So I've been working on my xmas trade bow, and reached something of an impossible situation. I was making a maple backed maple r/d, and I floor tillered the core, and then glued the whole thing up with 3.5" of reflex, and 2" of deflex (expecting it to keep 2-2.5" of reflex, and 1" of deflex -- which should balance out once the bow takes a little set). Of course, when the bow came out of the form, it was totally stiff, so I went back and floor tillered it again. Except this time I had to go through a ton of wood (by mass, I lost about a third of the weight of the bow), and the bow kept taking on more and more reflex. See, when it came out of the form it still had 3" of reflex, which was a bit higher than I was hoping for, but still manageable. But it only had 1/2" of deflex, which is astoundingly low. But as I floor tillered, the bow kept gain reflex -- and it's now up to a whopping 5".
Yea, you read that right, 5" of reflex, a full 1.5" more than I even attempted to glue in.
What on earth is going on, and can I still salveage this bow? I worked the width the of the bow down some because I thought I had plenty of mass to work with -- apparently not!
So all said, I doubt this will be my trade bow, it's gone off the rocker. But this is also the first time I've had a project go so far astray -- I want to see if I can reign it in and make a shooter out of it. :embarassed:
Full specs:
68" long (I assume it will be 67" ntn when I get around to cutting in nocks)
Bendy handle, but has a very slightly narrowed and thicker handle section -- I expect it to still bend through the handle, but not arc of the circle.
1 3/8" for about half of each limb, then a smooth taper to 1/2" tips
The stave is floor tillered, and I could probably brace it at this point. Both limbs seem to bend smoothly.
Help?
I'll post pictures if anyone wants them.
