building my little sister a bow, shes 13 and shooting my old ben pearson jet bow right now. thought id post some pics of my progress. bow is 65" ntn, gonna be 35# @25" when im done. im also tillering it longer so she can use it as she grows checking string alignment (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0428.jpg) on the tree at low brace (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0425.jpg) its a red oak board bow backed with burlap i dyed purple and black. the dyeing porcoess was a pain, and the colors have faded a bit but theyll darken when i put some finish over it (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0426.jpg) im making her a matching bow case, and armguard to go along with it as well as a few arrows. im sure shell be ecstatic.more pics after i get some more tillering done.
nice project!
yep, its coming along pretty well, tough making a low weight with board bows though,this one is literally crawling along, its been in the tillering stage for like a week now, on and off scraping lil by lil so it dont blow on me.took 3 days for the purple dye to wear off my fingers too,lol the people in the craft store looked at me wierd when i payed for the purple fabric dye.
getting closer now, after the majority of the day shes pulling pretty evenly and close to the weight i want, just gotta get it to final brace height then sneak it to proper draw length then a few inches past for good measure. more pics after i get the next phase done.
looking good!
well im not quite sure how much further this one is gonna go, ive been tillering it slowly and keep hearing a tick, so i stop and check, but cant see anything on the edges, but it might be under the burlap backing.its still 5 inches short of the intended draw length, im probably going to clean up the edges of the burlap today and superglue them down and file them smooth, thought maybe the ticking was the burlap lifting off the back cus none of its heaved like theres a splinter popped under it.
hopefully i can salvage this bow, itd be a shame after getting it this far.
thanks for the info, ill try opening the string grooves on the back side more. as far as the handle ive looked it over a few times, fades are nice and smooth transitions and no signs of lifting or shifting. ive spent over an hour checking the edges for signs of stress and nothing so far. i might put it back to long string and see if i cant get it tillered a little more then when im sure itll pull to length move to brace.
well after trimming back the burlap on the edges and rounding them over/smoothing them more with sandpaper i put it back on the long string, tillered some stiff spots for good measure and she was still bending good, so i braced it again and began excercising it slowly. i heard the tick again, and checked the limb out and indeed there was a small crack in the limb about 12 inches down, right on the edge. i filled it with superglue, and am probably gonna wrap it then see if it will hold.
well i filled the crack with ca, then wrapped the area with some wool i had to help take some of the stress, then went back to tillering to get it bending better. at low brace im 4 inches away from draw length and about 10 lbs from my intended draw weight. not a great pic but shes bending ok (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0429.jpg) still working the stiff spots with my tiller check block pic showing low brace (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0431.jpg) pic of my wrapping over the crack. (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0430.jpg) a little more and it should be good,mostly now is trying to get rid of the stiff patches and keep the asymetrical tiller good. im really glad its not broken though.lol
well after alot of hoping and coaxing i finally got my sisters bow about done, its pulling 30#@26 inches now a little light but im sure my sister will still enjoy it. i have to work a lil on the fades yet and shape the handle but heres a braced profile (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0433.jpg) here it is on the tree. (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0432.jpg) not a great pic but you can see the areas i had to patch with some superglue and wrap where cracks developed.heres a shot checking string alignment, and a pic of an arrow i made to match the bow. (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0436.jpg) (http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o406/p0go333/100_0437.jpg) i still have to finish the bow case and the tiger striped armguard im making for the set but its all coming together well. im ecstatic to get to hand this one over to someone who's learning the ropes.