First bow Project

[Roy from Pa]

Looking good Chris.

[ChrisM]

First glue up does not seem to be a full success    Quick question, when I bring it down to profile and there is still a gap could I insert some glue or such to fill the gap and get away with it.  When I say gap I mean where a broadhead can be put in about half way up the bevel of the edge.

[fujimo]

Cut it to profile and see how it looks, worst case scenario, run it through a thickness sander, and take the hickory off, and recluse your shaped profile to a new backing, might be able to get the glue to work though, lets see what the hombre's say

[fujimo]

Cut it to profile and see how it looks, worst case scenario, run it through a thickness sander, and take the hickory off, and recluse your shaped profile to a new backing, might be able to get the glue to work though, lets see what the hombre's say

[macbow]

Chris, once you get to the shape if there are small openings you can mix some tite bond and fine saw dust to make a paste to help fill in the edges then sand and repeat as necessary.

[ChrisM]

Ok cut the bow down to profile.  The deminsions that I used are from the tradtional bowyers bible Volume I for a Yew Bow.
 
Here is the Tips
 
Here is the little fella that did the work.  It was my grandfathers.  
Now only one place still wasn't mated up good when I cut it down.  Right at a knot.  Guess it was a little too stiff for the rubberbands and After I saw this area I further examined my form and there was a slight dip in this area as well. The black line is the gap.  Its about midlimb.

[fujimo]

well done Chris.
follow Macs advice with the glue trick, an' let the shavings fly!!
with the yew and only a sliver of hickory, i am sure you found that when you took it off the form, a lot of reflex was "lost"- dont be disillusioned, but the belly wood will pull back against the hickory.
but as you tiller and remove belly wood- you will find some of the reflex "coming back".
when you are finished, if all goes well you should still have a little "Perry reflex" when you are completely finished.
and with experience , you can build new forms with more reflex- but that profile is a real good starting point.
next glue up, you can floor tiller the board some- now having a finished bow to compare sizes to, and it will visually hold more reflex after glue up.
personally i like that amount of reflex- seems enough to make a stable, snappy bow- without too much hand shock- as i like to build my bows to bend thru the handle- and they can be more shocky than a bow with a rigid handle( heavier!!)

you could try some more elastic bands next time- get it to squeeze down a bit more- but hey if it worked, then it worked.

i forgot to tell you to round off the top corners of the belly wood, as that sharp edge can cut through the elastics- especially with the harder woods like ipe.
another tip. when putting the elastic on, hold it in two hands- with a hand either side of the bow- with the elastic centered over the bow, and then pull down with both hands simultaneously, and hooking on to the pegs simultaneously, this ensures even top pressure- with no side pressure- and then the parts dont slide around on each other.

real neat tools- i have a spokeshave and a drawknife from my grandfathers father- and they built wagons!!

[ChrisM]

Thanks Fujimo.  I have a whet stone that was my great grandfather's.  It has been used so much it has a very deep dip in it.  I can sharpen my knives better on it than my new flat stones.

[ChrisM]

Ok here is a question.  Should I bring the belly of the bow down to a rough demisions or should I just begin floor tillering and let the tiller bring it into deminion?

[fujimo]

Just start tiller ing slowly, get to know the wood and the process. Don't try and follow a pattern or procedure. Enjoy the learning, and go slowly. On yew I like to stick to a scraper, nothing more!!!!!!

[fujimo]

onother option, if you can, might be to cut it down to a shorter kids bow, at least making a good bow, and learning the same good lessons.

[ChrisM]

Well I had some time and made a tillering board and did some bending and shaving.  First off I think that I need to bring the handle fadeouts more to the center.  However I am dodging a knot on the lower limb and it is making that limb really stiff.  The top apears to be bending nice.
   Here is after a little bit more scraping.
 
Any suggestions on how to work around the knot?

[psychmonky]

Did you turn it around for the second pic or just center it more on the tree?

[ChrisM]

It was truned around.

[ChrisM]

Ok I got up this morning and got the bow and just looked at it for sometime.  With all of my work and family stuff I have only been able to hit this bow on the run.  So after some time getting to know it a little better I moved the fade out of the bottom limb which helped a whole lot. I was able to brace it and here is what it looked like.  

I had braced it a little while before but saw a hinge so I unbraced it before I had time to take a picture.  Here is the result.  
 That limb went form too stiff to weak in a spot fast.  Where it was weak the grain made a little wiggle on the Yew.  Learned something there for sure.

Here is the top limb after the second time being braced.   I think at least half of this bow is turning out OK.
As far as the Tiller goes, do I need to make the tips bend more?  Second that tight Knot, can I work in closer to it or am I about right?   Anyway I a super happy that I was able to get it braced without a huge mess.

[fujimo]

thats really looking good,chris.
i might make that stiff area shorter, in other words, bring those stiff fades closer to the knot- get more of the limb working- will help with the profile-
see what the others say.

how long are the fades at the handle?

[ChrisM]

About an inch and a half is the fade length.  The black marks on the side are the widest points of the bow profile.

[ChrisM]

Well I think that my bow has handed it in.  The limb tips were walking out of line and in attempt to bring them back the bow lost about 10lbs of pull and started twisting at draw.  Well I was able to get it to full draw without it blowing.  Well It has taught me a whole lot.  Now to start prepping my next one.  The Yew looks to be clearer so it should be easier.
Thanks for looking.  I had a blast and intend to keep on with this.