Take two (Pics)

[JesuslovinGoose]

So I'm waiting on a friend to put some serving on the string on my 1st board bow so I had time to start another.  It's Red Oak with Walnut. So far it's on the short string 52lbs @ 21.5" and I think it's looking good.  I did want to try an arrow shelf and somewhat of a throat to the grip.  Questions I have are

1. What's the shortest I can go on the width in the grip?

2. What's the most distance I can go in with the "throat" part of the grip?  Is there a good thickness dimension to stick with?

3. Does this grip even look right?

4. For the shelf how much above center is a good rule of thumb?

 
 

[JesuslovinGoose]

BTW The bow is
62" long
8" handle
2" Wide at the riser
5/8" at the tips
60" Nock to nock

[walkabout]

ive never used an overlay on the front, but as far as the throat or narrow section just under the arrow shelf ive gone as deep as leaving about 1/2" thick from the back of the grip to the limb. arrow shelf depends on  few diferent things, but generally i try to hit 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 above center. my later bows i build top limb longer, so the shelf is actually only about 1/2" from center. as far as shaping the rest of the handle, side of the throat, etc. i think most of mine are 1 inch to 1 1/4 inch flaring to the fades. also on that bow you should cut your fades, leaving the handle block square there will cause undue stress and may pop it off or splinter it there.

[walkabout]

ah, you want to only get the limbs moving 10 inches at your target weight. also 60 inch is pushing it for red oak, especially if you draw 28" only one ive built that short was bend through handle and it stress cracked during tillering, although i was able to save it.

[JesuslovinGoose]

I guess when I say short string it's not quite short like most people do it... my "short" string is slack until 13" on my tiller so it's really only moving 8.5".

[walkabout]

ok then youre doing alright.

[Bob Barnes]

the overlay on the back of the grip will likely pop off...if you use overlays they need to be shorter than the non-bending grip... my opinion...and 60" is very short for a Red Oak board bow with a stiff handle section.  
I really hope it works for you.
Bob

[JesuslovinGoose]

Hmmm would it help to take the size of the overlay down with a file?  Also, would the quality of the board help a bit with the length being short trying to get to 50lbs?  I'll post a picture when I figure out my wife's camera.

[JesuslovinGoose]

I think what I need is about 2 days with someone who can pass on some common sense with mistakes they learned from.  It might save me a few dollars in this endeavor to shoot a deer with a bow I make this year.

So should I cut it down and make a youngin' happy or go slowly and hope for the best?

 
 
 

[walkabout]

quality of the board will help, however its just the simple dynamics that will tell if it fails or not. usually you take draw length, multiply by 2 then add i believe 10%. in an ideal situation with perfect tiller, you could get a 56 inch bow drawing 28", but adding an 8 inch stiff handle takes 8 inches away from working limbs, so you really only have 54 inches to squeeze that draw length out of. personally, unless its a bending handle, i shoot for 65 inches with a 28 inch draw and an 8 inch handle section. if you make the overlay smaller, be careful you dont dig into the back of the bow or it will most likely fail.

[walkabout]

well, you may be able to coax it to a 27 inch draw, however this is if you get the tiller great and shorten the front overlay. if you used titebond glue to glue the handle and overlay on a heat gun would help to remove them, and you could essentially start with what you have in the working limbs for a bow with a layered short handle that would allow a bit of flex, or just go with a primitive design bend through handle for a 28 inch draw. it shouldnt be a problem to get a 50# bow out of it doing so, my bend through handle pulls 50#@27". whatever you decide, keep us posted if you have questions we'll try to help. good luck and remember theres always the next one if you hit a snag thats impossible to fix.

[JesuslovinGoose]

Here's what the day brought me... I shortened the overlay quite a bit and cut a shelf in.  I did my best not to go into the oak on the inlay but take as much off as I could.  

As far as the fades I was going to get some input on how much I should angle them?  Haven't quite gone crazy with them yet.  Either way I'm going to try to at least finish this bow out and either a little guy has a new bow or somehow I get it to work.  Currently 49lbs @ 12" of travel on a short string (because I can't string it quite yet with my bow stringer without feeling like I'm going to snap the bow)

 
 
 

[Bob Barnes]

looking good... I just realized that you are in Fort Smith...my son and his wife live there too.  I live about 2 hours east of you...just north of Morrilton.  If you are seriously wanting to make wood bows you need to go to MoJam in a couple of weeks...
Bob

[JesuslovinGoose]

MoJam I've heard of it and I might have to seriously look into it.  Thanks for the heads up and the input.

Love Fort Smith.  I was in Ozark (just off of 40) for the past 5 years and my wife and I just moved to Fort Smith when I took a job with a church in town.

[Bob Barnes]

it's about 3 1/2 hours from here...you just get on hwy 65 and stay on it until you get there...free camping...     we have been going since year 2...it's absolutely the best way to get more help than you need from great bowyers...
There's some info on tradgang under trad events...July 16-18 but some of us go a little early...
My son graduated ATU a year ago and moved to Fort Smith with his wife.  She got a job after about 4 months at ArVest but his first there job starts Tuesday...if you know anyone needed a computer geek/web geek/photographer geek...he's your man.
Bob

[walkabout]

fades should be a gradual curve from the riser fading into the limb. i use a french curve template that i found online and printed out then glued to some posterboard.

[Bob Barnes]

I've used the bottom of a paint can to draw the curve for the fades too...  
Bob

[walkabout]

yep, lol ive improvised more than once for fades. a big roll or masking tape works too, even bigger cups.

[DesertFox]

Originally posted by Bob Barnes:
I've used the bottom of a paint can to draw the curve for the fades too...    
Bob

Heheheh, since I've seen so many bows with stiff fades, I generally just remove more than I think I should right from the beginning. It tends to help.

60 inches seems rather short, but it can be done I think. I just finished up a hickory recurve with a 4 inch non-bending handle that was about 58 inches nock to nock... So about 27 inches of working limb for a 27 inch draw.

[JesuslovinGoose]

So I haven't quite removed as much as desertfox would have but I made a dent.  I strung her up and worked on the tiller a bit.  I have a few hinges but braced @ 2" it's pulling 50lbs @ 19.5".  I have a feeling that I'll be working on this a while.  

Bob do you have directions to MoJam.  A buddy and I are putting some serious thought into making the trip for a day or two.  Also, if we were to pick a day which would be the best?