Narrowed Limbs???

[nlester]

I'm currently working on an osage bow that's around 64" long.....Well, I got the brace height to around 5 inches and drawn out to about 23 inches, and it lifted a split on the side between the fades and mid limb.  I tamed the splinter which narrowed the limb down to 7/8 inch wide.  Is that too narrow for a bow 64 inches long?  Will I need to make all the limb 7/8th inch wide to mid limb?  I'm hoping to salvage this one.....it has the potential to be the nicest one I've ever made for sure.  Just didn't know if narrowing it that much would be acceptable.  I'm looking to bring the bow in at about mid to upper 40lb range.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

[PEARL DRUMS]

That should work fine in the mid 40 range. It may take on more set than usual. I assume 28" draw? Round those edges off with a sanding block VERY good before you do any bending.

[nlester]

Thanks PD.  I think not rounding off my edges was probably my demise.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I round mine after every srcaping, every single time. Good wood and a good tiller can still pop on ya' with square shoulders. Try starting your next bow with a nice 1/4" chamfer along the edges. That way its always somewhat rounded as you scrape/rasp down to tiller.

[ber643]

Just wanted to say, excellent advice, PD. IMO every person working on wood bows should mark that comment down in their memory book and stick it on the wall in their shop. So easy and important to do but also so easy to forget and leave undone. Just one omission could be all it takes to lead to an inconvenient splinter, or even a disastrous result.

[Pat B]

Like Pearlie I always round all corners as I tiller a bow. A couple of scrapes on each corner will help prevent any splinters from lifting.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

I trashed a few not doing it. If it don't work out Nathan get down here to the house with some trading material and we'll dig through the pile.

[nlester]

Didn't work out.  It ended up fracturing on the back, close to where the splinter was.  Back to the drawing board.  Learn from it and move on.  I'll be in touch sometime Kris.  Need to get down there and bring that rock with me.  Thanks to everyone who helped.  Lessons learned.

[trentcur]

Dont worry lester.......... I just had the pleasure of watching one crack too........... makes you feel like  

[nlester]

Yeah, it was a little frustrating, but I'll survive.  I'm sure it won't be the last time it happens.  I'm ready to start again.