I gt my ash stave roughed out and the back is very nice. I have the final dimensions laid out in pencil on the belly but obviously that will all be scraped and sanded away. I am thinking of backing the bow with some wide masking tape and laying out the profile there and then peel it away after I am finished with those dimensions?
I filled the knot with ash sawdust and titebond and just letting it dry for a few more weeks before I remove anymore wood. Right now I am planning final dimensions of a 66" bow NTN with 1 3/4 in wide limbs with a starting at 8" fading to the 1/2" at the limb tips. I have plenty of room to modify it right now. I will follow up as I go.
ETA: I see that some folks like to back the bow with linen and such, I wonder how a backing of black silk would look against that white wood?
Lay the bows profile out on the back with a pencil, not the belly.
Roy, i have it laid out in pencil on a layer of masking tape on the back. Since this is my forst build I anticipate that I will be making changes as I go and I can just add a layer of fresh tape for a clean starting point if need be. Also, should I decide to back the bow with something I was thinking of using two part epoxy and whatever backing I decide upon. But when do I back the bow? After tiller, after its profile is final etc?
Don't use epoxy for backing it is not flexible enough, use Titebond, Urac, Unibond or Smooth on.
If you are going to back it, back it now, before you tiller. Get your limbs bending a little and glue your backing on in a reflex.
Lay out your basic profile and go to your finished dimensions after you get your backing on.
Backings have a tendency to move around a little while you are gluing them on, better to have a little wiggle room on your profile that you can correct after the backing is on.