am i there yet? lol

[DarkSoul]

+1 for the cat!

The tiller looks pretty even in both limbs. That is really important and quite an achievement in itself, for a beginner. Bottom and top limb bend pretty much the same amount and in the same location of the limbs. However, the handle is quite long and stiff. On your next bows, I would advice a little more bending in the fades. The first five inches of each limb are basically not bending at all. Most of the bend is now concentrated on the midlimbs. It's better to spread out the load over a longer length of the limbs.

By the way, what is the braceheight, measured from the string to the belly of the handle? It appears a bit high, but that is hard to judge. 6 to 6½" is pretty standard. What wood is it actually? Maybe I missed that...

Now go make the next one, with all you've learnt in your mind

[Bryce]

looks good man. theres a couple spots that could use a bit of good sanding to make it perfect.
but it looks pretty good man.
how does it shoot?

[onidog]

Well.....so i happened along to the archery shop today and asked him to weigh it for me. I'm glad it looks good but the poundage is only 10lbs. lol. so its good to know that i have the knowledge of making bows and now i know what i have to do to make it better next time and not so......well if there was a tall kid around he might enjoy my bow. :p but I'm very proud of my accomplishments of how well my first bow looks. 

so my fellow seasoned bowmakers!!!! how would i go about making it better next time? did i just shave to much off? any pointers for next time? FEED MY BRAIN FULL OF BOWYER KNOWLEDGE!!!
oh and to answer a couple questions:
-The wood is red oak and i picked up a 2x3 and went to town.
-the brace height is 8 1/2 inch. way too tall.
-it shoots a little to the left but i think its because i don't have a deep enough arrow rest. who knows.

Thanks again for everyone's help and knowledge and glad to know i have some help for the next million bows. well by then i'll be helping someone too!
-C
p.s. The cat brought me a string cause he wanted to help me tiller :p

[gstoneberg]

I understand.  All bows are learning experiences.

Most people miss weight because they  do one or more of the following:

• Do too much tillering with the bow on a long string
• Make an early mistake (hinge) that requires too much wood removal to recover.
• Don't pull the bow to the target draw weight when tillering.

Assuming you're right handed... Your bow shoots left because the draw weight is so low that your arrows are overspined.  The bow is not capable of making them bend around the riser.  Correctly spined arrows do not need a shelf at all to shoot straight.

Lots of us made too light a bow first time.  The secret to making weight is getting the limbs bending correctly and evenly as soon as possible after getting the bow strung.  Once the correct bend is established and the limbs are even you should pull the bow pretty close to your target draw weight each time you exercise it.  At first that'll be several inches short of your draw.  Keep slowly removing wood, exercising at each removal, and stop when you're about an inch short of your draw length at your target weight.  Then let your sanding and finishing get you to the draw length and weight you want.

George

[danlaw]

I've given my kids quite a few bows now. Just do a little tillering near the handles, knock off four or five inches on either end until its about fifteen - twenty lbs,  then give it to a kid and make his/her day (cheap feather fletched arrows help - don't give it to a kid with plastic fetched arrows as they go too wonky off the handle and it's just really disappointing all around).   Great starter and keep at it!

[Bryce]

Get a nice stiff floor tiller then start with George's advice. He seems to know his stuff