Ok, i picked a doozy for my first stave bow and would like a little advice on finishing the taper and tillering this little bugger. I've already done some straightening to get string running through the handle. Also, should i leave some character or straighten some more? Hackberry by the way, 57", goin for about 30#:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111207_002.jpg) (http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111207_001.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111207_005.jpg) (http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111207_004.jpg)
Thanks in advance boys! Thanks Pearl for encouraging me to post it, i probly would've stubbornly stumbled along otherwise :knothead:
If the undualtions arent more than 5/8-3/4" variance, I leave them flat on the belly side and just narrow the limb. It takes a pretty good dip for me to follow it on the belly side. Place the bow back against a wall and see how even your tips and relfex are. Thats a good starting point. If the handle isnt parallel with the wall I like to heat it up and make it parallel so it starts even on the tree and your hand.
Those bumps of reflex are never going to look like they are bending enough during tillering but if you keep your thickness taper smooth and gradual they will be doing their fair share of the bending even though they dont look like it.
Heat treating that belly wont hurt a bit either. Hackberry loves heat.
Thanks guys, your info is helpful. I put it up against the wall and the back of the handle is parallel with the wall, need to square up the belly of the handle though. I'm thinking of adding a little recurve to the tips. Haven't decided about heat treating, probly won't for time sake, wanna have'r done by Christmas. (I do LOVE the smell of hack when heated. Bet it would smoke some meat nicely!)
QuoteOriginally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
If the undualtions arent more than 5/8-3/4" variance, I leave them flat on the belly side and just narrow the limb.
Still trying to wrap my mind around this one. So if there is, say, a hump on the back, you leave the belly flat and remove wood on the sides of the hump? With this method, the front profile would be a little wavy instead of straight or straight taper?
Exactly. I would rather have my sides dip in and out as needed and keep my belly pancake flat. A slight width reduction makes a big difference. Your stave doesnt look too bad at all. Im betting it will bend evenly. Dips and uneven areas on your belly can and does cause chrysals if not handled with care, even still it can.
Yeah, i figured somebody would say "well son it's nearly straight!" ;) But i've been doing board bows so it's a little intimidating, plus i still have the "don't wanna screw it up" syndrome!
I was looking at Marc St. Louis' hawthorne bow over on PA and his had some similar issues that it looks like he handled as you are saying. I did ask him just to confirm. No offense i hope, just wanna get all the perspective i can before the shavings fly!
It's starting to make sense. If i can kind of visualize how it should progress, that helps me a bunch in my approach and confidence.
Hmm, if a bow's limbs are pretty heavily reflexed, should they look more stiff at brace than if they were straight? Seems like that's what i've seen on a few posted.
K-hat,
I can't wait to see it done. Good luck on that one.
That stave ought to make a dandy little bow for sure.
I sure hope she does! this one's for the wife, planning on backing with silk and decorating it up a bit, more than my usual.
I just about finished laying out profiles today (or should i say re-laying out). It'd probly pull 50# as it is, need it down to bout 30.
For thickness, here's what i did: held pencil with my fingers braced against the back where the pencil overlapped and touched the side so i could trace a continuous line 1/4 inch from edge of back & it followed the natural contours of the stick. I'm using that line as a reference point to measure and draw in my thickness taper. There are no real abrupt humps or dips to speak of luckily. Couldn't figure any other way to do it because of the curves and crown. next is rasping and scraping down to those lines.
Silly or does that sound about right?
Dont draw taper lines in, I dont anyway. The back usually isnt consistent enough to rely on that like you do with boards. You have the right idea drawing a parallel line with the back. Use that as an eyeball taper reference. You really only need an 1/8" taper to get a good start floor tillering. Use your Gizmo(tm) after that.
Sounds like a plan!! Save me some time and work eyeballing it:) , and my gizmo's rarin to go! Thanks Chris :thumbsup:
Well, rasped'r down and got'r on the tree . . er . . wall. Anyhow,wanna make sure i'm looking at this right and figured that any other stave rookies hanging around might benefit, so i plan on posting progress as i go from here.
