« previous next »
Pages: [1] 2

Author Topic: First starting out building bows  (Read 2751 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline bow101

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,235
First starting out building bows
« on: April 28, 2013, 01:08:44 am »
What was your biggest drawback/drawbacks that hindered you to complete a well tillered shooting bow..?
For me it was pulling beyond my target weight and busting them.!!!    :o
Logged
"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."  Joseph Campbell

Offline JackCrafty

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 5,628
  • Sorry Officer, I was just gathering "materials".
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2013, 01:25:04 am »
I broke a lot of board bows when I first started, until I found ipe.  My first really successful bows were made from the best, straightest grained ipe boards I could find. They were all self bows with no backing. I still have some of those boards.  Some are over 10 years old. :o

The biggest obstacle was probably getting over the habit of demanding too much from the wood.  I wanted to make 80lb selfbows 48" long, 1" wide with 26" draws.   ::)
Logged
Any critter tastes good with enough butter on it.

Patrick Blank
Midland, Texas
Youtube: JackCrafty, Allergic Hobbit, Patrick Blank

Where's Rock? Public Waterways, Road Cuts, Landscape Supply, Knap-Ins.
How to Cook It?  200° for 24hrs then 275° to 500° for 4hrs (depending on type), Cool for 12hr

Offline Joec123able

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,769
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2013, 01:30:24 am »
Biggest draw back for me was not having any patience !!!
Logged
I like osage

Offline JonW

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,906
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2013, 01:38:15 am »
Thickness taper first and second probably thickness taper. ::)
Logged

Offline paulsemp

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,918
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2013, 01:51:23 am »
trying to rush though them. always have a couple at different stages . so when I get sick or fed up with one I stop and go to another .  haste makes waste
Logged

Offline AH

  • Member
  • Posts: 244
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2013, 02:04:10 am »
Whippy tips.  >:(
I don't know why, but every time when I mess up a tillering job, the messup is too much bending in the outer area, near the tips. I'm constantly playing the "how thin can the tips get" game. I almost always have less bending going on nearer the handle.
Logged

Offline crooketarrow

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,790
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2013, 08:18:26 am »
  PATIENCE
  THE NEED TO SEE THAT FINISHED BOW.
  SLOW DOWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Logged
DEAD IS DEAD NO MATTER HOW FAST YOUR ARROW GETS THERE
20 YEARS OF DOING 20 YEARS OF LEARNING 20 YEARS OF TEACHING

Offline PEARL DRUMS

  • Member
  • Posts: 14,079
  • }}}--CK-->
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2013, 09:14:49 am »
Not seeing the difference between straight/flat and bending. Seems so simple, but so hard to see for whatever reason.
Logged
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline osage outlaw

  • Member
  • Posts: 11,962
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2013, 10:27:33 am »
Tillering with the long string for way to long.
Logged
I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline Pat B

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 37,633
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2013, 11:54:02 am »
Lack of info. When I started there were  a few books but other than that I was on my own. It probably took my 10 years and many ruined pieces of wood to get a bow I would be comfortable to hunt with. Probably the second hardest part was learning patience. When I started tillering with a scraper from floor tiller stage I began to build real bows and not just bent sticks.  ;)
Logged
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Grandpa Bill

  • Member
  • Posts: 19
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2013, 11:58:58 am »
Not staying focused on the job at hand....thinking about all the other things in my life except what I was working on.  Also, rushing to get it finished so I could start another one.  Took a year to learn to slow down and let everything else go while I am making sawdust....otherwise, go inside and take a break.

Grandpa Bill
Logged
Aim Small - Hit Small - Repeat

Offline bushboy

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,256
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #11 on: April 28, 2013, 03:36:24 pm »
Taking on advanced builds and not having the slightist clue as to where to start!
Logged
Some like motorboats,I like kayaks,some like guns,I like bows,but not the wheelie type.

Offline Weylin

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,296
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #12 on: April 28, 2013, 03:41:03 pm »
I think my two biggest problems were nailing the thickness taper and being paralyzed with hesitation. I had my first bow floor tillered and then I sat and stared at it for over a year before I found someone to help me finish it.
Logged

Offline twisted hickory

  • Member
  • Posts: 375
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #13 on: April 28, 2013, 04:03:25 pm »
I have a habit of having the bow too stiff after floor tiller and getting the limbs out of the fades to do their share of work. ::) I may have gotten it now as I have a hickory bow that only has 1/2 of set after finishing off.  ;)
Time will tell me after the summer is over and the bow has been shot a thousand times.
Greg
Logged

Offline DavidV

  • Member
  • Posts: 472
Re: First starting out building bows
« Reply #14 on: April 28, 2013, 06:18:04 pm »
1. Not enough tools for the job.
2. Little paience
3. Unsatisfactory finish.... I know, maybe not that big a deal. But it's a pride thing.
Logged
Springfield, MO
Pages: [1] 2
« previous next »