first board bow, little help

[cook1536]

I have made a hickory bow but this is going to be my first attempt at a board bow. I have been reading 4est Trekkers build along and bought my board. Wanted to post pics to see if I got the grain right. Please give me some feedback so I know if I should proceed with this board or not.

Thanks,
Daniel

  http://s1312.photobucket.com/user/cook1536/media/20130514_191445_zps5a52a228.jpg.html  
  http://s1312.photobucket.com/user/cook1536/media/20130514_191419_zpsced6be6f.jpg.html  
  http://s1312.photobucket.com/user/cook1536/media/20130514_191403_zpsf09f0977.jpg.html  
  http://s1312.photobucket.com/user/cook1536/media/20130514_191352_zps29d9b7ce.jpg.html

[Razorbak]

looks good..will work

[Zradix]

what looks like a few small knots scares me a bit.
so does that dark streak.

BUT..I've only built one out of oak..and it didn't turn out well.

I'm also very curious to hear what others have to say...

[k-hat]

Looks pretty good.  I wouldn't worry about that dark streak.  I would however, do my layout using the right half of the board (as seen in the pic showing the face) that is away from that wiggly part.  Keep any wiggles like that in the handle section if you can as well.  I assume the grain on the sides is also parallel with the back?  that is also necessary for a board bow.  

4est's buildalong is a great way to get started.  Good luck and enjoy the ride, keep us posted and ask plenty of questions.  

[4est trekker]

I would suggest just as k-hat suggested.  Also, is that the same board, front and back?  Or, is it two different boards?

[cook1536]

As this is only a 1x4, i cant lay it out on half of it...would it be ok if I back it with bamboo or some other backing?

[cook1536]

Yes 4est it is the same board front and back

[k-hat]

I guess what i mean is lay it out so one edge of the bow is flush with the right side of the board so the cut-off is the wiggly part.  That would put the outside of the fade right at the right edge as we are looking at the board.  

You could back it with linen or silk if necessary.

[k-hat]

Like this:



for some reason photobucket rotated it, so left is right and right is left.

[cook1536]

I got you now Kevin. I had actually laid it out according to 4est build along with the width being 3 inches. Didnt know how narrow I could go and not break. I may go with silk but before I decide on silk would hickory backing be to much or cause an issue? I am gluing walnut in between the red oak pieces for the riser and thought maybe if I backed it with hickory I could narrow the width of the fades down to about 1 1/2 in. with a shelf. Just thinking about making it a little different and wanted to try gluing one together.

[Razorbak]

can back it with a paper bag as well..;ittle added protection

[cook1536]

One more dumb question, what is the difference in a backed bow and a composite bow? Aren't you doing the same on both when you glue material together?

[John Scifres]

Backing with a non-working material, like silk, snakeskins, or rawhide, is done for looks or more likely to prevent a splinter from raising, as is recommended here.

Backing with a working material like bamboo or hickory changes the bow into a composite bow.  The backing takes over, completely or in part,  the tension work of the bow.

[LittleBen]

Oak is really a fairly strong wood in tension ... I don't think I've had oen fail in tension yet. Usually they get chrysals on the belly first which dooms them.

I woiuldn't use hickory or bamboo I think it will just make the chrysals more likely.

I'd probably go with rawhide, because I think it looks best, but I recently backed a bow with brown paper and then stained the paper with dark brown rit dye, and it came out pretty decent looking.
kinda like this  http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Paper%20Backed%20Oak%20Bow-2009%20NW%20Silent%20Auction/HPIM3330.jpg      (not my bow)

[John Scifres]

Going narrow with red oak is asking for excessive set.  Stay with 2"+.

[cook1536]

Well it has only been almost 7 years since I started this post and its sad that it takes something like the current situation to make one stop and take time to work on a passion. I finally finished this bow a couple days ago and decided I would post the finished product. After re-reading the original post, I did not do anything out of the ordinary to it, no backing or add-ons, it is a straight up red oak board bow finished with Minn-Wax Early American stain. the only thing extra was I glued and doweled an extra piece from the board to make the grip area bigger and more comfortable in the hand and some small pieces of walnut on the tips. It is my daughters bow so it is 28# at 23".

https://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t526/cook1536/20200328_202409_zps7fv4o3cr.jpg
https://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t526/cook1536/20200328_173551_zpsl6el3ezn.jpg

[KenH]

Nothing wrong with that!

[Flem]

Be nice to see a full draw pic. It looks like all the action in those limbs is happening about half way out to the tips.

[cook1536]

Here it is before I stained it.

https://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t526/cook1536/20200328_170511_zpsk6rvpuc5.jpg

[Flem]

Not as bad as I was afraid it might be. The upper limb looks stiff just outside the handle and the lower limb looks stiff out toward the tip. I'm sure your daughter could care less about that