[Tillering Finished!!!] Well, here goes nothing! (First build)

[DC]

I would put the nocks where you originally planned. If the tips bend too much you can move them then.

[hobbyaccumulator]

@DC move the nocks if they bend to much? Wouldn't that make it look word if I cut two nock places?

[loon]

You'd end up 'piking' (shortening) the bow. You could then cut off the tips at the old nocks.

The max width is 1.5"? (ie at the handle)

[hobbyaccumulator]

Ahh I see, I can cut the bow shorter to preserve draw weight.

The max width is indeed 1.5 inches at the handle, that's if I keep it at it's  complete width which I think I should. Meaning all I will do is round the riser a bit.

Also I added the lip to the new tillering tree and with the help of my eagle scout housemate it's as sturdy as a house of bricks. No wobbling whatsoever.

Pic, don't let the side that it jets out fool you, that ledge is strong!!

[loon]

Nice, good luck

[Eric Krewson]

You don't need a double pulley system, one is enough and pulls easily. I have been using my single pulley tree for 20 years.

74" is way too long in my opinion, I suspect you will have a ton of hand shock and a slow bow with all that extra wood on the tips.

If you draw 35", a 74" bow length would be OK. If you draw 28"-29", 68" would still be over built but OK for your first.

[Eric Krewson]

There is a lot of random advice on this thread, most of it speculation and not from actual experience.

All my oak board bows have been backed, usually with a strip of hickory, all had slightly rounded bellies that once the top of the arc was removed during the tillering process the belly was almost flat with a very slight arched profile, none were wider than 1 1/2", none have failed to my knowledge.

[hobbyaccumulator]

@ eric krewson, the bow currently is 72" long, with the very tips of it being 5/16" thick and 1/2" wide. The handle is 1.5" wide at it's widest (along the entire length of the riser block which is 10" long). I just glued on the riser but wont have a chance to do any work on the bow until next week.

I plan on having a 28" draw and am hoping to get 50lbs but that may be unrealistic for my first time.

I don't have any hickory to back the bow with and i'm not sure where i get it. Home depot definitely doesn't have think hickory strips. I guess i can back it with something else though, like Sam Harper using sheetrock tape on the guide, it's just so ugly!

I just rounded the very corners of the belly and am going to round the corners of the back the next time i get to work with the bow; but i'll only round it minimally to get rid of shape edges.

Next week i will shape the riser to gently curve into the handle, then i will (finally!) put nocks on and get it on the tree! I think i will start with the nocks 1" down the tips where it's a little bit thicker and wider, but i haven't measured that area precisely.

How thick and wide should the bow be where the nocks are placed?

[Eric Krewson]

Your current dimensions sound just perfect to me for your tips. I put 2 1/4" nock overlays on and put my string nocks 1" down from the tips.

2 1/4" sounds long but I feather the wood gracefully up to the actual nock. Lately I have been adding a stringing groove  so I can easily string my bows during the tillering stage where they might be 20# over weight on the first stringing. I have a few back problems and have to be careful with straining my back, the string groove removes that issue.

[hobbyaccumulator]

@Eric Krewson

That's a gorgeous looking limb, those overlays really add a nice flare to the bow and the snakeskin back looks awesome. Are the stringing grooves just smaller nocks above the main ones?

How wide and thick does the wood need to be where the nocks are placed? and how deep should the nocks be? I don't want the string slipping out and i can't really get a sense of scale from your photo.

I still need to round out the tips of my bow, right now they are square on the end (which is why i was able to measure them with a ruler easily).

So i should still back it even at its length? If i add a linen back will i still be able to stain the bow or will the linen look weird with the stain on it?

EDIT: searched the forums, seems like people like 3/8 to 1/2 inch nock depths. I gotta make sure i place them in an area that can handle that, can't let the section get too thin.

[Eric Krewson]

I forgot to mention; I cut my mating surface for the over lay at an angle toward the belly. This way your overlay blends in with back of your bow and doesn't make a pronounced lump on the back of your bow.

My groove across the back is 1/8" to 3/16" deep.

This angled cut might be visible on this overlay.



I only make a groove across the until I get the bow to full brace height then I use the string as guide to mark where my side grooves should be cut.



The stringing groove works like this; just a simple para cord with loops, an extra groove on the top limb and a slightly wider one on the bottom to accommodate the bow string and the stringer loop.

[hobbyaccumulator]

@Eric Krewson Awesome! thanks so much for the info.

So you do a semi-brace with paracord on the stringing groove to hold the bow in a bent position so it's easier to get the normal string on? Wouldn't the bow string look be over the paracord then (essentially holding the cord to the bow)?

Good info regarding only cutting the backside for the nock then using the string as a guide for the side cuts. I was worried that that would be impossible because only having the back side cut makes it seem like the string would just slip off when braced only on the backside.

lastly, in your pic the tip overlay seems like the same type of wood as the rest of the bow. How do you get that nice darker color on it? Is it a different stain? Any suggestions on what stains i should use on mine?

[Eric Krewson]

What you can't see is the top loop already on the bow but slid down the limb a few inches out of sight. I flex the bow with the stringer and slide the top loop up the bow limb and into the groove.

Here is a picture of my para cord stringer in action; The para cord should be a lot longer than the bow so it hangs down from the stringing grooves a foot or so. Step on the middle of the stringer, pull up on the bow handle to bend the bow and slide the top string loop up the bow limb into the nock.

My para cord is there but pretty much invisible in the picture unless you look real closely.



The nock color depends on what kind of wood I use, some osage is very dark all the way through. The tiger striped overlay was off a very dark piece of wood and got darker when it was exposed to light.

I only make bows out of osage which requires no stain. My students make hickory bows and stain them with various MinWax stains. Seems like I left my last red oak bow natural color which darkened with a few coats of tru-oil to a pleasing color.

[hobbyaccumulator]

@Eric Krewson very informative! thank you!

Just got home from work and measured the bow.

At 1" from each tip it's still barely larger than 5/16 thick, at 2" from the tip it is just about 3/8" thick. I'm concerned that this isn't thick enough to support a string after cutting 1/8 to 3/16 deep grooves in the back.

Am i being too overly cautious? Or should i move even further down the bow to cut my nocks? The last thing i want to do is cut my nocks too deep leaving the bow too thin and causing it to snap at the nock.

[DC]

Don't cut grooves in the back unless you use an overlay. The string can sorta slip between the grain once in a while. Groove the sides. It will amaze you how little wood it takes to not break.
Look here for ideas
 https://www.google.ca/search?q=bow+tips&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiP_bK50arUAhVG4GMKHVEBBfMQ_AUICigB&biw=1280&bih=845#tbm=isch&q=bow+nocks