my first bow

[briarjumper12]

Pignut Hickory.  Cut the log in late Oct.  16 in diameter log, was hard to work down.
Had to build hot box, buy tools and all that good stuff so it took longer than #2 will (which is underway)
Anyway specs are as follows:
65" ntn
60 lb at 28"
string follow is 5\\8 on the top limb and 1 3\\8 on the bottom (got carried away for a minute in that bottom limb).
Right now I am shooting an endless loop string of b-50 braced at 6 in.  Its 14 strand.  Any body know how low I could go with that maybe 12.  My long distance coach said with antler tip overlays I could shoot FF.  So I may go that route in the future.
Shooting some leftover 2016 and some woodies I picked on here.  Aint' found the right arrow yet though.  Both aluminuim and wood shot 154 fps throught the chrono.  Any tips on picking up speed and tuning the arrow are more than welcome.  Pics:
 
 
 
 

[SSGN_Doc]

Looks good.

[bjansen]

Nice looking bow. Its almost impossible to make just one isnt it!

[ALW]

Wow, where do you find 38" arrows?  LOL....  Just kidding.

I haven't tried it yet but I believe hickory takes well to heat treating the belly.  A lot of folks say you can gain a bit of speed by doing this and help reduce set some.  Very nice bow.

Aaron

[Shakes.602]

Nice Looking Bow!!

[briarjumper12]

I fixed the 38" LOL. Its 28 of course but I am actually only drawing about 24" to the belly of the grip, about 50 lb or so.  When I drew it on the bow scale to 28 it read 60.  
I been thinking about the heat treating thing.  I might try it on #2.
Thanks for the great comments.  I got a lot of info on this site, Thanks to everybody.

I might try a cutout shelf on this next one.  Anybody got any tips on that...what tool to use ect.

[ALW]

I know a lot of guys don't like cut in shelves on selfbows but I do them on my bows.  However I tend to leave the handle area a little "bulkier" to compensate.  I just figure out where I want the shelf and mark a straight line on the side of the handle.  This line will be the high point of the shelf.  I then mark a line on the back of the bow so I know how deep to cut.  I usually cut mine in to about 1/4" from the centerline, so I make sure I have this marked so I don't go past that.  Then you just use a hacksaw, miter saw, or whatever and cut to the depth you want.

I also draw on the back of the bow what I want the cut out area of my shelf to look like.  Kind of how it looks from the deepest part of the shelf and tapering out up toward the fade.  If you do this you can make several kerf cuts and just know out the little pieces.  It saves a little time.  Or you can just make the one cut then take out the wood you want with a rasp.  Once I have the depth cut and the wood removed, I'll round the front and back of the shelf so it's radiused.  This is where you put the high point of the shelf where ever you want it.  Near the middle, at the deepest part of the grip if you have a contoured grip, etc.....

The most important thing is to go slow and don't cut too deep or not leave enough wood in the handle.  Hope this helps.

Aaron

[ALW]

I also radius the face of the shelf (where the strike plate goes)from front to back.  This gives a little more fletching clearance and helps reduce arrow contact.

Aaron

[4est trekker]

Congrats, John.  Careful now, it's addicting!  Also, how did you prepare and finish the belly?  It almost looks as though there is a raised strip down the middle.  Did you use a router to round over the hard edges, leaving the raised strip as a result?  Just curious!    

PS I use 12 strands of B-50 up to 50#, then 14 from 50-60#, etc.  Some guys get away with 12 strands up to 60#, but I prefer to play it a bit conservative and have a string that won't stretch as much, even if it's a touch heavier.

[SSGN_Doc]

I think what appears to be a raised strip is just an optical illusion from the shadow of the bow string.

[Jesse Peltan]

If you want to pick up some speed heat treat the belly and clamp the bow to a straight board. The heat and clamps will put the bow back close to straight and even the set on both limbs. Don't clamp the bow until it is heated slightly. Once it's in the form and you heat treat it and let it cool it should keep the shape. Second thing you only need overlays if you are going to shoot a high strand count fastflight. You could use a 6 strand 8125 padded to 15-18 right now. Next thing is to shape the tips like apex predator does. It reduces their weight significantly. He has a build a long here on the bowyers bench.  Also make sure to file in a double string grove like Dano does and make sure the angles are correct. The first should be at 30-45degrees and the second at 90.  Last thing make sure the bow is tuned.  Improper tuning can be the biggest loss of performance in speed, noise, etc.  You can't tune the bow until you make all final changes though.  When tuning I suggest to cut the arrow until about 1 inch is sticking out of the bow and then just adjust point weight.

[briarjumper12]

Thanks Aaron.  I think I will be trying that shelf on #2 next week, hopefully.
There is no ridge down the middle, just bad photography.  Finished it with the cabinet scraper and sand paper.  Just scraped the edges down and sanded them round.
4est, I am going to try a 12 strand string on this bow asap.  Thanks
Jesse,  a couple of questions.
When heat treating, instead of using a straight board could use a reflex form and put 2 or 3 inches of reflex in it.  On this bow I started with green wood and after floor tillering clamped it to a form with 3 inches of reflex and left it in the hotbox for about 9 days.  It held the reflex for a good while during the tillering but lost it of course.  Probably would've wound up with more sring follow if I hadn't done that.
I know my tips are big, I like the rough of the antler showing.  On the next one I will thin them out real good before installing them.  Those where a last minute add on and I done had the string groove cut.  I'll get it right on this next one.  What are the second set of string grooves for?

Thanks guys!

[briarjumper12]

Jesse, after rereading your post I think you are suggesting that I heat treat this bow.  I was thinking you where talking about the one I was working on next.  Am I correct?  Your saying I can heat treat this bow.  If so, how much heat are we talking here.  Hot to the touch, turn the belly golden brown, please elaborate...this sounds very interesting.

[Jesse Peltan]

The second string groves are filed in the same place as the first but at a different angle. This allows the string to lift up without getting worn down thus increasing the life of the string and the bow.  They also slightly reduce the weight at the tips making less handshock, less noise, and a bit more speed.  The difference is minimal but I thought you would like to know.  I suggest you look at one of Dano's bows to see what I'm talking about.  I'm suggesting you try heat treating on this one and then decide if you like it or not for the next.  About clamping to a board I suggest you clamp it to the reflexed form if you already have one.  I suggested the board because if you don't have a form it's very easy to get a straight board.  You want the bow to be heated up to where its hot to the touch before you put it in the form.  Then let it cool back down.  After it's cooled down use hot heat until the belly changes to a golden brown color.  You should heat treat it when it's still in the form because it will take the shape better that way.  Remember to never heat treat the back of the bow though.  For the heat treating I use a heat gun and turn it on high until the wood is golden brown.  Wait until the bow cools down all the way after the heat treating before you take it out of the form.  About the tips I actually can't see them in any of the pictures.  I just wanted to let you know that you can use a skinny padded 8125 on the bow to reduce noise, reduce handshock, and increase speed without adding tip overlays.  Now about the shelf I suggest using a bulbous grip design where the arrow pass is 3/4in wide and just building out a leather shelf.

[Osagetree]

Maybe wait a few days after tempering before bending on it. Lets the moisture equal out.

[twitchstick]

looks great.

[briarjumper12]

Thanks guys.  I goint to try the heat treating.  Thanks for the explanation Jesse.

[Jesse Peltan]

Your welcome. Please post pictures and an update when your done.