Bow belly "backing" or other ideas..

[CamoZ]

Is there anything a person can do to the belly of a longbow to do the following..

1 - Increase the draw weight

2 - Guard against grain run out breakage or chrysalis (if that word is used properly here)

[fujimo]

you can increase the draw weight some, by piking the bow- ie. shortening the bow, probably about an inch at a time- to a point- dont want to get to short.
but it will require minor retillering as you do that.
and depending on the wood, heat treating the belly will add quite a bit of weight, adding sinew , or wooden backing( hickory etc) to the back will also add weight, just make sure that you dont overpower the belly wood- make sure you have a suitable belly wood.
adding belly lam's will also add weight, but be careful you dont overpower the back.
run out on the belly is not too much of a problem, as long as its not indicative of run out on the back.
but wood compression on the belly is a problem, and belly lams will help with that.

what bow do you want to "tune "up?
if the guys here know what type of wood you are starting with, than can advise the best stratergy.
i hope this is not a veiled question, implying that that nice oak bow you built is giving you some problems.
maybe a lam in the right wood and thickness, from kenny might do the trick. i have seen that a few times on here.- and then you can glue in a little backset too- that will also add some weight.
g'luck

[CamoZ]

yea..i was referring to the oak board bow i just built..just wondering what my options are..should i wish to try to get more poundage from it..i think i will just leave it and do my next one better..but if i should notice any problem areas on the belly..i wanted to know what i can do..i have a heavier gauge linen backing on it so that is giving me a bit of added poundage i assume..maybe not much but a bit..

[k-hat]

Sorry camo but linen doesn't give you any added weight, just protection against splinters.  It gives quite a bit though!  I have my first red oak i made for myself with a linen backing.  Kept hearing ticks when i drew but found nothing.  Then one day i sighted down the limb as i drew and lost count of the number of splinters i could see trying to form under the linen!!  No telling how many pieces that thing oughta be in.  Retired it of course.

It's tempting to get caught up in "fixes" and patches on a bow you've made.  I guess cause we get so attached to the products of our labor of love.  My philosophy now (after a couple of years of this) is figure out what i did wrong and just don't do it on the next.  Before i came to that, i kept tryna "improve" that first bow, which led to the overstressing of the red oak and forced it into retirement.

[fujimo]

x2 what kevin said. keep the bow as is, as a reminder of your first bow. sometimes a fix takes more effort than just making a new bow.

[Dan Landis]

Adding a belly lam is possible, but probably takes more work than making a new bow.  I've done a few with success, but unless you have the proper tools to flatten the belly and a way to thin the belly lam to less than 1/8" it would be hard to get good glue lines and make it look like anything, IMO.

[CamoZ]

yeah..definitely not worth the time I guess..just make another one..

[Roy from Pa]

Now your learning:)

[7 Lakes]

One of my first all wood bows blew into 4 pieces, I had put so much time and effort into that bow my first thought was "How am I going to glue that thing back together".  Sometimes it's best to just move on.

[LittleBen]

Just keep making em, only stop to make bow racks ....