Trial and (mostly) error. First stave attempt

[mhof86]

Hello guys,

Almost don't want to post this but I am going to anyway in hopes of constructive criticism. A while back I took a small maple out of the back yard and ended up with a couple pieces that I could practice working on before I butcher a decent stave. This was the least appealing of the bunch, and this is what I have so far.

It is trimmed down to rough dimensions and one limb is floor tillering not horribly... As of right now I am very close to scrapping this one and starting on another piece with my gathered knowledge. I was hoping for a kids bow with it, probably around 25-27"" draw length and maybe somewhere around 25-35#.

Bow right now is measuring:
64" tip to tip
28" limbs
4" handle
2" fades
1 3/4" wide at the fades
1/2" at tips

Limbs are static up to 15" and then taper to the tips.

Some concerns I have are the knot in the fade. I don't think it will cause a problem because it is in a nonworking portion of the bow. But if someone could confirm or correct me on this.

Another concern is the twist that developed when drying. It didn't show up as well in the pictures as I had hoped and not sure if it is enough to make a difference.

One more that I want to kick myself for are the vice marks on the back. Long story short I ripped the old towel I used to cushion the vice with and replaced it with a not thick enough one. That coupled with the low light conditions and I think I just ruined the whole piece. Is there any way to raise the wood or try to repair this, and is this a cosmetic concern or a structural one (the checkering doesn't appear to have cut into the wood just caused depressions).

[mhof86]

Pictures

[mhof86]

More pictures

[mhof86]

More pictures

[Pappy]

Don't look to bad from what I can see, the knot shouldn't be a problem if that area is non bending, is the vice marks in the handle are, looks like they are and if so still no problem. I would get it floor tillered and get both limbs bending even then cut some nocks and go to a long strain, that is the only way to tell if it will make a bow or not, got to bend it.
  Pappy

[Pat B]

+1 with what Pappy said. 

[Eric Krewson]

You need to pad your vise jaws.

Here are some easy to make vise pads, very easy to take off and on. I copied some pads on a gun makers vise that are shown in the picture.

[mhof86]

Thanks guys. Yes Pappy the vice marks are mostly contained to the handle area. Eric I was trying to come up with something that I could throw on and off really quick and that will work perfect. I have my afternoon project now.

[mhof86]

Well it came together as one ugly bow but it does shoot an arrow. I ended up taking it to 29" and will post a pic at full draw. She is pulling 42# right now at 29". I had a hard time tillering, when I would flip the bow in the tree it was a completely different tiller. Not sure if this is due to the twist and the way it sits in the tree?

Anyhow here it is at full brace.

It was a learning experience as this was my first stave build. Definitely won't be my last though. I feel like I need to redeem myself after this one hahaha. Thanks for checking out. Any thoughts or improvements are more than welcome.

[blackhawk]

Brace looks good from here ....29" is quite a bit for that stick

[mhof86]

yea I just wanted to make sure it would hold drawn out that far. Its intended use was for a loaner kids bow if a friend with kids comes over and they want to shoot one. It is pulling ~33# at 25".

[bradsmith2010]

looks pretty good and if it shoots all the better,, 

[mhof86]

Figured I would give this one a proper funeral. I had a hard time tillering this, and it seemed that when I had it in the tree depending on which way I oriented the bow it was giving me two different bends. I don't know if this was due to the slight twist in the stave? Long story short I got to where I thought it would be alright but after shooting a few times it started to show my poor tiller really bad on the bottom limb. I didn't notice this though until a friend came over to help with a couple full draw pictures.

First picture was a photographer fail, second time I pulled back he got the picture below that shows how bad I really did on this one. He cut off the top limb so without looking at how bad it was pulling I told him to take one more. Third time was the straw that broke this camels back and the follow up pictures show the damage.

I was pretty disappointed when this let loose and failed. It was my first attempt at a stave build, and after that much work and time it was a huge let down. However after looking at the pictures and seeing that it was totally my fault and the poor craftsmanship that went into the tiller job it makes me want to get back up and really do the next one right.

[Del the cat]

Shame, but it's how we learn.
On that pic of the lower limb at draw you can actually see the thin spot 
It's all about getting your eye in and learning how to look critically. Also running a limb between finger and thumb can let you feel the thin areas and the thick bits.
Better luck (well skill really  ) next time... it's worth the perseverance.
Del

[bradsmith2010]

also keep in mind,, 64 inches is on the short side for a 29 inch draw,, with a stiff handle bow,,