(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz286/coulter_01/IMG_2697.jpg)
this is a 66 ntn longbow i've been working on, the bow is on a long string and 26" draw, ithink it is drawing about 50@26 a little heavy, 50@28 would be good. is the tiller good enough to just shave the belly down to the desired weight. any help would be appreciated. thanks, noel
First, if it is on a long string you are not at 26" draw. You have enough bend to brace it for the first time with a low brace(3" to 4") but first get the inner limbs bending a bit more.
I use a long string to be sure the limbs are bending evenly and together but never more than 8" or so of tip movement. If everything is OK at that point I low brace it with a short string to be sure the string is lining up OK.
If you go much beyond 8" or 10" on a long string you will get false readings on bend and draw weight.
thanks pat ,i'll go and work on the inner limbs a bit and see if its ready for a low brace. noel
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz286/coulter_01/IMG_2704.jpg) i took some scrapes of the inner limbs and used a shorter string ( 3" brace)
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz286/coulter_01/IMG_2705.jpg) this is the same brace at 10" what you suggest next? i have a small knoe in the upper limb belly about midlimb, its making me nervous but so far so good! noel
sorry i forgot to reduce the size of the picture! i meant to say small knot in upper limb. noel
The right limb still looks a bit stiff right off the fade. Does the string track down the bow well? Be sure to exercise your limbs after each wood removal and if everything looks OK then pull it another inch and see what ya got.
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz286/coulter_01/IMG_2707.jpg) the string alignment looks good pat, so guess i'll take a little more of the inner right limb. thanks pat, noel
It looks to me like you should go to a 5in brace height and take another picture.
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz286/coulter_01/IMG_2709.jpg) 3" brace @14" took a little of the inner right limb i think it looks a little better what do you think. noel
Looking better. Try it a little farther. Your string is tracking well. Keep an eye on that. Sometimes while tillering you will get a little more off one side or the other and that will pull the string toward the strong side.
Jesse, once you are at low brace, raising the brace height won't change the tiller shape of the bow but will stress the limbs some before the bow can handle it.
I agree on the low brace, no sense rushing a bow with too much stress.
The bow is looking good Noel, be patient.
thanks pat, thanks dano,thanks jesse, i,ll give it a little more and take another pic. i,m trying to go slow the last three bows i tried to make didn't make it this far so hopefully this could be #1 LOL. noel
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz286/coulter_01/IMG_2711.jpg) i worked it every time i moved it 2". so here it is at 3" brace at 22" im not sure about the draw weight. should i just keep going? noel
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz286/coulter_01/IMG_2713.jpg) hi guys, this is the latest picture, i've been working the limbs on the 3" brace so i got it to what you see now. 26" is my draw lenght and i have it braced at 5 1/2". is 5 1/2 enough brace height for this bow or should it be more. noel
Lookin good. What ever it takes to clear the fletching is minimum for brace. What's the draw weight? Do you have a scale?
hi dano! i have a 50lb fish and it tops out about 26", so i guess its just over 50@26". it sure feels good to draw a bow that doesn't blow up lol,so whats next dano start sanding and finishing? noel
sorry dano i meant fish scale
I would shoot a hundred arras through it and check tiller, bear in mind your going to loose about 3 pounds sanding it for finish. You can use a bathroom scale too, just set your tiller stick on the scale and draw it to your length.
thanks very much for all your help dano, you and pat have been very helpful i will try to shoot some arrows tomorrow. i will let you know how it goes. noel
Pat is good help ain't he. :bigsmyl:
I blinked and missed everything. Looking good and I agree with Dano...AGAIN!...shoot it!
Learning to see tiller and to actually tiller well are very important for someone relatively new to wood bow building. Once you get that figured out you are ready for any type of bow you want to build.
thanks again guys! noel
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz286/coulter_01/IMG_2717.jpg) hi guys! got a little bit of trouble, i noticed a little grain crack about 5" from the fade on the upper limb. i was wondering if this can be repaired or if the bow is scrap. noel. p.s. i still havent shot an arrow with it.
I had one do that, I CA'd the splinter and backed it with tissue paper. Held just fine.
a bit of superglue and wrapping might be the proper cure. But you'd better wait untill other bowyers chime in. I've never used wooden backings, nor repaired anything similar.
Nick
hi dano,hi nick, dano im not sure what CA'd means, i was thinking along the lines of what nick said, some sort of wrap. but i've never done anything like this before so i am open to all instruction thanks. noel
Regardless of how you do it, super glue (Cyanoacrylate)the splinter first. If it is a large splinter I'd wrap it, if it's small which it looks like it is, I'd back the bow, just to prevent any more lifting. It's a simple process, just like applying snake skins.
Superglue the area and wrap with artifical sinew, twine, or dental floss.
yep, the backing might be a better idea. Some kind of Camo cloth would look good on this bow.
Nick
thanks dano, i'll give it a shot this morning some time, i'll let you know how it goes. can i use tb3 for glueing the backing? thanks jesse & nick for your suggestions all you guys have been really helpful. noel
coulter,
I would indeed try tb3, as it's waterresistant and a good glue.
Nick
I wrapped a crack like that with sinew and have no worries now.
thanks nick & BC, i just super glued it , i was going to back it with some silk ( i heard it does a good job.) but i think i might be better with some crazy glue and a wrap of nylon fishing line, let me know what you think. noel
Really looks great, that one. Nice and simple.
Sorry for shortly hijacking the thread here, but now that we're talking about fixing cracks and such, I figured this would be better than starting an all new thread...
A few days ago, I cut down a dying juniper, and managed to get a good stave out of it. It has a groove about 2" long and a little less than 3/8" deep, running upside down. I intend to work the stave of course, which will probably minimize the depth. If I am to fill it out, what should I fill it with to minimize chance of breaking/splintering?
Thanks ;)
coulter, I would just back it with the silk and leave the wrapping. but that's me. I rather have a dead bow than one with an astetically unpleasing wrap ;)
Nick
Tiller looks very good. Add some super glue to the splinter. I'd wrap it with some art. sinew set in Duco. The wrap a colorful thread or some yarn on the top and bottom of that. Set that in glue too. Then do the same with the other limb in the corresponding part. It will look like a decoration. jawge
hi nick,i dont think silk would hold it. this is the first bow i have almost finished(the last three blew up on me) so i would like to shoot some arrows out of this one. when i can make bows as good as you i can try to make them pretty. hi george, i already put some super glue on the splinter, can i use tb3 to do the wrap? i would like to thank you and nick for your input i appreciate it. noel
I had a bow that was starting to crack near the handle glue joint. I CA'd it and wrapped it with sinew then put a snake skin around it just where the wrap was. I looked very cool! Of course I did the same to the other limb just to balance it out.
Bona
hi bona, im trying the same thing except i CA'd the splinter wraped it with silk and i have some braid im going to wrap over the silk. hopefully it will look ok. thanks for your input it all helps. noel