Well moron or not... Thats a pretty sweet beard... I mean bow    

That is a nice beard.  

Hey, so back on page 104 is the trade bow I'm working on and I've been bouncing around the idea of staining the riser.  What say you?  Should I stain it or just clear finish it as is?  I like the natural color, but I don't know if a natural stain, or a light colored oak or something would make it pop.  Thoughts?

Nice bows everyone!! And Joe don't stain that one...

Nice work Red Beard. The bend looks great.

I don't know where to start so I'll just say I like'm all. Joe if it's even close to the one you built last year it'll be killer when it's done... Been a busy couple weeks for me but got mine bending at 20" today looks pretty good lower limb looks stiff out of the fades about 8 inches or so maybe.

Wow! Everything looks great everyone! I sure hope I can make some progress in the coming weeks. I'm starting to run out of time. Work has been a bear, and I've had some family things of importance lately. But don't worry Mr. ********, I haven't forgotten about you. I have some of my materials, and a plan of attack(I think), now all I need is a little time to get the ball rolling.

Great looking stuff guys.....I don't know if I am digging the way the it came out, might have to go on to plan b......what say you all???







 

All these bows make me feel like a slacker...barely have the backing prepped and the horn nocks roughed out..my only real excuse is being too busy being a grandpa and playing with a bunch of obsidian and agate...
Hopefully this weekend should see some pics of some progress on the yew/bamboo combo.

that's a nice bow Redbeard, and Soy, what you talking about, that veneers look terrific!  

Very nice guys.

Don't have any new pics yet, will soon.

The swap bow is basically finished though. Will need to be shot some more to make sure it's really settled in.

I do have one small problem .... it's under target weight .... debating my options right now.

I'm currently @45#, 5# under target weight.

Bow is 66"ntn so I'm debating possibly piking to 64" nad retillering although I wonder if I'll even get the 5# and if it's worth the risk of breaking a good bow.

Any thoughts? I mean I guess being a few pounds under isn't th eend of the world ....

Should I just scrap it and start over? pike it? ship it at 45#?

What draw length  are you shooting for, Ben? ...and what wood are you using?

29" target draw and it's bamboo back walnut core ipe belly

currently 1.25" wide to past midlimb, 66" ntn

12" riser

LittleBen... or whoever is building my bow.... i am perfectly happy with 45#.  I actually overstated my requested draw weight cause i thought i would have worked into that weight by then... but im not ready for a 55#+ bow.  im planning on hunting with a 45-50 bow this year.

anyway it sounds like ya got my specs  

I was going to suggest tempering the belly to raise the draw weight a bit but with a glue up it is not practical. You might be able to temper if you used Urac(Unibond) but not with other glues.

Thats not a bad idea to temper the belly.

I used TBIII so I would definately need to clamp everything to a form before heating and let cool thoroughly.

Unfortunately my form is setup for the belly to rest against it not the back so I don't know ho I will pull that off.

We'll see.

I'm apprehensive to pike it because I will lose some reflex at the tips and it'll get a bit more string follow ... probably will take it into the realm of 2" string follow ... Concerned I'll get more draw weight but not more arrow speed.

Don't temper it if you used TB glue. It will release at 150 degrees.
How wide are your tips? You might be able to narrow them somewhat to increase the speed but not the draw weight.

tips are around 1/2" to 3/8".

I might just slightly narrow the outer 1/4 of the limb a bit and the tips slightly as you said to try and eek out a few more fps and leave the weight as is.

Beard, nice looking bow, I like to wood combo.

Texan, looking good, you're almost there.

Soy, that looks real good to me, I'd be happy with it.

Ben, I could use a 45 pounder if that helps. lol

I wouldn't cry about it, either.