HBI R/D might have issues?

[JWMALONE]

 Hello Guys and Gals, this is what I got cooked up this time. A 64 inch t2t 1.5 inches wide for 8 inches then taper to .5 tips, handle area is narrowed to 7/8ths, 12 inch riser, Hickory backed ipe.
 I used what I had just for the practice of assembling a R/D, curved riser, tip overlays and such. I have some good stuff but I'm saving it for the swap and one charity bow. So I had one 1/16 hickory backing and two hickory billets. I left the billets thicker than usual due to the thin backing. They both looked good but the coloring was slightly different. One side kept more deflex than the other, about a quarter of an inch. The tips are  3.25 and 3 3/8ths off the table, I'm sure this is going to cause me a problem. Just noticed that pic isnt very good, that bend is nice and gradual just like the last one. Oh yea belly is 1/4 ipe.
 I'm sure its been done before but if I get the correct tip overlay material I can make them look just like flaked stone tips, pretty cool.

[Badger]

   That looks good and should tiller out nicely, I use long riser sections myself but don't narrow them until I am confident that I won't need to wood. . You are turning into a bow making machine!

[JWMALONE]

Badger, I wanted 3/4 at the handle but played it safe and went with 7/8ths. Might wish I had left it wider. I'm still confused over the unequal deflex? I didn't use sister billets that may be the culprit?

[Bayou Ben]

Looks good John.  I wouldn't be too concerned about .25" difference in deflex.  Could be difference in billets like you mentioned or the bottom of your handle could be a little off level causing the difference in measurement.   
How thick are your hickory billets, just out of curiosity?
 

[JWMALONE]

Ben they were 5/16 tapered to 1/8th. That's all I had to work with.  Wanted to see how that 1/4 inch belly  worked out.

[Bayou Ben]

That should be enough to get you to a decent weight.  Look forward to seeing it bend (with you I'm sure that will be in a few hours, lol)

[JWMALONE]

Don't know bayou, its strange to say the least. Was going for another #45, we shall see. Decided to glue another piece on the riser area, get on up to 1 5/8ths thick just to be safe. Was 1 1/4.

[JWMALONE]

Its starting to bend pretty good, evenly any way. The tips are still 2 3/4 ahead of the handle.

[Springbuck]

  I doubt that little difference in the reflex will give you that much trouble.  Trust your best eye on the tillering tree, and it'll likely come out in the wash.

 Good luck.

[JWMALONE]

Springbuck , I over complicated it. I should have let it ride, it will be way under weight. Ill post when I'm through with it, one day I'm sure it will make a nice shooting bow for some young teenager just starting out.

[Springbuck]

  When I started for some reason I was intimidated by staves, chasing rings, etc...  My first, probably 25 bows (?) were bamboo backed reflex/deflex bows.   What a learning curve!

  I was making each one out of a different wood, starting with boofloo tri-lams, then some ipe, then jatoba, then brazilwood, then osage, massaranduba, etc...., buying lumber off ebay at ridiculous prices..... copying fiberglass bows, basically.

One thing I absolutely learned was that R/D bows feel ridiculously stiff until you get about to full brace height.  SO stiff.

[JWMALONE]

Yes stiff as all get out. I tried to get the limbs even and bending, I never pulled it to weight because there was no bend in the mid and outer limbs. By the time I got them to bend proper it was under weight. Lesson learned.

[Springbuck]

DUDE!   That's exactly how it happens!  Sorry it didn't occur to any of us to warn you.  That stiffness is down to geometry, not actual stiffness, though.  Of course it is ACTUALLY stiffer, if you did the Perry reflex, than you would expect it to be for thickness, etc...

I actually remember really learning this while making a bamboo backed boofloo trilam.   I always glue belly and core, then back into the same form for backing.  Anyway, while tillering, I put a string on it that was too long, but short enough that the string touched the limbs for more than half their length, and the bow was semi-braced at about 2" at the handle.

When I tugged on that string it was SO stiff for 5-6" or so, felt like 80 lbs, I swear.  Then the tips would come round and sort of toggle over, and you could feel the draw weight drop.  When I got a real string on it at 5" + brace height, the bows initial draw weight was actually noticably LOWER than when braced 2", which seemed so weird to me then.

[Springbuck]

  I learned a good trick.  Next time, mentally divide each limb into four segments. The minute you can see ANY bend in that 25% closest to the handle, the deflexed portion, STOP!  Maybe catch the stiff limb up to the bending side, but hold it right there.

 It only takes a tiny amount of bend in the deflexed portion to make this style work.  Tape it off or whatever, but leave it alone.   Move on to the next 25% until you can see it move WITH the first section, etc....  This will help you keep from bending the middle too much.  About the time the first three segments are bending a bit, you can get a string on it and start perfecting the tiller.

[Stick Bender]

I really like your tips on that one John !