Stick bow question

[White hair]

I have an elm pony bow that is 46" long. It pulls about 60 lb. at 18-19". I want to rework it to be able to sinew back this one. To what draw weight would you take it down to before backing it ? Or would I be better off with rawhide backing ?    

[macbow]

How about a little more info.
What,are your goals draw weight @ draw length.

If it is already at your draw length then adding sinew may not be the best choice.
If you need a longer draw length I would reduce the weight at least 10 to 15 pounds then add 3 layers of sinew.

[White hair]

I was thinking 50 at 22. That would work for me. Recurve the tips too.

[Pat B]

Will you post pics of the bow?  
 If you want to add draw length and performance use sinew for the back. If you are just looking for a little insurance against splinters lifting the rawhide will work fine for that. For a bow that short flipping the tips will help with lengthening the draw length by decreasing the string angle at the tips.

[John Scifres]

You don't have to do anything before adding the sinew but if it were mine, I'd tiller it to the target weight at 20".  That will allow the sinew to pull it a little more.  Don't go crazy though as you may cause some belly damage.

That's pretty aggressive for average elm but good elm should be able to handle it.  I've found that the elm bows I have made like to be pretty wide or they will set a lot.  That's tough with a pony bow though.

Good luck.  Take pics and post them.

[White hair]

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here's the bow at 15". I can take it to 20" I flipped the bow in the pics

[White hair]

how critical is it to get all the inner bark off before backing ? This is the first time of backing a bow for me. Normally all mine are unbacked.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Id work that tiller out before you do anything else.

[John Scifres]

Get all of the inner bark off.

Get that hinge in the center of the right limb fixed as you reduce weight. Mark the belly with "NO" right at that hinge and don't take any more wood off there until it disappears.

Another thing, leave the handle area a little stiff but definitely get it bending a little more than it is now.  The last several inches don't seem to be bending at all on either limb.  

Red means stop.  Green means go.

 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Merry Christmas John!

[White hair]

I will do that. The right limb has a twist at mid limb too.

[White hair]

Oh yea. I forgot I tried to put bends in the limbs there too and tried to do a gull wing. Didn't work. Anyway the right limb has an upward twist there. I can get 20" or there abouts. Turns into half a wheel.

[White hair]

Guess I should ask this too. How narrow should the tips be ?

I have been making bows a while but only on my own. No help. I am grateful for any help.

[PEARL DRUMS]

5/8" is a good start.

[John Scifres]

I wouldn't worry too much about the twist unless it makes the string come off.  But I suspect it is due to uneven thickness of the limbs from side to side.  I like to make a mark on the limbs every three inches.  Then I measure width and thickness (both sides) with a caliper as a double-check on my layout.

I make my nocks 1/2" while I am tillering and then narrow to 3/8" after I finish.