Saskatoon (serviceberry) opinions needed!

[zenmonkeyman]

Well I got my 1st saskatoon attempt to 30" draw.  Unfortunately, I came in under hunting weight, which was always in question since my stick is only 1" wide at the handle.  I'm 66 1/2" N2N, 35#@30".  She took over 2" of set, on top of the 1" deflex she started with.  Here's some pics:







Here's the part where I ask for advice.    

Is there a reasonable way to bring this up to hunting weight?  Should I flip the tips, or am I straining this stick enough as it is?  How about heat treating?  Is that something I should consider?  What about the dreaded piking option? 

BTW, El D, thanks for all the elipses you've been drawing, it finally sunk in...

[kylerprochaska]

I don't have much experience at all so don't take my advice to the bank...i would wait for some others but i have raised a bow to hunting weight by flipping small static recurves onto it...it was osage though...i don't know how service berry acts

[Pat B]

You could take an inch off of each tip, flip the tips a bit and maybe toast the belly and get it up in weight some. Cool looking bow as it is though.

[El Destructo]

Yeah...what PatB said!! Hey...what Limb is the Bottom?? The one on the Left is Stiffer than the right...just an Idea..... ...and make sure that wne You use this Elipse for a reference...that you get the Bow as level as Possible...Take the Picture as Square with the Bow as Possible...and make sure that when you lay the Ellipse over it...that You start at the Tip of the Limb...and at the Top of the Handle area....otherwise it isn't as accurate.....just a little more information for you!!

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[zenmonkeyman]

Thanks guys!

El D, the left limb is the bottom both of the tree and of my planned bow orientation.

Any more advice, guys?  Just how short can a serviceberry bow be and still draw to 30" safely?  Especially a narrow one?

[Pat B]

Try 1" off each end. If that works OK maybe take another off each end. That would put you at 62" and I wouldn't go any farther than that.

[zenmonkeyman]

Thanks Pat!  Greatly appreciated!

[jessepeltan]

In addition to piking an inch of each end heat treat it.  Make sure to only heat treat the belly.  The heat treating will reduce set, allow the bow to pull farther, and bump up the draw weight.  The fact that heat treating will allow the bow to pull farther means you can go shorter.  So basically heat treat and shorten.  You want to shorten the bow and measure the rate of which the draw progresses.  If it starts to stack in the last inches don't go shorter.  So you can experiment with that.  I agree with Pat B. don't go shorter than 62.  4.5 in shorter should bump up the weight a lot in addition to heat treating.  You should be able to get over 50#@30in.

[radius]

are you super tall?  drawing 30? 

but yeah, clamp it down flat and heat temper it, see what it can do...

[zenmonkeyman]

Thanks guys!

I'm not super tall radius (6' on a stretched tape), but the arms are long.  Skinniest knuckle dragger you ever saw.   

I'm gonna do one thing at a time, here.  I already clamped it straight and heat treated it.  I'll hang it over the humidifier for a couple days and see what I've got.  Don't know if my second step would be flipping tips or piking; hopefully heat treating will be enough.  I drew it to 32", so I may get away with piking or flipping if necessary.

[Pappy]

30 ia a pretty long draw for sure,but I wouldn't pull it to 32 just for fun,that will do nothing but cause you more set,heat treating will add some weight for sure .Most of the time 5 or 6 if that is waht you are looking for.
   Pappy

[radius]

if you can draw it to 32, then it's good and strong in tension...or overbuilt for a weakling little longbow like that...you could probably take 2" off each end AND heat temper it, gain 10 or 12 pounds weight, and never overstrain it.

but hanging it over the humidifier?  you're just damn impatient.

[zenmonkeyman]

Thanks guys!

Pappy, 5 or 6 is all I need for legal hunting weight.  10 would be better, of course.  The irony is, with my draw, 35# will probably throw an arrow as fast as a 50# bow drawn to 25".... I overdrew it a bit just to reassure myself that it was strong enough in tension to handle these drastic measures I'm contemplating.  The last time I heat treated a bow it snapped in tension.  I haven't managed to turn out a shooter yet, and I'm getting a bit antsy. 

Radius, it is REALLY dry here.  The chokecherry bow I snapped turned out to be somewhere between 2 and 5% moisture... the humidifier is a necessity.

Right now this stick is really stiff; it's picked up a lot of weight just from the tempering.  I know I'm not overbuilt because it only weighs 14.4 oz and I haven't narrowed the tips to their final dimensions yet.  My wife turned off the humidifier on me last night and I lost  a 10th of an oz while I slept.  I think I'll go looking for some rawhide to glue on the back...

[jessepeltan]

If the bow gets too strong in compression you can trap or round the belly.  A slight trap to the belly will even out the forces a bit.  After heat treating and piking to 62 you should be able to get a bow over 50#@30in.  If it's still too weak you could flip the tips.  Is the bow stacking at 32in?

[radius]

you haven't pulled out a shooter yet?  that's sad to hear.  If it's as dry as you say, then i guess you're on the right track with the humidifier.  WTF do you live, anyway?

if you live anywhere near a hardwood supplier, i suggest you get some quartersawn white oak and make a wide limbed flat bow.  Very strong.  Turns out good bows.  Go 1.75" wide.   If you can't get quartersawn, get plain sawn 2" thick and rip an inch or 1.25" off the edge.  That gives you quartersawn material.  Man, i want to see you turn out a powerful bow and fast.   

Maybe in a few months after i get my yew logs milled, i'll send you some.   I'm planning to mill it down into laminations, between 1/8 and 3/8 thick, and also milling some hickory, elm, or ash into backing strips.  I'll have more than i need.  You let me know.