Well my first attempt at a hickory selfbow is in the books. Came in much lighter than I wanted. One limb took quite a set and in the process of trying to even things up I ended up at about 38lbs. Somehow I lost my center line through the handle and had to work around that also. I'm gonna back it with sinew. Can I expect to gain any draw weight? I started at 66in. Right now the string grooves are at 63in. Only gained a few lbs. How much shorter can I go without makin' kindling? I'd really like to get it close to 45lbs and hunt with it. Thanks for lookin'.
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I say keep it and start another. Assuming your draw is 28 you could cut it down another inch safely, but the set is a big issue. You could make a caul with some reflex and then heat treat the belly and gain some weight as well. I would do that before messing with sinew. It is something best used on a bow designed for it.

Mat delete the extra set of brakets and img and your pic should come up.
look for sinew threads on hear. 66" might be just a little to long for sinew to give any advantage I am nit for sure on that though.

Do as DVS said. Leave this one be and start another. Generally set occurs because the stave(bow) is being over stressed before it learns how to bend. Start a new one, take your time and ask lots of questions.

If you can heat your limbs into reflex and sinew then you may be able to do something with your bow. What's your draw length?

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l249/MF_2006/IMG_1814.jpg  

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l249/MF_2006/IMG_1817.jpg  

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l249/MF_2006/IMG_1816.jpg

Sinewy can work wonders, but you'll have to retiller and you may end up with other issues.  You'll have to decide if this bow is worth the extra work.  I'd say you did pretty good for a first bow.  If you want to sinew the next one, do it right after you floor tiller.

I fixed the pictures for you

 

 

 

Hey Scrub, thanks for fixin' the pics and thanks all for the replies. I think I might try to back it for the experience if nothing else. I draw 29 1/2in, so I guess I can't go much shorter.

Told ya so Matt:)

Looks like a hinge on one side there. Save the sinew for a different bow. I'd heat treat the belly of that sucka and gain some weight back. Only problem is that hinge (full draw pic needed to be sure). Do some experimenting with that one and start on another one using the knowledge you gained on this one.

Roy, yes you did.
Dry heat or steam? Where can I get a good stave? Got this one from Kustom King.

Dry heat for dry wood, wet heat for green wood.

Matt check out the attached thread below, make one of those gizmo tools and read the directions in the attached thread. Will help you greatly.


http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=000075