what would you do

[colt]

to get started making bows i bought some red oak to get started. i made one with an fg cloth backing that worked but for some reason the the riser block is threatening to pop off and the limbs just ended up wierd to me. and it has that fg crap . so started another with my best piece or red oak and a padauk riser block. thinned the limbs a bit too much and ended up with compression cracks. so close and potentially beautiful! i started another and i'm really wanting to get it to work. its 68 inches long, 1.4 inches wide, and i'm planning to only taper the last 12 inches of the limbs. the board has some small issues though. check out the pics.
here is a small knot on the belly. it is very shallow and doesn't  even come close to the back.

here you can see the knot near the riser block. as you can see, the grain runs pretty straight.

end grain is like this on both sides.

i couldn't get a good pic of the other limb but it has some run off on the back on the last third near the tip. though it is kind of slight. how would you proceed? back it? is it worth it at all?

[RyanY]

More pictures would be needed to know for sure but from what I can tell it looks like a fairly decent board. Whether or not it makes it will also depend on what draw weight and draw length you want to get out of it. Backing it wouldn't hurt and would be some extra insurance if the run offs on the back. Go for it.

[Hrothgar]

I apologize if this posts twice, my computer is acting up. Like Ryoon said, from the pics its hard to tell, but the grain looks good on the end, the knot shouldn't be a problem, and it would be a very good idea to back your board. If you're having problems with the riser popping off you might consider the length of the riser block and how far into the handle your limbs are bending, you might want to shorten the block some. Also, it helps to wrap the handle with cord, leather, or strong string besides glueing the riser on. I hope this helps.

[blackhawk]

Since ya asked what I wood do,well here's my humble opinion and you prob wont like it either 

Id set that board aside for right now and go harvest some local bow worthy trees;real wood. Split/peel/n seal it all up. Take a couple staves and rough em down to where there bending a few inches. Strap em down to something flat n straight. Then get back to that board and make a bow while your two staves are drying so you have some real wood to work on. 

If not,when in doubt back it.

[Matt S.]

Are you gluing the handle riser on before tillering or after you start working the limbs? I've never had a glued on handle riser pop off and I think it is because I glue the riser on before any wood is removed from the belly of the bow. Even then, you must control the bend so that it is not bending too much right out of the fade.

In my personal opinion, if you are worried about the integrity of the board but want to leave the bow unbacked, I would forgo the handle riser and make a bend-through-the-handle D-bow. It'll also decrease the production time because you don't have to spend time waiting for glue to dry.

And sorry blackhawk, but I'm going to have to disagree with your assessment of what constitutes "real wood" I and many others have made some excellent bows out of RO boards. That being said, it also doesn't hurt to harvest some local wood and have options.

[blackhawk]

  O:)hehehehe...stirring the pot.....I couldn't resist

Nope nothing wrong with a red oak board,heck my first shooter came from such species. But once I delved into stavedom and harvested my own wood did I realize what" real wood" is. Lol
boards are boring IMHO and the man asked our opinions and that's mine. 

Hopefully that knot will be removed from tillering ,but not sure as it looks close to the fade,but it might be ok being on the center of the belly and almost gone. Keep asking questions and posting your progress as you go as you'll get some" real" expert advice here. But don't listen to me,I don't know jack

[PEARL DRUMS]

Great boards make great bows, but staves make better bows IMHO. I have built my share of board bows and broke my share as well. Good grain and moisture is a tough find at the lumber yard. Good grained staves abound. I would continue with your board build and get some staves drying as well. Stave bows are much harder to break in my opnion. That knot will be a real bugger if it remains after tillering. Board bows HATE knots and most will fail eventually, but not all will.

[Matt S.]

  O:)hehehehe...stirring the pot.....I couldn't resist

I understand, I just have to stick up for the oft trod upon "board bowyers"

Believe me, I'd love to make bows from staves if I had easy access to them, but unfortunately I don't 

[Josh]

Nothing wrong with board bows, blackhawk... one of my fastest is a red oak recurve.     You just must not know how to make a good board bow.    Board bows are "real" bows... still comes from a tree. 

[Josh]

...and I do agree with you on  it is a good idea to harvest some wood in the mean time and get it drying... you can never have too much wood drying, lol. 

[colt]

i only had the problem riser block with that one bow. i think i over clamped it and stressed the wood before the limbs were thinned. i'm pretty confident that won't be a problem. i know the pics don't do much for the grain i really wanted to show the knot. i guess i'll back it, shorten the riser block a little, and hope for the best. i'll post it when i'm done.
as for the stave wood. it really isn't available to me. george was nice enough to send me an osage stave and that's why i want to get this board bow working. i want to get at least one good tiller under my belt before i start on that stave. later this summer though i'm going up to some family land that has quite a few oak, pecan, and juniper trees. i hope to get some wood drying from there. thanks for the help guys.
Colt T

[blackhawk]

Nothing wrong with board bows, blackhawk... one of my fastest is a red oak recurve.     You just must not know how to make a good board bow.    Board bows are "real" bows... still comes from a tree. 

lol....do I smell a red oak board bow cook off?  Set the parameters at 50lb@28" +/- two pounds. And unbacked? Good idea/bad idea? See if anyone else wood wanna participate?Actually I do look for boards when im at a hardware store,but I haven't found any suitable the last few times.



Colt it wood be worth your time to post pictures thru the tiller stage at least to get some helpful pointers and some experienced eyes to help ya out. We may joke around a lot here(see comments above) but were serious about helping folks out. 

[Rick Wallace]

    Fight,fight,fight,,,,  yee-haw!  lets get-er-done !   

[Josh]

Nothing wrong with board bows, blackhawk... one of my fastest is a red oak recurve.     You just must not know how to make a good board bow.    Board bows are "real" bows... still comes from a tree. 

lol....do I smell a red oak board bow cook off?  Set the parameters at 50lb@28" +/- two pounds. And unbacked? Good idea/bad idea? See if anyone else wood wanna participate?Actually I do look for boards when im at a hardware store,but I haven't found any suitable the last few times.



Colt it wood be worth your time to post pictures thru the tiller stage at least to get some helpful pointers and some experienced eyes to help ya out. We may joke around a lot here(see comments above) but were serious about helping folks out.

Awesome.  If a red oak board bow contest is what it will take to show you that red oak board makes a dang fine bow then we can have a little friendly contest.  What is the contest for?    Longevity?  Accuracy? Speed?   In that order is how I rank a bow... How are we to compare bows?  We would have to give them all to a separate party for judging... someone unbiased and has a chronograph... Also I guess all the bows are going to have to be shot with the same arrow... Orchestrate the contest and tell me where to send my bow and I am in. 

[blackhawk]

Josh.....pm sent