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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: ChristopherO on September 03, 2007, 09:36:00 PM
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Is it a given that Red Oak flat bows will have string follow?
I used this weekend to build two Red Oak board bows of 66" NtN and both ended up with quite a bit of string follow. Both bows ended up with a weaker draw weight (30#/40#) than I was wanting of 50#- 55#. They tillered well and clean and shot with not hand shock. These are numbers 4 & 5 in my bow making career. If the bows came out at the desired draw weight would there be less string follow or is it just the nature of the beast?
Thanks
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They don't necessarily have to have a lot of string follow. String follow can be kept to a minimum if you spend some time to get the belly taper just right when you rough it out, and make sure the tiller is spot on before you pull it past brace height.I'm still trying to get that one down myself, but I have done it at least once.
BTW If you want one to have zero set it's prolly best to introduce around 3" of reflex first. You didn't mention how much set you had but,between one and two inches of set is pretty good for red oak, and even three is acceptable.
One caveat though, wood is gonna vary in density from board to board, so you can do everything right and still end up with more string follow than you wanted simply because the particular board you used was not as dense as you would have liked.
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One board had at least 2 1/2" of reflex in it before tillering and the other board was arrow straight from the start. They both string follow about the same, give or take. Both pieces of oak have been around for many years. One was a store bought trim board 3/4" thick and the other was purchased from a local lumber mill large and rough cut. The rough cut was 1 1/2" thick and had bowed considerably whilst laying in the storage building. I thought it had the best chance of staying straight but it wasn't to be.
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IMHO, it's pretty hard to minimize string follow on any wood other than osage without force drying in a hotbox.
Ambient humidity is just too high in the midwest for air drying to do the job.
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Make them longer or wider and tiller with care. Dry wood, good design and you can keep it less than 2" with a straight start.
I agree with Jeff.
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John,
thought you would want to know that one of the designs was your's and Ferret's from the tutorial. The other bow was similar but with a 1 1/2" off set handle center and the 1 3/4" limb width ran further up the limb.
Looks like I will need to make a hot box.
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Just enjoy your bows. As you gain tillering experience follow will lessen. My board bows actually show less follow than bows from log staves. Things to remember when tillering-- (1) never draw a bow further than it takes to expose a flaw, (2) never draw more than 5 #over final target weight. I actually don't even get near target weight until about 24 inches for a 26 inch draw. I hit target weight at 25 in and leaving a little sanding weight. The other thing I try to do is make sure my stave is ready to be strung. For that you'll have to go to my site. You can get the url in the How to section here. Jawge