Hi guys  i have been reading  ever since i found this forum , glad i found it ,
As the title states i have a few questions ,

i have just got in my first longbow and waiting on the string for it , I have put up the wheels
and getting into the wood ,
like always i find my self looking at a recurve  now also ,
1- on the longbow it has a radius shelf and on the recurve I'm looking at has a str8 shelf ,, and i was thinking i could put a radius on the recurve and re Finnish it , OR  could a guy just add a dowel cut in half  in the middle of the shelf  to create a high point to shoot off of ?

OK i was going to add a photo but i have to learn how first ,

 there is some amazing work being done on this site makes me want to jump right in , but learning and planning first is the right way to go i  think

thanks guys  mdel747

I would used the split dowel method, if it needs it, it may shoot fine with a strip of velcro.

Come on in, the water's fine. I jumped right in after reading a bunch on build alongs. If you mess up a bow it's no big deal, unless it is vintage I suppose. That would be sad to see a vintage bow get modified.JMO But if it is a bow you made or a recent manufactured bow then have at it. I think it just depends on what satisfation you get from trad. I have an older Browning recurve with beautiful wood that has a flat shelf and thought about radiusing it but didn't have the heart to modify it. I put a dowel under the rug for that bow but it didn't shoot as well as I thought it should so I went back to a flipper rest. I think maybe some of those flat shelf bows were intended for a raised rest. I don't know.

OK thank you  , it was just me thinking out loud ,

the bows still sitting on **** ,  I'm waiting on the  string for the longbow , it showed up looks good  , you have to look real close to find  any flaws in it if the light is right ,

i might go see if Jason's around  and see if he has a extra string  , until mine gets in ,

good thing living out in the sticks deer every where  bad thing is parts are all hour away or on-line ,

the more i look , i like the idea of a TD recurve , but maybe to advanced for first build .

i have a old shopsmith sitting tucked away in the corner with all of the attachments , every thing else i have is more of job site tools , time to dust it off i think ,

new question what is the ruff cost involved in building a recurve TD using quality wood ,
that would be good info for instead of buying a recurve  build it ,
i have 2 blocks one walnut one H-maple from the butcher block i built they are approx 2"x 12x50"
is this something i could use  for part of the first build ?