OK, here are the pictures. I'm wondering if the node on the belly just to the right of the hinge is causing a stiff spot.


If you look close, you can see that the power lam is bending nicely.
If I were to sand the node area down some, will it help?
Dave.

Man hate to say it but by the time you get the hinged limb even close it will take a lot to to even out the other limb.
For some reason that area was just weak.
It might be a good learning experience trying to fix it.

I guess there are a lot of unknowns with natural materials like bamboo. I'm going to try and save it. I'll sand the belly outside of the hinge, then even out the other side. I can then shorten it or make a kids bow.
Dave.

IMO I would try to knee tiller the stiff areas. If you sand through the power fibers of the boo I think it will make it extremely weak in those areas.

I'm not sure I know what knee tillering is. When I bent the bow over my knee, both limbs felt the same. What I don't get is the other limb has the nodes placed in almost exactly the same locations as on this limb.
Dave.

Knee tillering is where you actually bend the limb in a very specific area (over your knee) to cause targeted set. You bend it just far enough to manipulate (sounds better than crush    ) the belly fibers to achieve "more" bend in that area. It works really well with bamboo bellied bows.

I knee tillered mine when it was strung, did a couple of pulls and rechecked tiller until it was acceptable.

Woobcarver 2,I am no expert on bbb's by any means but from where you are i would sand the nodes off the belly completly and ajust the tiller WITH OUT PULLING IT MUCH or it will blow, then toast up another piece and try to keep the nodes away from the end of the p-lam. tiller the new piece before you glue it on.Ajust the weight with the width--Joe

Thanks for all the advice guys. All I need now is some good luck.
Dave

VB, that will be what I do if I can't sand out the problem. I have another toasted bamboo slat that I can replace the belly lam with. If the weakness is in the core, then I guess the whole thing is toast.
Dave.

Nick, thanks for the tip about knee tillering. I had heard of it before, but I'd forgotten . Last night I strung the bow and bent the good limb over my knee. Lo and behold, the tiller is almost even now! I was afraid I would have to take drastic action or cut it up for firewood, but now it looks like I might end up with a bow.    
When the weather warms a bit, I'll get out and put some tip overlays on it and finish tillering.
Dave.

QuoteOriginally posted by wood carver 2:
Nick, thanks for the tip about knee tillering. I had heard of it before, but I'd forgotten . Last night I strung the bow and bent the good limb over my knee. Lo and behold, the tiller is almost even now! I was afraid I would have to take drastic action or cut it up for firewood, but now it looks like I might end up with a bow.        
When the weather warms a bit, I'll get out and put some tip overlays on it and finish tillering.
Dave.

Sweet! I know it sounds sketchy, but it works  

Right on, good save.

Ok you saved it!! now post a dang picture of it.. this thing is gonna be killer if you finish it out. I love the toasted look of the bamboo. Does that do anyhting to the bamboo itself or is it just for looks??

Justin

Sorry for not posting.     I was busy with doing inventory at work and I didn't get any work done on any of my bows.   :mad:   I hate  inventory, the company they hired made a mess of it.
Justin, from what I learned here, toasting the bamboo for the belly tempers it. I like the look as well. I torched the back lightly just for the camo look.
I want to get some more work done, then I'll take some pictures of it.
Dave.

Ok, I went out and took some pictures of the bamboo bow. I drew it to 22" and it hit 40#, so it should make weight. The only problem is it looks hingy ( is that a word?) on either side of the power lam.



Here it is drawn to 20".
In the next one it is drawn to 22".

The right limb looks like it has a hinge, but it might not be as bad as it looks because there are nodes on the back and belly that distort the curve of the limb. The right limb is the upper one and it's 1/8" positive tiller.
What do you more experienced bowyers think?
Dave.

Those would be hinges at thd end of the fades. But with 40# at 22" you should still make weight.
Work those hinges out and you'll be looking gooooooood.
Overall I really like the bow.

Would sanding / removing material from the edges of the limbs from just outside the fades to just shy of the tips work? I'm not sure that I can remove much from the belly.
Dave.

Hi Dave
I really like the bow and the color of the backing- ist this dye after removing the boo`s wax?
For tillering you can even try trpping the limbs- but I guess thats nothing new to you^^

Hi Moe, I'm glad you like the bow. I colored the back with a butane torch. I also torched the belly lams to temper them. I like the charred look.
Dave.