I've got it on a short string that just lays on the belly, little to no tension. Here's the pics:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111210_002_001.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111210_002.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111210_003.jpg)
So here's my thoughts so far:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111210_003-1.jpg)
That hingey area has a place where a little more meat came out than intended when i split the stave originally. Figured it would come out when i worked in the profile, but i figured wrong :knothead: . I left more meat around that area as i tapered, and generally left the whole stave about 15 pounds heavier than final goal so i had plenty room for tillering and any errors. Here's a close up of the problem area:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111210_006.jpg)
I know it's not a prime specimen, but i'm backing with silk, keeping it light, so i figure she'll still make a decent shooter.
Ok, lemme have it . . .
Thanks for your past and future help :D
Played around with photo editor a little tryna get a composite image to see what's bending where:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111210_002-2-1.jpg)
Ok, off to bed, look'n forward to hear what y'all have to say after ya wake up ;)
Looks to me like you need to get your middle 1/3 bending more. Looking pretty good so far.
Might go ahead and see if you can get a low brace on it, about 2 or 3 inches
Just use your Gizmo and go slow. Don't pull it ant farther until you get the stiff area bending.
Get those mids moving allot more Kevin. All your bending is at the fades. Dont bend it at all until you remove some material from the middle. Your only inducing set right now. That overcooked part probably wont hurt you.
thanks PD and Stiks, that was my assessment. This was the first pull for just a brief moment to snap the picture. Had to pull that far before i could really see what was going on. As it bends down to that point, the tips flatten out some but it was quickly evident that the right one is a lever on that weak spot. The "overcooked" part didn't even get any dry heat, it turned that color after i steamed the handle/inners so i could get the string to lay over the handle. Didn't expect that.
Anyhow, i'll get those mids workd on this afternoon or crack-o-dawn tomorrow.
Thanks!!
Well, I did some rasping and checked, then rasped some more and checked, and a couple more rounds of that then here we are:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111211_001.jpg)
at about 17":
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111211_003.jpg)
Think i'm ready for low brace? I think I see a little stiffness in the left midlimb that i'll need to work on. Left my tiller gizmo at friend's house (got him addicted recently ;) ), sure wishing i had it!!!!
Also, seems like i remember George Stoneberg saying something about on a stave the v's formed on the belly by the rings should point to the tips, they seem to give me a good indicator of the taper progression? Seems like cheating almost, sure don't work that way on the board bows!
Tryna decide when to back her too. I know i've got some serious violations on the back of the right limb --about the last 8 inches there are 4 or 5 exposed rings, not to mention the insect grooves i had to sand past, couple still show.
As always, y'alls input is greatly appreciated! :)
Think i'm ready for low brace? I think I see a little stiffness in the left midlimb that i'll need to work on. Left my tiller gizmo at friend's house (got him addicted recently ), sure wishing i had it!!!!
Your right about the left side. A gizmo is cool but you can grab anything square and flat 6-8" long and take your time if you lost your gizmo.
Thanks bro, i'll work on that in the morning, unless i decide to go ahead and steam and bend that handle again to get a little better alignment with my string, still laying a little to far left.
Looking good!! Luv hackberry...
thanks Coaster! I'm liking it a lot myself, seems very elastic.
Well, i workd the tiller a little more this morning and went ahead and steamed the handle and put'r on the form to get that string aligned. I'll give it a couple days to rest, and in the meantime i'll go on and glue on the backing and clean up the sides a little, then back to the tiller on Thursday!
After letting her rest for a day from steaming, i went on and roughed out the handle area yesterday and then tillered some more this morning. Here's where she now stands. Low brace reveals a lot of stiffness still in that right limb, which i'll work on before pulling any further:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/Nenebow17b.jpg)
Brace:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/Nenelowbrace.jpg)
And that blasted handle area moved back after i roughed out!! :banghead:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/Nenestring.jpg)
Gonna gently heat gun the handle area this time either this afternoon or in the morning before i tiller any more.
Since i'm not tempering, will 24hrs be enough time after re-aligning?
Thanks for any input :)
I'm no expert on heating but I believe you need to leave it a couple of days atleast to rehydrate to normal RH before trying to bend it again. Looking real good. I'm starting on staves soon, so watching this one closely.
It shouldnt move back. How long sis you steam her for? I steam handle for no less than an hour.
