BBI build along, my first backed bow

[Roy from Pa]

LOL..

But you did it all yourself with no one looking over your shoulder and ya did well for a Navy Guy:)

[wood carver 2]

Roy, you keep slapping youself on the back like that, you'll get a cramp.    
Good looking bow E.
Dave.

[Roy from Pa]

That's ok Dave, I'll just pop a Midol pill:)

[Millhimes]

Man they ARE some nice glue line's. Roy is doing you right but try not to get him to excited or he might take naked pics again        Keep up the great work-Joe

[Roy from Pa]

LMAO

[Echatham]

maybe I will do the final full draw pic in a loin cloth

[Echatham]

finished sanding to the line and then filed in the string nocks.
 

[Echatham]

put it on the tree and pulled it an inch or two.
 
 
 

[Echatham]

sorry about the camera being angled different on each picture. would be nice to have a camera and tripod instead of my phone. so anyway, it looks like its bending pretty even thus far, and i don't want to bend it further until i remove some wood, very stiff, lots of wood to remove. where should i start the removal? its 3/8" thick the whole length. should i just take off an even amount down the whole limb? or more toward the tips?

[Echatham]

yeah Roy... that's clothesline.    :eek:

[Millhimes]

On r/d bows i like to start at the tips and leave the fades for the last 5 lbs.Go slow.Ipe always seems to drop weight all at once.I had one bbi that finished out at 1/4" thick at the end of the fades.Stuff is tuff.Good luck--Joe

[macbow]

I agree. I stay away from the fades till it is obvious they need work.
If you haven't tillered a R/D yet the main removal is going to be at the reflexed area out to the tips.

Since it is real stiff yet you could remove wood on each limb and just keep working it on the floor tiller till it shows some bending.

Once you get it to a short string be careful, as you remove wood it will look like nothing is happening then BAM there it is.

[Echatham]

what would you begin wood removal with?  the surform plane?

[Millhimes]

Hard to tell by the pic's,do you have all the edges rounded off and the boo cleaned up and sanded smooth? If not do it now so it is less likely to lift a splinter when it starts bending.This will take some weight off also. You can use the surform now but smooth out the limb with a scraper before you pull on it--Joe

[Echatham]

good call millhimes. ok well tomorrow i will get the boo cleaned up. I'm just going to use a sharp knife at a 90 degree angle as a scraper for the boo. i will round off the edges with a fine toothed file. and smooth up the whole back with some fine sandpaper.  any tips for the boo cleanup?  i have the impression that i need to remove the rind... and that will leave that browner... richer color that's underneath.... and that's the power fibers?  as far as smoothing the belly after removing wood with the surform... wouldn't hand sanding be just as good for that as a scraper?

[Millhimes]

Eric,yes you want to remove the rind.A knife will scrape the rind right off just go slow and you will know when you hit the good stuff.Don't take the nodes off tho.Just clean them up with sandpaper.
Sanding will work fine after rasping i just like the scraper.It removes the marks quickly and doesn't make dust--Joe

[bowhntineverythingnh03743]

Wow Eric that is looking awesome! Your doing quiet well for your first one. My glue lines aren't even that good. Well done!

Take your time tillering it out!

[Echatham]

when should i glue on the tip overlays? after cleaning up the boo and before getting to far into tillering?  and what kind of glue would you guys use?  its going to be ipe and maple overlays... and I'm thinking tb3.

sorry so many questions...  I'm just scared of messing it up at this point.

[macbow]

I wait till the bow is shoot able before adding the tip overlays. First reason is sometimes I pike (cut off some) to reach weight.
After I add the overlays I shape and reduce the tips and last 6 inches of the limb tips. Narrower and,thicker is my goal.
The lighter the tips the less hand shock.

The scraper will be your number one tool. Caution, the easiest mistake to make is starting the,scraper in the same,spot too often. It is easy to have a,dished area that will turn into a hinge.
Dean Torges method is to draw a,line 1/8 inch in on the face of the limbs on all sides. Then another on the side edges. Then remove those four corners  after this you,start on the flat,surfaces.  Once wood is,removed so that most of this facet is removed you do it over again.
When using the scraper count your strokes and repeat on each limb. This will help to even things out.
A board with sandpaper or a flat disc palm sander in between scraping can help keep things flat.

Just to repeat, the easiest mistake is to get a thin area and this a hinge .

[Echatham]

scraped off the rind with my buck knife held at 90 degrees, worked really well. the "wood" is much much harder than the rind, and its easy not to dig into it. then i took a fine, flat file, and filed the back edges at a 45, then a 15 and a 75 to round them off, then sanded the edges and the entire back with 220 grit til smooth.