also.

[rps3]

For some reason there are times when I just want to make a bow from the stave as it came from the tree, no heat bending, or straightening as you have done,  and by my eyes it looks like you have it tillered fairly well.

[Parnell]

It's fun to see how bad you've got the bug.  X2 on what Beadman's advice is regarding tiller and handlework.  Try to find a way to get "in person" time with a mentor.  Not sure about your area but you should plan on taking a vacation in the spring and drive to the TN Classic!  It's worth it.

[upstatenybowyer]

Thanks again folks.

ajooter- I never would have seen that the outer limbs could work more if not for your observation. I'd like to attempt remedying this. Think it might work to taper the width towards the levers a bit?

[bradsmith2010]

nice fine point suggestions on the tiller,,
you can see from the unstrung profile, you are not far off,, if the bow is a bit heavy,, you could fine tune the tiller as suggested without "missing the weight",,
I always feel like if the bow shoots great and does not break you are on the right track for sure,, nice bow congrats,,