Right at an hour, it was very pliable. It may not have moved back that much on second look. i guess because i hadn't roughed out the handle yet, it LOOKED more aligned than it actually was (wasn't thru the center, but i was afraid to bend that far, being my first). i read somewhere recently about corrections undoing themselves some after wood removal, and figured that had happened. Whatever it is, ima hafta correct more before i tiller the rest of the way out.
I may go ahead and steam instead of heat gun, don't have time to sit for an hour while it heats up! Either way, I plan on continuing tiller again in the wee hours of the morning Friday unless that's too soon. This will be the 4th steaming session in about a week and 1/2.
Thanks!
Well, I rassled her and heated her and rassled her some more. it took some doing, but finally got'r aligned through the handle. She resisted the whole way but i think she'll keep her new position:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111216_002.jpg)
now, what to do while i wait on rehydration? Maybe NOW i'll go ahead and glue the backing on while she recovers.
Diggy! If you try to heat an area twice and it wont stick. Try moving to another spot that will still move the tip or handle where you want it.
Unless you sealed the area with shellac you need to let id dry back out for at least a few days, a week is better. If you did seal it with shellac first let it rest a day or two.
For me a heat gun is way quicker to heat up the wood than steam.
yeah, i sat there staring for about 20 minutes this morning tryna figure out just that. Finally settled on adding a spacer between the limbs and my form so i could bend it more than otherwise, then heated up about 6inches further up both limbs to get that entire middle to give a little. Whew! it was a little unnerving, had to clamp that handle about 2" over in order to get it to hold 1/2"! What a lesson! Can't wait to get back to tillering!
Looking good Kevin.
Pat: Don't have any shellac, i used crisco. Guess that means i WILL be glueing on the backing and some other detail work over the next few days then. Can't just sit and do nothing;)
Stiks: Thank you sir, couldn't have gotten this far without all the folks here!
well it is looking good, and heck if that string does not move center of the handle you will have center of the arrow rest bow.
Kelly, don't think for a second that i didn't have that thought!! :laughing:
Well, not a good way to start the day. I was tillering away, and did a couple draws in the mirror (no further than i have been) and . . . POP!! Hit myself in the face when she snapped in two. No tick, no warning, just POW. Well, here are the pics, never seen one break like this:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111220_003.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111220_002.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111220_004.jpg)
Any input y'all have as to diagnosis would be greatly appreciated. This is in the area where i knew some rings were violated, hence the backing (which didn't hold together so well??).
Stiks, if you see this, guess our hearing works about the same;)
Bummer :confused:
Bummer man. Thats sucks, that what i think. Sorry for your loss.
Well that is downright disappointing. Was hoping that one would work for you. Sorry but I don't have a clue why it would break like that, though I'm sure someone will have a good idea.
Too dry!
57" stave...so that means the bow was between 55-56 in ntn. How far did you draw it when it popped? Jawge
I see to that there were ring violations which are never good. Oh well. Get another stave. May be longer. If you ain't breakin' you ain't makin'! Jawge
In a couple pics it looks like the back has some burning from dry heat and that's a recipe for disaster. The backing looks like regular cotton sheet material which is not very strong and it didn't appear to have much of a bond anyways. Try real linen made from the flax plant as it is super strong stuff but you will have to go to a fabric store and ask for it. I don't think that was the cause of the break but something to consider on future builds.
I think Osage tree is right...Too Dry hence the clean break without splintering.
Pretty big challeng for a first bow. Good job though in what you actually did accomplish and I'm sure you learned more on this one bow than you would have on a nice easy stave or board. Keep at it and I look foward to seeing another from you.
Well now Jawge, I was only at 17" ;)
Didn't burn the back, i only cook bellies:). What you may be seeing is some discoloration from crisco that leaked around. In fact, the part that broke never received any heat :confused:
The backing is 100% silk. Kind of a surprise there, though it was my first time to use silk. I have some linen ima go back to instead of silk, most likely.
I cut a piece off and examined it. It's pretty porous all the way through, really sponge-like in appearance. Perty sure that's the culprit. Don't know if that's "live tree dry rot or what", but they've had that appearance from the getgo, so all my staves from that tree are likely in the same condition.
I'll probly start another bow Monday :D
Thanks for all the input and encouragement!
