I'm working on my trade bow, getting it tillered and I see that the tips are bending more than I want them to. I'm using a string with leather boots on each end to tiller with. The leather boots pull the bow from it's tips rather than from the string grooves. Would this be one reason that the tips bend too much? I have it at brace height (7 1/2").
Dave.
If you have your bow at 7 1/2" brace height I hope you are on a short string. Pics will really help us help you.
Those leather boots aren't your problem Dave. When you long string tillered your bow you were basically pulling down on the limbs stressing the middle of the bow. But when you put the short string on your bow you're now pulling the tips inward causing the outer portion of the limbs to bulge out.
Gotta keep those outer limbs stiff when using a long string on a tillering board. Tough lesson for sure, and most of us learned it the hard way too.
Thanks Pat and Art for getting back so soon. The tillering string has been shortened to 67". The bow measures 70" ntn. I did very little work using the long string, but I may have done something wrong, or at least at the wrong time. The limbs were moving well and evenly so I went ahead and narrowed the tips from about 1/2" to 3/8". I blended the taper into the limb over 8".
Then, because things were looking good, I roughed out the grip and arrow pass.
Here is a picture. It's not great but you can tell the right limb is a lot weaker at the tip.
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x349/1wood1/IMG_0371-1.jpg)
I hope I haven't messed this one up.
Dave.
Put a regular string on her! The bend with the leather cups and the bend from a regular string can be different. When I'm making a bow I go to a regular string as soon as I can low brace the bow and everything else is good. I want everything from that point on to be the same.
Also, once you low brace with a regular string you can see how the string tracks. If the string track is good you can then shape the tips and handle area. Having a little leeway when you do first brace bow can make a difference whether you can just remove a little wood from one side of you'll have to heat straighten(or bend) the bow to line up the string. So you are OK here...
...but put the bows permanent string on her. She's feeling naked without it! d;^)
I like your handle Dave!
I'm with Pat, get your regular string on and then judge things.
With a regular string, your tips may show up weak.
Your bow is quite long, you could always snip an inch or so off each end to stiffen the tips up if need be. Unless of course you draw 29-30" and need it all. Your upper limb is a tad stiff, maybe take 1/2" off that end and one inch off the other.
Thanks for the advice guys. I won't touch her until I get a proper string. I guess I got ahead of myself when I saw things going well.
I was scraping wood from the belly and sides of the upper limb to get it bending more - is that the way to go? It's still rectangular in cross section.
I guess I'll have to get the string before I ask any more questions so it might be the weekend before I post about it again.
Dave.
David, I quit using those long tillering strings like in your picture, they can lie. I now cut in my string grooves right away and use a regular string that is just long enough to stretch into the string grooves when I begin to tiller a bow. Once the limb tips are bending to say 3 or 4 inches, I get a shorter string on the bow and get it to about a 3 inch brace height. I keep tillering and don't take off any wood unless I see a major problem with the tiller. Once I have the limb tips bending to about 6 or 7 inches, where they would be at a regular 6 inch brace height, I get a regular string on the bow with a 6 inch brace height. That's how the bow will be when done. I then proceed to tiller out the bow to my draw length with the regular string on her. The shorter string you put on a bow, the more pressure it applies to the ends of the limbs. When I use to use the extra long tillering string, I could have a bow looking so sweet, only to put on a regular string and then all heck would break loose. One limb would be bent too much and the other limb would not be bending much at all.
Thank you all for the good advice. I'll take it to heart. Would it be best to get an adjustable string or should I have a bunch of strings of different lengths? Maybe I should learn to make my own strings.
Does this bow look like I could still bring it to the target weight (50 - 60 #), or should I cut my losses and start another?
Dave.
String making should be a prerequisite for bow making IMO Dave. Since you're hooked, and looks like a lot more bows in your future, you're going to need a lot of strings. Lot of info out there.
Don't know what weight you're at now but I'd get a regular string on and then repost a pic..
You could use one string and use the bowyers knot to shorten it, or use 2 or 3 strings of different lengths. Yes making strings is fun and a cheaper way to attain strings. I make flemish twist strings. I would keep working on it, if it comes in light you could take a little off each limb to increase the weight. 70" is a very long bow. Or finish it out for someone else as it is.
Art, not only am I hooked, I'm planning on taking a bow of my own make moose hunting this fall. I'll start stocking up on string making supplies and look up a build-a-long as well. Once I'm done with the swap bow I'll start learning how it's done.
Roy, I'll get a string this weekend and see how this bow comes out. I have a backup half ready and lots of wood and bamboo for more.
Dave.
Cool Dave..
Strings are easy, I can make one in about 30 minutes.
Just order two different colors now and look for FLemish string jig plans and start right away making your own. SUPER easy to do after a couple trys at it.
Will do Nim-rod. As soon as the swap is done I'll have time to learn something new.
Dave.
Ok. I got a real string now and I shortened the bow from 72" to 69 1/2" and 68"ntn. I left the upper limb 1/2" longer than the lower. As soon as I strung it I noticed that the tiller looked ok. In fact it came out 1/8" positive tiller. Sometimes you just get lucky I guess. :banghead: :banghead:
Anyway, here are a couple of pics. I'll try and get a full draw shot tomorrow.
