First Bow - Reached Full Draw - Questions

[Onebowonder]

...and a nuther one bites the dust!

a nuther one bites the dust!

a nuther one bites the dust!

...and a nuther one down, and a nuther one down

...and a nuther one bites the dust!

OneBow

[BowEd]

Just checked on you here karaterick and saw your picture of your bow at rest.Like the other fellas have said that's pretty darn good from being flat to start with,no heat treatment,and the kicker your first bow.
They are fun to shoot when they're made from your own two hands.Congradulations!!Now you can doll er up the way you want.I'm sure we'll be hearing from you again with another bow.

[twisted hickory]

looks good to me! What i meant by not keeping it strung is that you wont shorten the lifespan of the bow. Keeping it strung for too long would hurt it. 12 hrs is no big deal, even 24 would be doable. but once you get towards a week of being strung it can become damaged. I think it has to do with storing the energy in the limbs for a large period of time.

I unstring as soon as I am done shooting. If I am hunting for an entire day that is the only time it is strung all day. Except when I am eating lunch then I unstring the bow for a while. I have shot my current selfbow since Jan 1st and it has lost 2.5 lbs of draw weight. The longest it has been strung is 4 hours. I would think 24 hrs would make the bow lose cast.
Greg

[George Tsoukalas]

Don't cut an arrow rest! With my present bow the arrow rest is my hand. The top of the leather covering is the only rest. I suggest a couple of leather wedges for you. I put my arrow rest 1.25 in above center. I figure that's putting it right about at center of the string with my 3 finger draw but I've been known to vary that depending upon tiller. IfI think the lower limb is too weak I'll lower that value a tad. Handle info onmy site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/leatherhandle.html

[karaterick]

 Thanks again. I had already cut the rest before you posted George - Just applied the first coat of stain -

[bushboy]

Oooo,looks pretty deep,wear safety glasses!

[ionicmuffin]

that's not deep enough to be super worried about, i would be worried if it was over half.
On top of that, the grain isn't superb, but it seems like its done the job! congrats! make sure to seal it well with something like wax or something, you want a water sealant just so that when you shoot during humid or raining days it doesn't absorb a BUNCH of moisture and take even more set. Any sealant will work i suppose, ive used deck sealant and it works fine, repels the water, but will only slow water vapor.
But if its all the same to you, i suggest wearing safety glasses until you've got about 200 arrows through it.

[Parnell]

Looks real nice, especially for a first bow.  You did a fine job on your tiller.  Congratulations and welcome to the pursuit!

[mikekeswick]

Great 1st bow. Well done.
A couple of points - you really don't need to cut in an arrow shelf or even add one to the side of the bow. If you put any sort of a handle on it then simply build up the top edge a little as a reference point for the arrow. Shelves etc don't inherantly make a bow more accurate. Accuracy really comes down to good technique on your part and a good set of well matched arrows. Cutting a shelf in as far as you have done is on the verge of being very risky - it's all to do with the nature of wood and how it can split along the fibers. For now I would recommend wrapping it with strong cord and soaking it in superglue. Then put a handle on.
When it comes to sealing the bow then beware that not all finishes are anywhere near equal. Look for 'outdoor use' on the tin as a minimum! 2 part 'epoxy' type varnishes are the best.
When selecting your next board then look for totally straight lines on every face of the board....and keep looking until you find one! Reject anything else. If you have to use an iffy board then back it before bending it. Rawhide, leather, linen cloth, silk etc are all good backings but still always strive for the best/straightest board in the first place.

[karaterick]

Thanks guys. I didn't back it because I didn't realize I had to back it before I tillered so can't do much about it now I guess and if the rest is questionable then I don't want to chance anything.
To be honest, since I got to shoot it and it did so well and I can say I did it. I have no problem stringing this one up and making it a decorative bow. Last thing I want is to have it break after all the work I've done. Great learning experience and I can proudly hang it on the wall and make my next bows "shooters"

[ionicmuffin]

the only problem i could see with the rests is if you have gone TOO deep, which it doesnt look like you have. AND make sure you round the corners left by cutting out the rest, the back of the bow should have NO sharp corners whatsoever! This is what leads to splinters, i think that it will be fine, but it depends on how you really want to go about keeping it. Either way its still a good learning experience like you said. Ive made 2 bows with rests like this, both of them held up at the handle because it was stiff and because there was still enough wood. the one that did break was due to the fact that i removed wood from the BACK of the bow so i wound up with a concave area on the back, making it very weak. my fault for shaping the handle too much on the back.

[karaterick]

 I was wondering how my rest was so deep when I know I measured 1/2" so I just got around to verifying and it is cut exactly 1/2" in. Bow is 1 1/2" wide at the handle. I did round the handle out a bit on the edges, but from the widest point there's still 1 1/2" of wood there. So I'm wondering is it a bit of an illusion did I still take the rest in too deep?
I will need to know for my next bow.

Thanks

[ScottN]

I don't think your rest looks to bad. I made 1 bow with a cut out arrow shelf and I was told that 1/4" deep is a good depth to go for a self/long bow. You want the cut to be deep enough to juuuuuuuuuust keep the arrow shaft in place without issue.

On another note, your bow is looking nice. Did you do anything to make the grain pop-out like they do!? That is an awesome look.

[mwosborn]

Nice looking bow - the stain color is really a good color and shows off that grain.  Looks to me like the shelf will be alright.  Some people like to cut in a shelf others don't (like you already has seen by the posts  ).  You will just have to decide for yourself if you want to cut if shelves or not - do what works for you and what you like.  The bows that I have made I do not.  I usually built up a shelf on the side of the handle using leather - like many guys do - or use a piece of leather for a "flibber" style rest. 

Just curious - what type of finish are you going to use after your done staining?

[karaterick]

Thanks guys. I used Minwax Special Walnut for my stain. I actually put on another coat and it is much darker now than in the pics. It's still drying so hopefully it will still look good.
I was going to spray Cabot Gloss Polyurethane, but I should ask if that's acceptable for a bow as I really don't know.
Any advice on that would be helpful as well.