Bow Set

[Pat1107]

Hey everyone im Pat, and very new to bow building as i completed my first bow in December. I built a red oak board bow with a hickory backing. My bow ended up having a ton of set, and it basically looked strung when unstrung. I was hoping to get some ideas as how to prevent this problem in the future. Do i need to just reflex it alot? Or do you think it could have just been a shotty tiller which is very possible as i kinda hurried the bow so it would be done by Christmas. Any help would be great, im just trying to learn as much as i can so i can make something worth shooting.

[Gus]

Hi Pat, Welcome Aboard!

A couple things that will help the folks here diagnose your problem are the specs of your bow and above all Photos of said bow.

At a minimum it would be good to know how long your bow is nock to nock.
The width profile from the fades out to your tips at the nock.

Also helpful info:
Handle type, bendy handle, or non bending handle.
With arrow pass or no arrow pass.
Board bow or stave bow?
If a stave bow, was the wood properly seasoned?

And photos are worth a thousand words...

Have you noticed any Fretting or Lateral Cracks in the Red Oak belly?
 
-gus

[Pat1107]

Here are some pics of my bow. As far as the dimensions i cant tell you that because i am not in the same city as my bow right now. I built it following a website poorfolkbows.com i followed the build along fairly closely except for a backing i used 1/4" hickory and my red oak board was 5 ft. instead of the 6ft that the guy builds so i just subtracted an even amount for the dimensions of the bow. The red oak was just a standard board i bought from Home Depot. Wish i could tell you more but as i dont have the bow with me its kinda hard to come up with.

[Pat1107]

forgot to say this info...non bending handle, no arrow rest, board bow, and did not notice any cracking until later a splinter arose on the backing not on the belly however, but im pretty sure that crack was due to a lousy tiller. I took off a little too much wood near the fades so im pretty sure thats what cracked it.

[Gus]

Pat did you say your Hickory Backing was a 1/4 inch thick?

-gus

[Pat1107]

Gus sorry about that meant to say 1/8 inch

[Gus]

No Worries Pat...

I'm hoping that someone with a little more experience will chime in here...
But I have to question Red Oak's ability to stand up the the strain that the Hickory Backing would put on it.
Hickory is some pretty tough stuff in Tension, is it possible that it was too much for the Red Oak to take in compression?
I read the build along where Hickory is mentioned as another form of backing, but that the author of the piece did not use it on that bow.
He also mentions that 1/8 inch may be too much.

Or another possibility...
When you were tillering the bow, did you pull the bow past your target weight?

-gus

[gstoneberg]

Red oak is more suited to longer bows.  I think 60" with a stiff handle is too short to handle the stress.  You have to do a real good job tillering osage to keep from getting set in a 60" stiff handled bow.  I'm really surprised you didn't end up with a broken bow or chrysals on your red oak belly with a strong backer like hickory.  It must have been a great piece of red oak.  There's a sticky pointing to Jawge's web site at the top of the How To's and Build-a-long section.  He has a lot more experience with board bows than I do and will steer your down the right path.

Having said that, your bow had real nice lines to it in the picture and looked to be bending nicely at brace.  Looked like a  good first bow to me.   If all you can get are 5' red oak boards, build a bend through the handle bow to get longer working limbs.  Or, see if you can find a hickory or maple board to build your next bow out of.  I shortened a hickory backed hickory board bow for a friend a few months ago that was nicely done and shot well.  I have a maple backed birch blank ready to cut out and tiller.  If you can get access to other hardwoods there's no end of possible lamination combinations to try.

Good luck,
George

[Pat1107]

Hey guys thanks for the help. Gus i will try a thinner hickory next time maybe that will help. The reason i used hickory was because I wanted a all wood bow, and the build along used sheet rock tape. Im more into a more natural look. I am also anxious to try other woods just because I know that red oak is not the greatest but its pretty cheap and easy to deal with....Gstoneberg I already have a longer bow started so we will see if that makes a difference. Im surprised, and happy the thing didnt explode on me, but in the end it was the hickory that cracked and that was due to my wood being alot weaker near the fades. Anyways thanks for the compliments and the help.

[MtDent]

My first bow (that I'm still in the process of tillering) is a red oak 68" with a bendy handle and no backing. I got crappy grain with a swirl, a few run offs and some hard spots. It torques a lot around the end of the limbs... but like you said, red oak isn't the best and its better to get the practice in with the cheap wood than to make mistakes on the expensive stuff first.