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x349/1wood1/IMG_0372.jpg)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x349/1wood1/IMG_0376.jpg)
Does it look better or am I just kidding myself?
Dave.
I guess it's ok:) LOL
Looks nice Dave, well done. Shorten it down to 66 and you will be very close to your target weight. Or make another, it's all fun.
I'll let you see the full draw shot before I touch it. Besides, I like the was it shoots. I might just keep it and take it turkey hunting.
Dave
Nothing wrong with that one Dave, congratulations! Let 'em fly......Art
If *** only needs 28" of draw you can snip more off and get the weight back up. Your long enough.
Just out of curiosity, if I were to shorten this bow by 2 more inches, what would be the longest draw length that it would be good (safe) for?
I ask because once its out of my hands, the new owner might let someone else draw it and it might get pulled back a bit more than intended.
I like to tiller the bow for a bit more than the intended draw length.
My Sisters' kids are coming over soon and I'll get one of them to take a picture of the bow at full draw. The riser is a long one and the limbs bend a bit farther out, so it might not be a good idea to cut it back any more.
Dave.
2" would get you more like 7-8#'s. 3/4" off each end woudl do it.
By the way, those pictures became distorted when they were re-sized. It makes the grip stick out like a BFA (big fat ***). :D
Dave.
Pearls, 3/4" doesn't sound like a lot. The bow would be 66 1/2" ntn. Can it still be drawn past 28"? Also, once it's been shortened, I would have to narrow the tips or they would be too wide. Would it lose much of the weight it gains from being shortened?
I don't mean to bug you with all the questions, but if I do this and it turns out, I can finish and send it out to ***.
Dave.
How long is your riser? Measure your limbs from the bending part of the fade to the tips.
The bottom limb is shorter and is about 26" from the tip to the bending part of the fade. The top limb is 1/2" longer. The riser is 17" from fadeout to fadeout and there is a 24" powerlam.
Dave.
You could snip 3/4" off each end and be fine if your tiller cool.
Yeah, your handle does look hugh! Got a wide screen which distorts things even more. That's one reason why I hate to comment on a lot of things.
Your bow being somewhat deflexed helps with longer draws IMO. Do you still have plenty of limb width? If so, tie on some temporary wedges for string stops at 66" and see what you have. About as far as you want to go I suppose.
Ok, I think I'll nip off a bit more, but just in case I'm going to start another bow or two. I shaped the riser and it looks nice. It's going to be a looker, if a little on the plain side. I hope it works out.
Dave.
Well, I shortened it some more. Tiller is still good and it shoots with a lot more authority now. :) Yesterday I put about 6 or 8 dozen arrows through her and today, after I shortened the ntn again, I shot a few more. Here's what she can do:
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x349/1wood1/IMG_0379.jpg)
Now I need an opinion, if you guys don't mind. She's still 1# shy of the recipients' minimum weight. Would anyone here send this bow or would it be best to build another?
Thanks for all the advice that got me to this point. I doubt there's much more that could be done without risking the bow.
Dave.
If the bow shoots well In wouldn't worry about it being 1# light. Is it still hunting weight?
If you narrow the tip it will lesson the physical weight and you might gain some speed.
Pat it's definitely heavy enough to hunt deer, elk or moose with and the arrows sure thump the target. I just finished tapering the last 6" of each limb to bring the tips to 3/8". Now I just have to glue on some overlays and tweak the grip so it's comfortable.
I'll shoot another bunch of arrows through it and check the weight again before I decide whether to send it. It is a fun bow to shoot.
Dave.
Slow and steady wins the race Dave! Going slow and thinking your way through will get you out of MOST bow building pickles. Good job!
Pearls, It seemed like I was doing it right, but the tillering string was lying to me. As soon as I put a real bowstring on it it looked fine. I took it to my friends' place and shot it for the first time and at 20 yards the arrows all hit the spot I looked at. Same with my friend. the only thing is that it was way underweight and a bit slow, but with the advice I got here I managed to bring it almost to **** draw weight. It certainly is fast now and nice to shoot.
I just wonder if **** would mind that it's 1# under.
Dave.
I doubt anyone will care if it's 1# under. I know I wouldn't care.
whos gonna care??? i know for sure the critter gettn shot aint gonna know the diffrance of 1 # and if hes a pound under he just might b a lil better shot lol :bigsmyl:
Been there, done that, bought the short string!
Most of us have been through the long string headache, listen to these guys and you'll be dandy :D
Well I got the tips shaped and looking good. Now I'll go and shoot a whole bunch of arrows through it to see if it will lose any more weight. I've already put over 100 arrows through it on the weekend and I like the way it feels and shoots.
I'll post pictures as soon as I get some finish on it.
Thanks everyone! :wavey:
Dave.
wood carver, I have been without internet for a couple days and just got to see the rest of this thread. It's looks/sounds good to me too!
I wouldn't worry about 1 pound since somebody else's scale could easily differ by a pound anyway. The swap is all about the spirit of making a bow for someone else. If someone gets bent out of shape about one pound then they have the problem not you.