My 2 boys and I have been working hard on completing their Dryad Bow Blanks that they got for Christmas.  I am finally getting to the point of tillering these bows and am humbly and respectfully seeking input as I tiller them.

 

The desired end is 20# @ 24" and we will get there soon enough but first I'm gonna bore you with pics of the kids building their bows...

Well, here they are with the raw blanks just as they came out of the tube from Mike and Jason.  Harrison, on the left is 6 and Rocklan on the right is 8.  Harrison's bow is Bocate and Osage with Boo Back and Rocklan's is Cocobola and Osage with a Boo Back.

   

Layout was a snap:

   

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Pretty good so far!

The next step was to cut the facets into the limbs and thru the handle, first with the 4 in 1 rasp:

 

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And then with the cabinet scraper:

 

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Here are the bows with the facets cut in:

 

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awesome - Looking foward to more!!!

Mike

Next we shaped the back of the handles:



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Here it is with one side of the handle done and one raw:



Here it is with both sides done.



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With that step completed these are starting to look and feel like bows.

 

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The tips were next:



The boys finally gave out and Dad had to finish the tips:



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That is so cool. On the kitchen table no less. You rock Dad!!!

How did you get the vice on the kitchen table past momma? If I even thought of that my wife would put knots on my head      

That brings us to where we are now:

Bow #1 looks pretty good in it's first brace:



Bow #2 is not so pretty:



So...  that's where we are!  I'm astute enough to know that on bow # 2 the left limb needs to be left entirely alone until we get the right limb bending but beyond that I'll wait for some advice from some of you much more experienced bowyers!

Thanks in advance for you advice and support -- you guys are the best!

Hey Joe!  Good to see you.  Glad you made it home safe from the SEMO hunt.  You and I need to discuss a stave sometime soon!  As far as momma goes...  she's a pretty good girl and tends to tolerate my bow building efforts even when it means she has to surrender her kitchen table to me and the boys.

Tony,

Get the string off of #2 . . .QUICK!!  before you hurt yourself.  LOL

Actually with these little bows, a little goes a long way.  so we need to start by exercising that right limb on the floor tiller and then bracing it again.  If it doesn't change a bunch, go ahead and take 10 scrapes off of the top facet and match it back up. . .exersize and repeat.

Mike

Wingnut -- you're up late!  I didn't figure I would hear anything from you until morning.  LOL  That's what i thought you would say...  will do!

TM

those kids have skills!!!

Well...  I may be making progress...  I think...

Before:



After:



I've removed some wood and exercised it extensively -- several times.  I also untwisted the string a bit to take some of the stress off of the weaker limb.

I think I might can see a little progress, but not much -- we'll get back after it tomorrow.

This is what I think I see.  The stiffer limb is bending the same as the other right at the fade.  However, it is not bending as much as the other limb about 3-4" from the fade.  It also appears to be a little stiffer from there out to the tip.  I'm stopping here until tomorrow because I think that it may be time to target the wood removal in specific places to bring this limb into shape.  I'm also afraid the weaker limb may be dangerously close to a hinge about 3-4" out of the fade.  I'm not sure how much I need this stiffer limb to bend right there, I know it needs to bend more but I'm not sure it needs to bend as much at this point.  I'll wait for some of the pros to chime in -- tomorrow!

Tony,

Looks to me like you got it going in the right direction.  Check the side facets on the strong limb.  Are they a little thick?

Your right though it's time to look at specific areas of the limb after we get the right limb caught up a little more.  Both will need the outside half worked some.

I'll give ya a call later.

Mike

Thanks Mike.  Talk at you later...  I'm going to try to bring these to a conclusion tonight and tomorrow, so don't go anywhere!  LOL

ttt For the day crew!