My first bow from a stave

[takefive]

I guess I could have picked a better stave; it was narrow and lost width and thickness quickly at the handle from the way it was split.  Both ends were deflexed and the top limb had some propeller twist. The top four rings were very thin, but it only had three pin knots.  Anyway, it wound up 1 1/4" wide at the fades, 65" NTN, and 40#, 5 pounds shy of what I was trying for.  I just narrowed one side of the handle to 1" for the arrow pass.  Think I will just finish it with tung oil and wrap the handle.  I've shot 100 arrows thru it and it is holding up; took some set, but no splinters or chrysals.  I am just thrilled that it became a bow.  Osage is amazing wood.  I'll add some pics when it's all finished.

 

 

 

[fujimo]

wow ....   you lying son of a gun- that aint your first stave bow   :D  
that is truly awesome- especially for a first stave, and a really testy one at that.

very cool!!!

[takefive]

Thanks fujimo!  Lying son of a gun is one of the nicer things I've been called    :D   I did make a bow for my daughter out of a branch from our backyard Mulberry tree, but o/w all of my bows have been from boards.  Definitely going to do another from an osage stave sometime.

[Roy from Pa]

Looks nice, Greg. You could easily pick up 5 pounds by taking 3/4 of an inch off each end.

[John Scifres]

Nice tiller.  I agree with Roy, if it'll make you shoot it more or hunt with it, shorten it and make weight.  I don't make osage bows much longer than 62" for a 28" draw.  

Start with 1/2" at each end and see what you get.  You can just tie on some temp nocks at different lengths to determine what will happen without actually cutting it.  There's a thread on *********** that shows how.  http://***********.bowsite.com/tf/lw/thread2.cfm?forum=23&threadid=257128&messages=24&CATEGORY=4

[Echatham]

when i seen the first pic i thought it was stiff in the outer limbs... then i seen the unstrung pic.  looks great.  40# bows come naturally to me too lol!  how much heat manipulation did it take to get that profile, or was it mostly already there in the stave?

[takefive]

Thanks Roy, John, and Eric.  I've thought about shortening it but I'm still on the fence because I'm afraid that I will screw it up         My regular arrows are too stiff for it, but I have some lighter ones that shoot nice.  Probably would shoot it more if it were 45#, though. Eric; I just heated the limbs to make them a bit straighter and flatter, then reflexed the tips about 1 1/2"  8 inches from the tips.  Both limbs had natural deflex, moreso in the bottom one and the top one had a fair amount of propeller twist.  I probably would have been better off reflexing the limbs from the fades out.   Think I will try that on the next one.  My hat is off to you guys who tiller these all the time and can still hit your target weight.  Working around the humps and dips makes for some tense bowyering and the ones on my bow are pretty mild compared to many I've seen here.        Thanks again guys!

[Roy from Pa]

Cut 3/4" off each limb tip and re-do your string grooves. Won't take you but about 15 to 20 minutes to get er done.. It will hop right up to at least 45 pounds. Prolly won't even affect the tiller either. I wouldn't be afraid to cut 1" off each end if it were mine. But I know how delicate you Wisconsin boys are..     It does look nice, Greg and I can see you have your tillering process down pretty well.

My swap bow came in about 10 pounds under this year, so I cut off 4 inches in a heart beat and it's right in there now.

So I say go for it brother.....        

[takefive]

Lol Roy...I prefer to think of it as being cautious, but you got me thinking about shortening it now.  I just hope you cut 2 inches off each end instead of all 4 off the one end of that pretty bow you made.  

[Roy from Pa]

Don't tell anyone, but that has happened..  

[George Tsoukalas]

Tiller is right on! Very impressive.

1/2 inch off each end, as John suggested, will give you roughly 5#.

Keep in mind that piking usually adds a bit more set. It would be interesting to see how the cast varies before and after piking. Never measured it as I do not pike as a rule.

Starting another will give you more experience in getting closer to the weight  you want.

Your choice.

Jawge

[takefive]

Thanks George!  I'm going to shoot it for a while with my lighter arrows before I do anything with it.  I do like the way it shoots as is.  Sometimes I get pain in one of my shoulders for a few days after a long practice session, so maybe having a lighter bow for that isn't a bad idea.  Sucks getting old       Really enjoy reading your website and I have learned a lot from it.

[George Tsoukalas]

That sounds like a good plan to me, takefive.

I'm 65. I do have a few more pains than I did when I was 21 but I thank God fo every one of those years.

I love that bow and it is your "first".

I would not mess with it.

I have my first stave bow from '92 ish.

Jawge

[KellyG]

Looks good. Shoot and enjoy. I have my first shooter too in 2 pieces ish.

[Roy from Pa]

Greg, just shorten it    Everything will be ok...  

[takefive]

Geez...good reasons to shorten it and good reasons to leave it as is.  Maybe I'll just flip a coin       I have a Mulberry stave with about 800 pin knots in it that I hope to start eventually.  If that one comes in light, I'll shorten this one.  More I think about it, the more I like the idea of a lighter bow that I can put a lot of arrows thru in one sitting (literally, my basement ceiling is low so I sit in a chair).   Don't know about you guys, but on that rare day when I find the groove, I like to keep shooting.  Besides that, I've been told that I'm somewhat delicate.  Howzat sound Roy?

[michael9793]

My first bow was a yew 68" 45# bow and to this time it is one of my favorite bows. Used it at TBOF as primitive and had a great time in fact I beat my all time high single rounds and total.

[fujimo]

Jeeze Takefive- dont be showing ol'Roy all yer cards, otherwise hell be down there in a shot wannin to thump ya!!   :D  
or maybe its a ploy, to lure him in.....

[Roy from Pa]

It's your bow, Greg:)

[takefive]

Lol fujimo.  Heck, Roy is welcome up here anytime, as long as he shows me how he tillers those sweet tri-lams.  I'll even take him to a Packer game so he can watch a good team for a change.  I think most retirees prefer to go South, though.  Heat's good for those old bones.  
Thanks for the interest and advice everyone.