Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: NewBowyer on May 17, 2020, 06:11:28 pm
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Starting a new thread for this bow because the previous thread on tillering apps strayed far from its title. I’ve worked this bow (my first) all afternoon and feel it’s getting close but mental fatigue said to stop for today. Has one weaker limb with a slight hinge that was starting to form. I’ve tried to eliminate that “pre-hinge” and equalize the limbs. Seems like progress but still not there yet- what do you all think? See my tillering app thread if you want to see what it looked like yesterday. I’m thinking the outer half of the left limb needs to bend more? Please don’t use the fence as a reference- I know it’s deceiving but the tillering tree doesn’t sit against it squarely or level.
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Are you still studiously avoiding the hinge? Good boy!
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Absolutely; I marked it off and wrote "NO" so I was sure not to touch it. Can't say it's completely gone, but almost. Worked mainly on the stiffer limb but also tried to improve the overall curve in the hinged limb with SLIGHT GRADUAL adjustments. It's better than it was.
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Sometimes it takes a lot to get rid of a hinge. They can bring you in under weight quite easily.
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Yes but I'm not too concerned with hitting a specific weight as this is my first bow. Any thoughts on the outer half of that left limb? Or anything else?
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If you're not using a Gizmo, now is the time to start :D
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Making that gizmo was Step One of yesterday's proceedings. :D Step Two was modifying my tiller tree with holes for a dowel.
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Why don't we have a "thumbs up" emoticon? :D
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This pic is at 26”. (I’ve drawn it to 27” but don’t have a hole there for the peg.) 46#. The gizmo was invaluable. I’m seeing the left limb needs to bend a touch more in its outer third and the right limb needs to bend just a bit more in its inner third. What do you all see?
Such a huge help to have input from people who know what they’re doing.
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I only use the gizmo to 20", usually you have to drop poundage if you make a bow with a gizmo, as I do I recheck at 20" for any place you may have left stiff while dropping oundage. I do eventually draw the bow to full draw a little bit at a time as I adjust poundage, I still check it at 20".
I have found if you have things perfect at 20" it carries on out to full draw.
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Got it just past 28”! Drew it that way a few times to get a good look but didn’t leave it that way on the peg. Felt like I was really close to doing the final touches.
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Then when I took it off the tree and started to draw it by hand, this happened! And I was barely at 3/4 draw! >:( It’s at that small almost-hinge just above and to the left of the scale in the pic above. Guess I never quite got rid of it completely.
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That type of break isn’t from poor tillering. The wood looks like it’s started to rot and the break agrees with that.
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Yes it was a dead tree I picked up off the ground before I'd learned that seldom works; it had been down for over a year lying in the woods. I didn't figure it'd work after I found that out, but after I got so close... 😠 Plus I figure it was good practice anyway. I still think I should have been more diligent with that hinge- note the big difference between 26" & 28" draw.
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Here's the back
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Sorry about that, and yes dead white wood isn't a good candidate for a bow. Don't take long out in the weather to ruin it. :)
Pappy
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That's the way it goes- I knew it was risky from the start but I got it really close and learned a lot. It'll be better next time.
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Rather than give up on this I decided to take a chance on saving it. It showed the same tiller profile after the crack as before so I drew it an extra inch to make the cracked part of the back raise and separate as much as possible, squirted wood glue under it, relaxed the limbs and lightly clamped down the raised part of the back. Shot it twice and it held (likely not for long, I know). Tweaked the tiller yesterday and heated out the belly set that limb had taken. I'm gonna keep going with it until it breaks. My question is could what I wondered before I ever started be true- that the back (I guess mainly cambium?) was so rotten/weak that it already wasn't doing any "work," which is why the bend didn't change after it cracked? Seems unlikely to me but how else to explain why the limb's bend didn't change with that break? Maybe I should have removed the cambium (and maybe the sapwood too) before I ever started.