I had to chase rings on ash because it had almost 1/4" of that porous stuff too. THe first attempt snapped right away. I wonder if we are atlaking of the same thing. Kinda like an inner bark that is very hard and porous but looks decent until ya try to bend it. I cut that tree down just as the sap was starting to run and the bark came right off. Wish I knew what that was too.
If you look at the cross section you can see the sap wood is dramatically thinner on one side of the stave. That could have contributed to the overstressed back. I broke 2 staves that had irregular sap wood and considered everything from rot to overdraw. But after I sawed some cross sections I believe it was just the reality of a bad choice of wood. (http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p86/2manydogs_photos/Bow%20Pictures/DSC00436.jpg)
These are maple and should not have broke on their back like this. Notice how irregular the back surface is, it is magnified internally. some spots had almost no sap wood.
What ever the reason, your bow has provided a wealth of knowledge. I have always said you learn more from a broken bow then a shooter. Dont give up on the other staves, just figure out how to make them work ;)
Well, thanks to all the encouragement, i took a second look at my hackberry stash just before i cut it all up for firewood. Turns out i think i can salvage a couple of staves if i chase a ring (gonna hafta take about an inch off to get to a decent one). Hackberry is notoriously not very chase-able, but i've started one and i think we can make it work. Here's my "draw knife" i'll be working with (half a pair of old shears):
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111227_001_001.jpg)
Here is the end of the stave i'm working on. Going after that second thick ring from top:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111227_001.jpg)
And, just to see what i'm dealing with, here is the back so far. Top layers are very thin ringed and difficult to see where you are. Nothing like chasing osage!!
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111227_002.jpg)
Well, wish me luck! And thanks again for the encouragement. I'll post progress after i get'r floor tillered.
Your crazy and must have at least twice the energy I do. Good Luck!
Crazy, or stubborn. Bout the same sometimes!!
It's not crazy or stuborn Kevin ... I'm with you when ya fall off get right back on ... only way I ever learned anything :knothead:
That stave looks a bit more user friendly than the first one. If it were mine I would try to get it to bend a bit more even across the whole bow in the beginining not just at the fades.... I am a newby so take anything I say with a grain of salt.
You'll nail it this time!!
Well, got about 8 inches left to remove of the last ring, but bout got'r chased. Here are some pics of the back and you can see the butt end a little in one. I'm stopping short of the ring i was going for, which was about 1/8" thick, this one is between 1/16th at thinnest and 1/8th at thickest, which i suppose is enough.
You may notice some extra material left around three pin knots. toward the top end of the stave. Gonna fine tune those next.
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120102_002.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120102_004.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120102_006b.jpg)
I'm pretty excited about this one. This will be my first finished chased ring. I've started some on a couple of osage staves, but haven't finished those yet, too many distractions ;)
I will say osage is definitely easier than this was, but this was a good teacher, and finishing those osage staves will be a breeze!!!
As you can see, this one is quite a bit wavier and undulationier (yes, made up another word!) than the one i started with in this thread. Just what i was hoping for . . . more challenge!
On the downside, this 2+ inch wide stave is now down to about 1.5" wide due to how deep i had to go to get some good wood. Yes, much narrower than preferred for hackberry, but she will be backed with silk and only going to 30#. Hope that does the trick. :pray:
Can't wait to finish shaping and floor tiller!! :jumper:
Appreciate any thoughts and input!
After a bunch of shaving and rasping, finally got'r down to about floor tiller. Her character is really coming out now.
Only question is, how much character do i wanna leave in her?
I know i've got some straightening to do laterally to get the string through the handle (now about an inch out). And need to even up the limbs as well.
Part of me says get her as straight as possible, part says tiller the crazy thing!
Eyeball a straight line tip to tip and you can see the string alignment issues:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120105_006-1.jpg)
Another character pic:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120105_004-1.jpg)
Compare this one (top) to the bottom pic and you can see that she is a sister stave to the one that started this thread (and broke). The first one had already been corrected a bit before the first pic taken:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120105_001-1.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/111207_002-1.jpg)
If i start corrections, you can bet i'll be working on my next stave during the rehydration period :D
Is that the same width from end to end?
Right now yes, cept one area that i need to narrow a bit. Needed to use the belly to help me see where to shave off the edge, didn't get to it yet.
