Cool Saw Marks

[Dances with squirrels]

"Don't shortcut your bows to death."

I like that.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Pat said it. Saws cut square, rasps don't. Can you see how the belly of the bow dips down in thickness right as the fade starts up on the left side? That small area will totally dictate the fate of that entire limb. The rest of the thickness will need to be equal or lesser than that dip, or you have a hinged fade. By the time you smooth that area out and get a nice fade transition you'll be even thinner. Saws are cool, I use mine often. The key is to leave PLENTY of stock to remove with a rasp later.

[bubby]

you cut it on a tablesaw like in my build a long, you need to remove those kerfs the saw left if you want the burn marks some will stay depending on how much sanding ya do, I don't leave them, and the consenses is no one else would either but it's your bow so finish accordingly , the fades need to be a smooth transition and no square edges

[PeteF]

yes i cut it just like in your build along. IMO the point of the board bows at least to me is a quick cheap bow to the specs of myliking. If i want to take my time and do it right I will go in the woods and chop something down. Just the way i feel about the whole shortcuting thing

[PEARL DRUMS]

I can respect that opinion Pete, we all have one! But consider this. How can you make a cheap, fast board bow to your specs if the the "bow" fails due to short cuts? Now your back square one and your quick spec's still haven't been met. Boards or staves need love to become bows. Its not about the materials as much as it is the methods.

[PeteF]

Did a little bit of tillering and worked into a full draw. So far so good. Got the wife to take a pic. Who else gets an eye roll when they hand their wife the camera for a bow pic lol

[PAHunter]

Totally get the eye roll.  Started asking my 4 year old to do it but the pic angle is a little low.  Have to put her on a chair.    Looks good man.  What poundage did you end up at?  And is the top limb longer or am I crazy?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Those middle sections need to bend a good bit more.

[bubby]

Pete the point of my build a long was to show an alternative to all hand tools or for guys with no access to a bandsaw, boards are cheap, but staves are free if ya cut'em,  I don't think they make a substandard bow and my board bows will shoot with the best self bow, I didn't cut corners in the build and I don't cut corners with bows period, that said man it's your bow finish it how ya want, if you think it's cool that's what matters,  mids do need to work more,

[PatM]

 Better to do the tweaking of the tiller as you work it to full draw, not hitting full draw and backtracking. You'll set those overworked parts and it will be harder to get the profile right after that.

[IdahoMatt]

Better to do the tweaking of the tiller as you work it to full draw, not hitting full draw and backtracking. You'll set those overworked parts and it will be harder to get the profile right after that.

+1. You're getting there great job on you first.  The folks on here are trying to help you get the best bow possible.  They know what they are talking about .  I would work the kids a little more

[bow101]

Saw marks are a pain to remove when you only have a finishing sander and nothing else.  Gota build myself a mini drum sander or buy an orbital sander..........    have no room for anything large.

[Pat B]

Those marks look like table saw blade marks.
 You should have plenty of wood to get your desired results but the fade area needs to "fade" from the static handle into the working limb, the transition. The fade area of any bow receives lots of stress as the bow is drawn because of the leverage of the limbs. A smoother fade area evens out those stresses instead of having it hit at the abrupt fade like in your stave. Try to make that transition as smooth as possible.

[H Rhodes]

   I get the eye roll and a fair amount of disgruntled verbage at times, but she is warming up to a concept that there will be more bow pictures in her future.   It's just like that. 
   These guys are trying to help, but you have to realize that these are bow constructing zealots, and the mere thought of cutting corners or short stroking anything as special as a bow is just taboo!   To my foggy eyes, it looks like you are closing in on a good tiller.  Someone told me that they can judge your tiller better if you go ahead and draw an arrow in your full draw pics.  Nock one up good and level for your next fd photo and your tiller will be more apparent.  There's my two cents.

[bubby]

The eye roll and the sigh are the reason I use the timer function