Palm bow

[wood carver 2]

I had some time this weekend, so I was able to work on my black palm bow. I glued on a riser buildup to give it a good grip and I got it bending enough to get it onto a long string. I haven't decided on which limb will be the top yet, but the tiller so far is not bad. The back has a bit of natural crown to it and I'm wondering if I should leave the belly flat or give it some radius. There are a few small voids on the back that look like bug damage. They don't go in very far, but I worry that they might cause a failure down the road. Would it be safe to fill them with epoxy?
I'm going to round over the edge completely as it is very prone to splintering.
I'm really starting to like palm wood. It's really strong and springy. I apologise for dragging this along for so long. I only have the one stave and I want to get it right, so I'm taking my time.
Dave.

[Pat B]

How about some pics Dave.
 I've never worked with palm so I'm only guessing. With a high crown I usually use a flat belly.
Do the voids on the back violate the grain(for lack of a better description)?

[wood carver 2]

Here are a few pics.
 
 
 
 
 
You can see the voids in the 2nd and 3rd pics. The ones on the limb are a bit past the centre of the limb and they are very shallow. The other ones are near the fade and the worst one is almost 1/8" deep. I'm hoping I can fill them with epoxy. You can see the grain in the last two pics. Because palms are related to grasses, the grain is dead straight. The back had a hard crust ( bark? ) on the outside that I had to remove. It was like filing glass. I burned a bit of fat off getting rid of that rind! To this point I had it on a long string at a very low brace, with the string touching the riser. It's still very heavy and there is a lot of tillering left to go. I have to tiller using my belt sander. Rasping tends to tear out fibers from the edges. The crown is not very high, the tree it came from must have been at least a foot in diameter.
Some stats: the bow is 72" long, 1 7/16" wide through the riser and it tapers to 1/2" at the tips. The glued on riser is made from padauk and blackwood and I glued them on with smooth on.
One thing I'm not sure of is what the finished brace height should be. The native bows I saw had no built up risers and I assume they bent through the handle. They are braced at only 1 or 2 inches and the shoot huge arrows that are more like spears. When I make a string, I think I'll make it only one inch or so shorter than the bow and see how that goes.
I'm not building it like a native bow. I plan to cut in a shelf and shoot regular arrows.
Dave.

[wood carver 2]

Ok. I made a string and got the bow strung up. I gave it a few pulls to about 40#. I heard a tiny pop, but I couldn't see or feel any problems. It might have been the string shifting a bit. The nocks could be a little deeper for safety.
Sorry about the crappy picture. It's at about a 2 inch brace.
Dave.

[forestdweller]

Interesting looking wood you have there. Nice natural camo.

As for the "pops" I have small indentations just like yours in my red oak bow and they only make that "pop" sound when I draw the bow the first couple of times while warming it up.

I have yet to find any splinters or anything though so I'm baffled by it.

[Pat B]

I'd worry about those depressions the was they go down through the grain. If it were on the belly it wouldn't be so bad but on the back it could lift a splinter.

[wood carver 2]

I'm going to fill the holes with epoxy and hope for the best. The one bit of information I found on palm wood bows is that you have to remove the hard rind and use the wood underneath as the back.
Dave.

[wood carver 2]

Well, I didn't even get to fill the holes. It cracked in the area near the bug holes in the limb. I think I'll wait until after turkey season, then I'll see how deep the crack is. There's a chance that I can grind the back down and glue on a bamboo backing. Maybe...
Right now I don't want to touch it. That's two bows broken this week. One was a real nice shooter.
Dave.

[Pat B]

Go shoot a turkey and come back to the bow when you feel triumphant.