Just a question...

Art B · February 05, 2012, 08:08:00 AM

Nothing wrong with that one Dave, congratulations! Let 'em fly......Art

PEARL DRUMS · February 05, 2012, 08:39:00 AM

If *** only needs 28" of draw you can snip more off and get the weight back up. Your long enough.

wood carver 2 · February 05, 2012, 09:15:00 AM

Just out of curiosity, if I were to shorten this bow by 2 more inches, what would be the longest draw length that it would be good (safe) for?
I ask because once its out of my hands, the new owner might let someone else draw it and it might get pulled back a bit more than intended.
I like to tiller the bow for a bit more than the intended draw length.
My Sisters' kids are coming over soon and I'll get one of them to take a picture of the bow at full draw. The riser is a long one and the limbs bend a bit farther out, so it might not be a good idea to cut it back any more.
Dave.

PEARL DRUMS · February 05, 2012, 09:17:00 AM

2" would get you more like 7-8#'s. 3/4" off each end woudl do it.

wood carver 2 · February 05, 2012, 09:18:00 AM

By the way, those pictures became distorted when they were re-sized. It makes the grip stick out like a BFA (big fat ***). :D
Dave.

wood carver 2 · February 05, 2012, 09:25:00 AM

Pearls, 3/4" doesn't sound like a lot. The bow would be 66 1/2" ntn. Can it still be drawn past 28"? Also, once it's been shortened, I would have to narrow the tips or they would be too wide. Would it lose much of the weight it gains from being shortened?
I don't mean to bug you with all the questions, but if I do this and it turns out, I can finish and send it out to ***.
Dave.

PEARL DRUMS · February 05, 2012, 09:40:00 AM

How long is your riser? Measure your limbs from the bending part of the fade to the tips.

wood carver 2 · February 05, 2012, 10:46:00 AM

The bottom limb is shorter and is about 26" from the tip to the bending part of the fade. The top limb is 1/2" longer. The riser is 17" from fadeout to fadeout and there is a 24" powerlam.
Dave.

PEARL DRUMS · February 05, 2012, 12:33:00 PM

You could snip 3/4" off each end and be fine if your tiller cool.

Art B · February 05, 2012, 12:49:00 PM

Yeah, your handle does look hugh! Got a wide screen which distorts things even more. That's one reason why I hate to comment on a lot of things.

Your bow being somewhat deflexed helps with longer draws IMO. Do you still have plenty of limb width? If so, tie on some temporary wedges for string stops at 66" and see what you have. About as far as you want to go I suppose.

wood carver 2 · February 05, 2012, 01:29:00 PM

Ok, I think I'll nip off a bit more, but just in case I'm going to start another bow or two. I shaped the riser and it looks nice. It's going to be a looker, if a little on the plain side. I hope it works out.
Dave.

wood carver 2 · February 05, 2012, 02:43:00 PM

Well, I shortened it some more. Tiller is still good and it shoots with a lot more authority now.

Yesterday I put about 6 or 8 dozen arrows through her and today, after I shortened the ntn again, I shot a few more. Here's what she can do:

Now I need an opinion, if you guys don't mind. She's still 1# shy of the recipients' minimum weight. Would anyone here send this bow or would it be best to build another?
Thanks for all the advice that got me to this point. I doubt there's much more that could be done without risking the bow.
Dave.

Pat B · February 05, 2012, 03:36:00 PM

If the bow shoots well In wouldn't worry about it being 1# light. Is it still hunting weight?
If you narrow the tip it will lesson the physical weight and you might gain some speed.

wood carver 2 · February 05, 2012, 05:10:00 PM

Pat it's definitely heavy enough to hunt deer, elk or moose with and the arrows sure thump the target. I just finished tapering the last 6" of each limb to bring the tips to 3/8". Now I just have to glue on some overlays and tweak the grip so it's comfortable.
I'll shoot another bunch of arrows through it and check the weight again before I decide whether to send it. It is a fun bow to shoot.
Dave.

PEARL DRUMS · February 06, 2012, 01:30:00 PM

Slow and steady wins the race Dave! Going slow and thinking your way through will get you out of MOST bow building pickles. Good job!

wood carver 2 · February 06, 2012, 04:37:00 PM

Pearls, It seemed like I was doing it right, but the tillering string was lying to me. As soon as I put a real bowstring on it it looked fine. I took it to my friends' place and shot it for the first time and at 20 yards the arrows all hit the spot I looked at. Same with my friend. the only thing is that it was way underweight and a bit slow, but with the advice I got here I managed to bring it almost to **** draw weight. It certainly is fast now and nice to shoot.
I just wonder if **** would mind that it's 1# under.
Dave.

Nim-rod · February 06, 2012, 04:43:00 PM

I doubt anyone will care if it's 1# under. I know I wouldn't care.

Diamondback59 · February 06, 2012, 05:30:00 PM

whos gonna care??? i know for sure the critter gettn shot aint gonna know the diffrance of 1 # and if hes a pound under he just might b a lil better shot lol

k-hat · February 06, 2012, 05:34:00 PM

Been there, done that, bought the short string!

Most of us have been through the long string headache, listen to these guys and you'll be dandy :D

wood carver 2 · February 06, 2012, 06:06:00 PM

Well I got the tips shaped and looking good. Now I'll go and shoot a whole bunch of arrows through it to see if it will lose any more weight. I've already put over 100 arrows through it on the weekend and I like the way it feels and shoots.
I'll post pictures as soon as I get some finish on it.
Thanks everyone!

Dave.