I think it looks pretty darn good thus far, keep up the good work.
Man, I don't know about that? They both look pretty dang even to me. You got a nice arc going there, I'd just stick with your original game plan and continue on. Are you putting a gizmo on it by any chance?
good for you! but i sure like that gizmo- it really helps point out this teeny little flat spots that you can miss by eye.
it sure looks great though!!
Man that's pretty! I love that braced profile! I know it's not braced...but you know what I mean, that's pretty much going to be the braced profile...And I love em when they look like that, they look fast standing still.
I think you're on the right track, but take that for what it's worth ;) Can't wait to see the progress, and of course that trademark mirror finish it'll wear when your done:)
LOL , oh okay...don't blame ya, a lot of work for those kinds of finishes...
It just doesn't look good in the first picture of your last post. Looks like it's bending at the flares and the limbs are straight. The eye is a good thing, but the gizmo doesn't lie. Give it a try someday.
My heart goes out to you VB,sorry that happened after all your work. You had it looking real nice too.Hope your next one comes out twice as nice.
I know what you're sayin. I think the side and front-view profile should determine where the bow does its bending. I dont use a gizmo on self bows with rollercoater bumps. I dont know how you could really because you should have natural flat spots if it is really bumpy. I would love to hear some more input on this. Am I wrong here?
I think you know the answer to your question Scott ;) Do you think a gizmo would work on a Marc St. Louis style R/D bow? LOL Not likely, And certainly not at brace height.
I think the bow was tillered properly for the design but I don't know if the wood was proper for the design. Reflex that close to the handle should have straight limbs at brace in my opinion.
I just used it for the first time and I like how the gizmo showed me where the high spots were and I could see where wood needed to come off rather than just keep on sanding blindly. Or try to go by feel.
That's what it was intended for and that's what I used it for, worked great for the purpose it was designed for in my opinion.
Is it the holy grail of bow building? No it isn't.
But it will show you where the high spots are and I consider it to be a valuable tool just as much as my draw knife, spoke shave, and my rasp assortment.
They are all just tools, some guys like some tools better than others and some guys chose which ones they like and which ones they dislike or simply chose not to use. Just like any tool the gizmo has it's limitations.
Then again, I really like my spoke shave while most guys don't even know how to use one, so to each his own I guess.
Scott I think you're right on all accounts.
Having made a couple R/D's that have a pretty conventional full draw profile I also agree about that...but even those bows look flat at brace and early draw, and over zealous use of a gizmo would not do well for them. I did use one for the inner 12" or so of limb but only once I got the bow bending well past brace height.
Also I think it's cool that you tried that design with Maple. I bet with a pristine piece you could make it work. I hope you try again!
To me the gizmo would be a great tool on bows with true circle tiller like a pyramid bow or an elb, but for bows with more parallel limbs and elliptical tiller or r/d bows it would seem pretty much useless. I have to be honest and say that I have never used one and probably never will because I dont build that many bows that it would work on anyways.
As for your bow and its design VB, why not try something different every now and then? I think most of you guys are like me and probably have more bows than you can shoot anyways so why not push the limits of a bows design every now and then to see what you can get out of it. Just my 2 cents.