I wanted to get it to a heat-correctable width and thickness before i take more off. I'm gonna narrow the tips too, bout the last 8 inches or so.
Figured it'd be ok to do my corrections before all that?
The stave has to be a bow before it can be floor tillered.
QuoteOriginally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
The stave has to be a bow before it can be floor tillered.
Let me reprahse that. That sounded rude and wasnt my intention. The stave needs to be cut/rasped out to your desired profile before you take anymore from that belly. Get it shaped, then concern yourself with alignment.
No worries PD. Guess I misrepresented my intentions, and maybe a little confused. The order i was going to go in was:
1. Heat correct the lateral issues
2. Rasp in the width tapers on the last 8 inches of each limb
3. Belly taper and floor tiller.
But you're saying go in the order of 2, 1, 3?
I'm still learning the "way of the stave", so all comments and suggestions are welcome. Don't know any other way to learn (other than trial and error ...but who wants to do that ;) , and i hope this is helpful to someone else down the road.
Thanks for your input PD.
Most folks get their desired profile done first thing. That dictates your taper.
That's what i've always done with my board bows, but to be honest, it was difficult for me to see how i needed to lay it out with it as wavy as it was becoming. I used the ring pattern on the belly as i removed material to see where the natural edges of the stave should be, that way i could remove width where it needed to be without forcing an unnatural shape/"violating" the rings on the sides.
I took it down to the max width and limb thickness tip to tip hoping that she would start "speaking to me" ;) so i could get a better idea how to approach the width profile without doing irreversible damage.
If there's a better way (other than just having the eye of experience to see the way to lay it out from the back), lemme know! The grain on the back was too fine for my newbie eyes to follow :rolleyes:
I did follow your advice and began finishing the width parallels and tapers. Hope to have that done by the end of the weekend.
Ok, put'r on the tiller block this morning. Shot a couple of pics and a video i'm gonna try posting ala coaster500:
At rest, no tension:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120117_001B.jpg)
Drawn to 14" and 15# on somewhat long string:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120117_003B.jpg)
Here is a video link so you can see movement:
http://s1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/?action=view¤t=120117_001-1.mp4
Sorry for the quality, gotta get a decent camera, will when funds permit : :)
Looking forward to your comments:)
I think that, if you are going to continue to build bows in the future, its ok to use different approaches and to experiment with your new ideas because you will learn from them and eventually find your own way. That's actually part of the satisfaction--persevering through your failures and achieving success. So go with your gut and enjoy.
My thought on allowing the waviness of the rings to dictate the edges of the limbs are that it might work as long as you leave enough wood on for later tiller and design. I think there would be a temptation to flatten the belly full length in order to see the ring waviness and you might go too far.
The last 6" or so of the limbs need to be rigid when complete. If you flatten that belly out at full width then later taper edges you might have weak tips, whereas you should have allowed the tips the narrow yet thicken to remain rigid.
So it depends on your design and such.
Also, with floor tillering at full width, when you taper the edges your floor tiller will change, or could.
I'm doing an osage bow now with wobble and twist. I put the stave in a vise, back up, and drew a line, with hand/eye, down the entire crown, following the wobbles in every way. Then I measured out to the edges from there to lay out the bow.
I can't tell much from the video. I have another bow with similar looking limbs as yours. I don't use the tiller setup like you have. I use a vise and stick. With the bow in the vise, strung, and belly up, I pull up by hand so I'm close to see the limbs moving. I look at how much movement I'm getting, percentage-wise, from tip to fade. Knots, undulations, tips, and handle, will be stiffer but everything else has to move via a certain percentage.
I'll do a little of that then tiller stick and step back and look. Then I measure each limbs overall arc compared to the other.
Much food for thought Steve, really appreciate it.
Now that the back has been exposed to the air, i can see the grain a lot better. so in the future, i'll chase then let'r sit a while to get a better contrast on the back.
I had plenty of meat to deal with for the light bow i'm doing, but i completely agree that it would be easy to go too far.
I did finish the side profile before any real floor tillering.
I'm really enjoying this one, can't wait to git'r done!
So i know the long string lies, but this is ridiculous!! :eek:
Low brace:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120119_001.jpg)
Unbraced:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120119_002.jpg)
Can u say POSITIVE TILLER?! it's ok to laugh, i did soon as i strung it! :laughing: it was looking much nicer before the short string, and i knew that would change as soon as i low braced it, but that was a surprise.
