'Stiffening up" self bows?

[scrub-buster]

I'm the one with the sore fingers!  It was well worth it though.  Good luck on your bow.  Lets see some pics when you get it done.

[Art B]

"I ground the back flat as a pancake."

Now that concerns me! Why did you do that?

Pat's bow was Osage, and quite oily. TB3 won't adhere well to oily woods IMO. He'd used a varnished barrier between the wood and sinew and only had one spot that lifted. Your bow being hickory, is a totally different situation.

You're going to need at a minimum, two layers, and perhaps a third. Trick is to use the least amount of sinew/glue to get the job done without adding a bunch of excess weight. Here's what I do:

Do first layer limb width. Stairstep in for second course (using about 1/3 less sinew/glue for this layer). Last course if needed, one strip/bundle (2/3 less sinew/glue for this layer) of sinew right down the middle of the limbs (good idea for bows with high crowned backs)........Art

[PEARL DRUMS]

I built the bow prior to having a clue, no books, no videos, no inetrnet and no bow builders around. Just me and vision. I made the belly round and the back flat with a slight radius on the edges. My description of grinding the back may have been over done. I just sanded all the finish off and smoothed all the round edges off. It sounded worse than what I did to it. I wanted to be sure I was down to clean, raw hickory and zero finish of any sort near the back.

[George Tsoukalas]

If you "fix" old bows you will never learn to make good new bows.    Jawge

[PEARL DRUMS]

Its so hard to scrap good wood George! I have another HBH in the rework corner with a cracked back and a solid core.....I got plans for her too! Im going to steal Erics method and grind most of the back off and try boo this time.

[Art B]

I love what Ol' Dean Torges had to say about building a bunch of bows.

"Many of us build one bow so hard upon the heels of another, moving from one to the next, that we lack accurate assessments of a bow's durability and our mastery of the bowyer's craft."

Lots of that going on! Art

[George Tsoukalas]

It is hard, Pearl Drums. Been there. Well that's true, Art. Dean is right about stepping back and assessing. But to learn you have to make. If the bow has come in under weight or if the bow has to be piked that is one way I know I was not successful so I start another. Winter is bow building time and I have all spring, summer and fall to assess my failures while I'm fishing and gardening.  I had 3 failures that I can remember last year alone. I even strung a prized red oak bow backwards and broke it. It was a bow for the son of my kid's Godfather. The board came from my father who passed away in '89. I gave the boy another and may make him still another. Anyway, it's over. I have my bow, may give an osage bow to a friend and plan to make my daughter a bow from another red oak board found in Dad's shop. Anyway, Pearl Drum, I apologize for being a wet noodle.  Jawge

[PEARL DRUMS]

One layer of sinew down, one more to go. Its not the easiet thing to do cleanly. Keeping the sinew flat and even was a royal pain. After drying it doesnt look so bad though. It seems too thick to me, if it doesnt work I will know why and will get better the next time! Lessons learned....