WOBWO

[Saskquach]

Hi everyone

This is my white oak backed white oak board bow that I'm working on(quarter sawn). It is 58" NTN, 10" riser of white oak with a black walnut I-beam, the limbs are 2" wide at the fades and stay at that width for a foot up the limb and then taper to a 1/2" tip. I was hoping that I would come out with 55# at 26" draw.
 
Here are some pics:
Static view-
 

Drawn to 20" on the tree 44#-
 

Drawn to 22" on the tree 50#-
 


Do you think that I am coming off the fades to hard?

Should I make the limb work a little farther out to center?

Any suggestions and/or comments would be appreciated!

[PV]

IMO your fades are looking good so far. Your mid limb is flat. At 58" you'll need to get as much limb working as possible without whip tillering the bow. Great job. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the story....

[Apex Predator]

Yep, mid limb needs to bend more.  Looking great though!

[Pat B]

I agree with PV and Marty.
  wobwo should be a good combo. Is the backing from the same piece as the belly?

[hova]

it looks great. midlimb on out could use some attention. make yourself up a gizmo , it makes a world of difference.


-hov

[4est trekker]

Looking good.  Before doing ANY wood removal, get the bow braced on the short strong (not the long string).  You will get a different, and more true reading with the short string, particularly in the out portions of the limb.  Again, looking very nice!

[Saskquach]

Thanks for the replies. I have been using the gizmo, what a wonderful tool it is!

I have been fearing the short string as last week I short strung a white oak backed maple bow 60"ntn and the bottom limb broke diagonally. I blamed myself for twisting the limb as for 40+ years I have been stringing bows through the leg style. One bow in that length of time? I guess it had to happen.... Dug out the stringer for this one....
Guess what happened?

 

I don't have a picture on hand of the other bow but it looks the same as this one. Design flaw? Tillering ? Just plain clumsy?

Is the backing from the same piece as the belly?
No it isn't. The original piece was 74" long and I had plans using it that way but on inspection I found a swirl in the grain which would have ended up about mid limb in that length of bow. I shortened it up putting the swirl in the last 6" of the limb. I backed it with a shorter piece spliced in the grip area. The piece was from farther up the same board.

On to the next one!

Thanks again!

[razorsharptokill]

I know your pain.

[4est trekker]

I broke one today, too!  All was going great until the thing exploded to Kingdom come!    

Sorry to hear about your bow.  It was looking very nice!

[okie64]

Sorry about your bow. We've all been there. Still doesnt make it any better. I feel like I have learned a whole lot more from the bows I have broken than the ones that are still shootin.

[KellyG]

tough break Well now you get to start another one.
Kelly

[Roy from Pa]

Ouch, sorry Dude. I know the feeling.

[Pat B]

Sorry your bow broke. Looked like she was gonna be a good one.
  From the way the break looks there was grain runoffs along the side of the board...from the up side on the left to the down side on the right...or is that just an allusion?

[Saskquach]

Hi Pat,

Yes the bow was turning out quite nicely as the draw was smooth and it seemed quite responsive. Here is a pic of the cross grain of the limb, I put some true oil on it to pic up the grain-

 

The grain had a wee bit of wave to it but it all seem to run from one end to the other. Of course when the limb is tapered from mid limb to the tip the majority of the grain is going to runoff except for the 1/2" that is in the tip. Maybe I should have used flatsawn for the backing?

Thanks again

[Pat B]

The end grain looks good. The edge grain along the sides is where it looked like it gave loose.

[ChristopherO]

How dry is your wood?  Low MC may be a culprit, too.

[PEARL DRUMS]

58" seems quite short to me? Maybe its for a 22-24" draw? Hard to say. The best part about breaking bows is learning (hopefully) what went wrong.

[Red Tailed Hawk]

I feel your pain, keep building keep learning. Thats what im doing.