Wow, lots of replies! Thanks for the warm welcome guys! Sorry I wasn't able to reply sooner. I was working on making my tillering stick in the garage, and then went out to pick up some food.
Stick Bender -- I'll be sure to check them out! I think I did see George's build-along when I was combing through the forums prior to joining, and it looked pretty in-depth.
stuckinthemud -- I hope so! I know I've still got a long way to go, so any advice is welcome.
High-Desert -- I'm assuming that by checks you mean the cuts in the side of the board? Yeah, I don't think they run too deep, and even though one of them is a little closer to the center of the board, I think it's far enough up that it will be in a part of the bow that I'll be trimming down with my rasp. The other check is much farther up the board, near the end of it. Could you explain what you mean when you say that the warp could be fixed with heat? Do you mean something like a steam box? Because I'm not quite sure I could afford to make something like that just yet. And I definitely agree that picking out a board is the hardest part. I picked through three stores, and only found one board at one store the week after I checked.
jeffp51 -- Do you think you could point out where you see the grain run off? I had thought the board looked like it had a fairly straight grain. Will do! I hope that it doesn't break when I start shaping and tillering it, but I understand that breaking bows is something that's understood to happen a lot for beginners.
upstatenybowyer -- Thanks! I certainly hope to learn a lot from you guys.
Beadman -- Hehe, thanks! I'm the type that likes to be well-prepared before I tackle something new, and I did a lot of research into what good resources were -- now I just have to read them in full, or piecemeal as applies to each project!
GB -- Thanks! Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry in regards to a backing. If I back it and it does end up breaking, then I figure the break won't be anything catastrophic, though I'd still wear eye protection while tillering. Besides, I think that it might look rather nice when backed with some black linen. Could you elaborate on how I would draw the center line? Do you mean a straight line from the unwarped portion of the board straight up until it (hopefully) meets the other slightly warped end, and then shaping it around that center line? I'd love to find some maple or hickory, but I just don't know where to find any around my location in Northern Florida. I don't know about ERC, but I can always check if my local Lowe's or Home Depots have any available. Barring that, there is a cabinetry place in my city that stocks lumber in the rough. I hope I get the tiller right on my first bow. I might make a tillering gizmo that I've seen to try to help with that.
I'm actually making this bow as a gift for my best friend's birthday, so I hope all goes well. I've been interested in bowyery for a while, and with this birthday coming up, I figured it was the perfect excuse to finally get started!
