How long?

[TroutGuide]

How long untill you "trust" a bow.  I just finished a 62" BBBC (boo backed Black Cherry) 55@28"  shooting well and hard...but.   I made the backing out of an old decorative culm and a 1/2 by 1 1/16 cherry board scrap.  Glued it up with TB3 and started tillering, well the handle area started bending too much around 40@24 so I glued on a scrap of boo about 9" thined down to nothing on both ends.  It seemed to work and brought the poundage up some.   So now I have shot it about 15 times and I am scared every time I pull it back.  No poping or anything so all seems well but when do you begin to trust all is well?  This is the first shooter I have made if it survives the breakin period.

TroutGuide

[Jeff Smith]

Mine have been to full draw plenty of times on the tillering tree before I start flinging arrows so I dont worry much about it.
Jeff

[Art B]

Trust is easily broken! Sorry, couldn't help that.

But trust in a wooden bow is truely earned by first selecting good materials, doing your part as far as tillering, and most important I think, care of your bow......Art

[NYArrow]

I did the same thing last year. Was a perfect bow, hours of work....except I narrowed the handle area too much and it started bending. I attempted some glue ons and wraps but ultimately it failed. Probably not what you wanted to hear but its how it worked out for me.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Anymore I dont fully trust a bow until I get no less than a 1000 shots through them. I have had some strange things happen even after 500-600 shots when I thought all was well.I cant believe that boo hasnt totally crushed that cherry. Be careful with that combo until you get many shots through it.

[TroutGuide]

Well it has turned fron about 1.5" reflex to about 1.5" set.  I hope that was mostly from the bending handle early on.  It returns to almost flat after a while.  It is just a scrap wood bow so the combination may not be best but every project I atempt with my better stuff has failed, so anything that shoots for now is good.  I will keep wincing and squinting for a while with it.  I have to get some better wood to work with.  We have a bunch of cherry sawed and dried but nothing else so cherry and whatever I can find is going to have to work for now.  

Do you think if this combo breaks it will explode or just fold over?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Boo likes to explode.

[TroutGuide]

Thanks that makes me feel much better!  Now I am wearing safety glasses!  I dont know why, may be that all the self bows I have tried(3) broke on the tree before pulling all the way, but this thing scares the crap out of me pulling it out to 28".  I think it seems even more intense bc I shoot 45 and it is 55.  So thanks Pearl I will be much more relaxed now.

TroutGuide

[Pat B]

If I don't feel confident in a bow from the first shot I won't shoot it. This doesn't mean it will never blow. The bow I made to hunt with last year had well over 1000 shots through it when it blew one evening at full draw. I think I over pulled it but not more than an inch or so.
  The more bows you build the more confident in your abilities you will be. The wood is another story but that is just part of wood bow archery.