skew bow - help please

[briandean]

After attemting my first primitive bow, I found the live from tip to tip doesn't go through the middle of the handle.  I have clamped the bow and steamed it to get it straighter.  Am I wasting my time?
Any help will be appreciated
 
 
 

[pappy]

That should work,I would have probably just heated and moved the tip over .What kind of wood is it ?
   Pappy

[razorback]

If the wood is dry the convention is to use heat to move the wood. Warm the wood youwant to move to a temperature that is just too hot to touch and then clamp it to get it to move. Leave clamped in position and let it cool for at least 24hrs and see what you have. i know many on here don't like to work the bow for 48hrs after heating.
Not sure if steaming will do any damage to a dry bow but make sure the moisture you added is allowed to leave the bow before heating, otherwise it may crack.
Looks good and keep working at it.

[Pat B]

Continue tillering until you can low brace it at about 3" from there you will truly know what it needs. You can make corrections with heat or by tillering.

[briandean]

Thanks guys
Pappy - The wood is from a Pride of India (Lagerstroemis indica) which is related to the Queen's crepe myrtle.  It has very long, straight branches/trunks with some relatively straight sections of up to 9".  Also the wood is very heavy coming off the tree.  The wood is light in colour.  That darker section on my pic is a piece of Meranti glued on because the handle was too thin when I split it.
Razorback - Do I heat the wood over the stove, with a blow torch or what?  I am nervous of setting the thing alight!
Pat B - I have it bending quite nicely at about 14 inches.  So, would you suggest I finish tillering before I straighten it?  I am just worried about the limbs twisting on the tilering stick - or won't that be a problem?

[briandean]

Here's a pic at 14 inches
 

[Pat B]

Are you still on a long string?   If it is bending to 14" now, brace it low(3" to 4"), on a short string and see how the string tracks.
  Wood bows are not like glass bows. A little twist or side bend generally won't hurt anything. If, when low braced, the string tracks to one side or the other you can heat it to remove that bend but sometimes that isn't necessary.
  Leave your tips wide. You can make adjustments later by removing wood from one side or the other so the string tracks more favorably.
  As long as the bend doesn't make the bow unstable on the tiller tree you will not have a problem. Twist can be removed while tillering by removing wood from the strong side of the belly. This will make one side of that limb a bit thicker than the other and while drawing the twist will come out(not permanently but during the draw).

[pappy]

Once you get it to low brace and decide witch is the top limb,hold it in your hand like you were going to shoot it.See where the string runs across the handle and yo can correct from there.You can usually look along the limb and see where it needs to be bent to bring it in.You can heat it with the stove.I use a heat gun and I wouldn't use a torch. Put a little cooking oil on the spot and heat till you can touch but not hold and bend slowly the way you want it to go.You will need to go a little passed what you want .I wait till it is good and cool,a few hours and string and check and see if you done enough.If it is twisted side to side you can correct like Pat said or heat and clamp to something flat and get most of that out also.
Hope this helps.    
    Pappy

[briandean]

Thx guys
Wilco

[briandean]

So, every story has an ending - as does this one.  Unfortunately it's a sad one.  Any help - if possible with the limited info available - would be appreciated.  I remain determined to make a good bow!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[pappy]

Sorry about that,it was looking good to,I love the grip.I can't say for sure but usually when
they break straight across the back it's dry rot,was the wood stored in a dry place while it seasoned ? How long was it and what is your draw
length ? Looked like it had a lot of bend on it before it broke.
 
   Pappy

[briandean]

Hi Pappy
I cut the branch beginning of October.  I think it may have dried too quickly - the wood looks very brittle.  I think the tillering process was not done as well as it could have been.  In retrospect, I do remember noticing a slightly sharper bend about where it broke.
My draw length is about 28"
Anyway, I managed to shoot about 40 arrows before it went.  I'll just have to try again!
Thanks for the help.
B

[razorback]

Brian.
Watching the video you can see a definite hinge right in the spot it broke. From all I know, (not much) and have read here, a hinge like that is almost certain to give out like that. What was the lenght of the stave, it looks like it is bending too far. The string angle looks a fair bit greater than ninety degrees wjich will cause stacking. Hopefully others with much more experience than me will chime in with some helpful advice.
But as jawge said after my first broke,"If your not breaking, your not making."

[George Tsoukalas]

What was the ntn length of the bow? It just looks too short for a 28 in draw. I couldn't see a hinge but most of the bending does seem to happen wear the break is. Just as an FYI-not a good idea to cut the back of the nocks.So what did you learn from the break?  Jawge