I did quite a bit more work on it this morning and it's getting there. Lightnin up the right side, working inner and outer limb on left. I should have it looking right on low brace come tomorrow.
Here's how i'm finessing my belly taper:
I'm using a small c-clamp set to a low gap. I place one side against the belly and the other above the back, slide it down and watch the gap change.
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120119_002_001.jpg)
Do have to watch out for little bumps and ridges on the back, but it's easy to see where the taper is flat or or limb is too thick. Did most of that this morning after i saw my 3" positive tiller, so it doesn't reflect in the pics.
Here is a problem area I saw the other day. A crack probly from not being so careful while doing the lateral string alignment corrections. It runs back to belly on one edge:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120119_003crack-2.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120119_003crack-1.jpg)
My plan is to finish the initial tiller, back it, and wrap/glue it before i do any serious heavy bending. That way i won't have to worry about removing belly material from this area. it doesn't open up at all with what i've done so far.
For the wrap: arty sinew, nylon serving, or dacron?
I wouldn't be comfortable with a wrap myself. A patch would be stronger.
I saw how they did a patch in TBB3, don't think i have the set-up to do that, and it may be above my pay-grade at the moment :rolleyes:
Thanks for the suggestion though!
Made some more progress this morning, still have some work gettn her evened up:
here's yesterday:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/wavylowbrace1.jpg)
and today. . .
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/wavylowbrace2.jpg)
Here's some pics on the tiller block, then a video of the bending:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120120_001.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120120_002.jpg)
video link:
http://s1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/?action=view¤t=120120_001-1.mp4
I was exercising the limbs after wood removal and . . . CRACK! Lifted a large splinter on the back, right down the middle, bout 8-9 inches long. Here's the damage:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120122_003.jpg)
The culprit is a sneaky little pin knot that i missed, or neglected since it was sooo small . . .
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120122_004.jpg)
I know this just shows my inexperience in dealing with staves, so it's a little embarrassing:(
I'm gonna patch'r up and back her. Here's what i have... superglue, TBII, arty sinew, nylon serving thread. What is your recommended fix on this? Should i wrap before i apply the backing or after? Either using silk or linen.
Arrrrgh! :banghead:
Thanks for any and all help!
Got some of the runnier type super glue and glued the splinter back down. Kinda made a mess as it ran out when i pressed it down, but it's cleanupable:)
The splintered limb is holding up nicely, did a little mild tillering this morning. There's only about 1/8" difference in the gap at midlimb, may leave as is and go on and start working both limbs, after I back it of course.
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/120123_001.jpg)
It looks like that curved tip isn't wanting to bend when i pull short on it, but i'm thinking it may open up more as full draw approaches?
The taper right now is only at about 1/16" from end of fade to the recurve. It's the mildest taper i've done so far.
Well here she is all done up and ready. This one i'm going to call "Eve" because she was a lot of firsts for me: first bow from a stave (from my first harvested tree), first character bow, she's strung with my first handmade string, first rawhide backed bow (THANKS AGAIN BEVAN on PA!!). Coincidentally, i also cracked my lower left rib :eek: while she was coming about lol (but not as a result of working on the bow). I Think Eve is a fitting name.
57" ntn, just a hair under 20#@25", 1 1/4 inch wide for most of the width, narrows to about 5/8" tips. Not much set to speak of, surprisingly, i think about an inch. The midlimb wrap on the top limb is functional, the others are just deco. I've never decorated a bow this much, i usually let the wood shine, but i think i like it:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/Nenehandle.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/Neneprofile.jpg)
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/Nenebrace.jpg)
borrowed this pose from Ken i think :D
And the money shot:
(http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd374/k-hat/Nenefulldrawfinal.jpg)
This is my son doing a good job helping with the pics. My wife didn't want to have her pics on the internet lol :laugh:
I REALLY appreciate all the help and encouragement given by all the folks here, couldn'ta done it without ya! Looking forward to doing one like this in a hunting weight!
NOTE: the rest of the build was finished over on PA, got tired of double posting. Lots of good help on that thread from other more experienced bowyers:
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,30090.105.html