Board Bow Problem?

[Flyboy718]

First project in about two years...following poor folk bows way of doing a red oak bow.  I got the bow all laid out last night and started removing excess wood from the side and got tired of the surform and decided to use my drawkinfe and it gouged a good 1/8" splinter on the side going into the back of the bow passed my layout line!  Dang!  That's what I get for trying to rush...move forward and see what happens, or try to fix it by matching the limb width on the other side?

[fujimo]

are you going to back it, if a good  backing was going to be used, i would glue the splinter down, and use a good silk backing, but an 1/8 either side=1/4, i would also say not to big a deal to narrow each limb by 1/4"
pictures would really help.

[Flyboy718]

Yeah, I plan on backing it.  Don't have any pics, but if you can kinda imagine the where the back meets the side that edge has been rounded off basically.  I don't have the splinter, I used my sureform and just removed it and smoothed the area uniformly into the rest of the limb

[Pat B]

How wide are your limbs? Can you remove the splinter and even up the limbs?

[Flyboy718]

Pat, I just made the nocks 1/2" and then let it taper all the way to the riser.

[fujimo]

how wide at the widest point?

[Flyboy718]

Fujimo:  1.5" where the handle transitions into the limb and from that point it tapers from the handle to the tip which is 1/2".

Another question:  Do you just leave the back with the 'factory' edge where it meets the side or do you round it a bit to make it look better?

[fujimo]

round it before you tiller!!!!- to stop a splinter lifting while you are tillering.
the failure can be quite exciting!!
also check out the " so you want to build a bow" thread by 4est trekker, on here
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=002064#000000
awesome build.

[Flyboy718]

Ok...I have it to floor tiller right now and before I put it on the tiller tree and really get down to business...I will round of all the corners.  I think it's going to be fine, hardly noticable now just a little dip in the profile but once I put it on the sander it won't even be there.

One other question...I just got me a brand new belt sander with the wheel on it too, how do i use it to tiller the bow?

[fujimo]

i wouldnt- but thats just me. getting in a hurry will sure ruin good staves in a hurry  :(  
get a cabinet scraper, , build a "gizmo"- do a search here for the gizmo.use a cabinet makers rasp. i like the nicholson one. i also use a nicholson#49 or a #50 rasp for hogging off wood.
GO SLOW. one stroke with an aggressive tool will ruin it!
power tools are risky.

[So-Mo Archer]

Flyboy, if you can spare the wood, you should be okay to work around the splinter. So far as tillering with the power sander, I would steer clear. It takes a little more time to do it with a file, rasp, gizmo, and scraper, but you can't take of too much wood at one time. In my last bow, I used a pair of scissors to do the final scraping, and it worked wonderfully. It makes sanding a breeze, and gives you precise control of removal. FWIW.

Good luck on your bow, and let us know how it comes out.

[Flyboy718]

Ok, well maybe I can use the sander for when I try out a laminated bow.

[fujimo]

thats where they are perfect!!
sanding the limb edges , shaping the profile.
even though it feels slow- enjoy the time!!

[George Tsoukalas]

When that happens turn yourself and the knife around and attack it from the other way. Pics please. Jawge