Author Topic: Started my first bow! Tell me what you think.  (Read 4805 times)

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Offline Crogacht

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Re: Started my first bow! Tell me what you think.
« Reply #15 on: July 04, 2014, 06:10:26 pm »
Yeah even if the grain is dodgy, if you can't see any cracks or splinters and you've pulled it to full draw on the tree  plenty of times I don't see why you wouldn't grab some protective eyewear and shoot some arrows

Offline JayRob

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Re: Started my first bow! Tell me what you think.
« Reply #16 on: July 04, 2014, 09:07:27 pm »
I decided to slowly press on last night. I have never measured a draw weight before but i measured 28" on the wall and weighed it at 50lbs. I do not intend to shoot the bow for obvious reasons pointed out above but here it is.

You have to shoot an few arrows through it else you will seriously annoy the deities of bowmakin' and the spirits of the trees...
"Hey whadda ya do eh? You cutta da tree, you maka da bow and you donna shoots the arrows?..."  :o
(Yes folks, the tree spirits have faux Italian accents ::) )
Del
I will have to make a few arrows first  ;D

Offline Buckeye Guy

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Re: Started my first bow! Tell me what you think.
« Reply #17 on: July 04, 2014, 10:03:31 pm »
I think you did well, It may not have been the best selection to start but you did the rest well , please don't cut a shelf in it and risk losing it now !
Guy Dasher
The Marshall Primitive Archery Rendezvous
Primitive Archery Society
Having  fun
To God be the glory !

Offline DarkSoul

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    • Orion Bows
Re: Started my first bow! Tell me what you think.
« Reply #18 on: July 05, 2014, 07:41:14 am »
You did very well, considering this is your first bow! I'm sure you've learnt a great deal.
I don't entirely agree with some others that said the grain of that board is not good enough. It looks pretty acceptable to me. I can see some grain run outs in the middle, but that is the (stiff) handle, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. And you've proven that.
There are a few things that you should still improve on this bow. First off, the tiller is not good enough for me. The left limb is a bit hinged in the middle. You really need to scrape the inner third of that limb, to take some stress off the middle section. The right limb is also not perfect; please scrape that limb between 3" and 12" from the handle. You'll loose maybe four pounds draw weight, but the bow will be much safer and shoot better that way.
Another thing is the tip overlays. The sole reason to put on a tip overlay, is to strengthen the tip, so you can safely file in the grooves. At the moment, those overlays are massive. The add a lot of (dead) weight, slowing the bow down. Remove about 75% of the mass of the tip overlays, and file in the string groove again. This will make the bow look much better, shoot with less handshock, and shoot faster too.

Then onto the handle...You've made some good improvements already, compared to the first handle picture. I highly recommend you to not cut in a window for the arrow pass. Instead, you could add a small shelf to the side of the handle. Just glue on some cork or leather. If you insist on a cut in sight window, please see this picture on where you should cut it in. It should be about 1" above the absolute center of the bow. Not as high as you drew it! Also, it must be far away from the fade, as to not create a weakness there.

"Sonuit contento nervus ab arcu."
Ovid, Metamorphoses VI-286

Offline Eric Krewson

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Re: Started my first bow! Tell me what you think.
« Reply #19 on: July 05, 2014, 10:35:50 am »
Whip tillered on the left limb, needs more bending out of the fades. Right limb appears to be hinging about a foot in from the tip, needs a lot more bending out of the fades for about the first foot. You need a tillering gizmo to help you spot the places that need work.

Offline JayRob

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Re: Started my first bow! Tell me what you think.
« Reply #20 on: July 07, 2014, 03:12:51 pm »
You did very well, considering this is your first bow! I'm sure you've learnt a great deal.
I don't entirely agree with some others that said the grain of that board is not good enough. It looks pretty acceptable to me. I can see some grain run outs in the middle, but that is the (stiff) handle, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. And you've proven that.
There are a few things that you should still improve on this bow. First off, the tiller is not good enough for me. The left limb is a bit hinged in the middle. You really need to scrape the inner third of that limb, to take some stress off the middle section. The right limb is also not perfect; please scrape that limb between 3" and 12" from the handle. You'll loose maybe four pounds draw weight, but the bow will be much safer and shoot better that way.
Another thing is the tip overlays. The sole reason to put on a tip overlay, is to strengthen the tip, so you can safely file in the grooves. At the moment, those overlays are massive. The add a lot of (dead) weight, slowing the bow down. Remove about 75% of the mass of the tip overlays, and file in the string groove again. This will make the bow look much better, shoot with less handshock, and shoot faster too.

Then onto the handle...You've made some good improvements already, compared to the first handle picture. I highly recommend you to not cut in a window for the arrow pass. Instead, you could add a small shelf to the side of the handle. Just glue on some cork or leather. If you insist on a cut in sight window, please see this picture on where you should cut it in. It should be about 1" above the absolute center of the bow. Not as high as you drew it! Also, it must be far away from the fade, as to not create a weakness there.



Thank you very much for sharing your critique. Very in depth. I appreciate you taking the time to show me where I can make improvements. Ill definitely get on it this week.

Offline JayRob

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Re: Started my first bow! Tell me what you think.
« Reply #21 on: July 07, 2014, 03:13:37 pm »
I think you did well, It may not have been the best selection to start but you did the rest well , please don't cut a shelf in it and risk losing it now !

Thanks for the tip

Offline JayRob

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Re: Started my first bow! Tell me what you think.
« Reply #22 on: July 07, 2014, 03:14:48 pm »
Whip tillered on the left limb, needs more bending out of the fades. Right limb appears to be hinging about a foot in from the tip, needs a lot more bending out of the fades for about the first foot. You need a tillering gizmo to help you spot the places that need work.

Thanks I will definitely work on making the tillering gizmo.