Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Asher on July 01, 2009, 12:40:00 PM
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I'm making my own bows and they are turning out fairly nice but they brake when i try and string them. is there some way i can know if the stave will brake before i even start shaping it?
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There is no way of knowing if it will break before hand. What method are you using to string your bow? How far along in the building process are you when you first string your bow?
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Do you floor tiller first? You have to floor tiller, then long string, then short brace. The tillering process cannot be rushed. Are you using a stringer?
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My bows are traditional 72" longbows and 60" recurves. i've done floor tillering and stand tillering. i've made about 6 of each and 5 of the 6 broke. i don't quite understand because acording to the bend chart on my stand tiller they are bending evenly.
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Are you using a stringer with two loops. If not I suggest using one because the stringer with the pad bends the limbs unevenly.
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That makes sense, thanks
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What bow wood are you using? Are these board bows?
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yes, they are board bows made from ash and hickery
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asher there are alot of reasons for a break. Stringing is often a dangerous part of bowmaking. The most important factors are grain and the distribution of strain through the whole limbs.
But we need pictures of your bows in order to see what's gone wrong. We need pictures that show the grain, and pictures that show the tiller before it's strung.
60" long recurves from boards are not very likely to last long, if they're unbacked.
Nick
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Unbacked board bows are tough if the grain runs out. I think Jawge covers it real well on his site.
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/
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Thanks, Dano. They could be too heavy too be strung. Staves should be 10-15 # over final target weight before stringing. You can compare to a preexisting bow or use the method I use with the long string. See Bow Making Directions on my site or check the buildalongs. I can go through it here if you are interested. Jawge
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i'll try and get some pictures if i can get the camera away from my little sister, but like i said most all the staves have broken already, do you also want pictures of the broken staves?
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sorry but i can't quite figure out how to get the pictures on here
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If you use a tillering gizmo before you try to string your bow to make sure there are no weak or hingy spots your chances of having a bow break are much less. Use it after floor tillering while on the long string first then after you string the bow use it to fine tune your tillering .
Here is how to make one.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001047
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hey thanks, that works perty good. i just made a fast longbow, laminated ash with hickery and that gizmo worked! the two i tried to make before it both broke. Ausome!