First Osage Bow

[neuse]

I am working on my first osage bow, and have questions about dimensions.
Currently the overall end to end length is 66", 28 1/2" from fades to end, 1 5/8" wide at fade to 7/8" wide at tips and 5/8" thick at tips.
How wide should my tips be and how thick should they be?
Also the string line is currently off to one side off the bow, so can I narrow the tips on one side to bring string closer to center?
I am having fun, but wish I had some experienced eyes for assistance.

[neuse]

Another question, I have the bow down to one ring, I did some stem bending and now it looks like there are several longitudinal cracks on the back, not severe, but worrisome. Do I need to go down anothr ring?

[sailordad]

    hi neuse,
you may not want to listen to me,cause i'm a newbie.

however, i've seen it mentioned here several times that you should use dry heat on on dry wood and wet heat on wet wood. or such things as cracking could occur.
i may be wrong though,but it seems to me thats what they preach here and it sounds quit logical too.

                                                                        peace and good luck,
                                                                                      tim

[Pat B]

The "cracks"s actually drying checks because you added moisture to an already dry stave and that moisture has to go somewhere. If you have to steam dry osage seal the back with shellac to prevent the moisture from entering and leaving the back. You could still seal the back to help prevent any more checking. Generally speaking, these checks are not detrimental to the outcome of the final bow unless they run off the stave.
   When I make a bow I leave the handle area and the last 6" of each tip wider and thicker than the ultimate finished bow. This gives me some room for adjustment. Your main concern now should be to get your limbs bending evenly and together. You should not be concerned with how the string tracts(unless it is totally out of whack) until you get to where you can brace your bow for the first time. At this point, you should have enough "meat" left to make alignment and weight corrections before hitting full draw...and incedently, that is where true till is shown...at full draw.
   You have enough wood to make a bow of any reasonable draw length and weight so get busy and keep asking questions and we will help you along. A picture is worth a thousand words!             how 'bout some pics.      Pat.

[neuse]

thank you for the info, before replies came I had already started taking it down to the next ring, which I think is okay, because the next ring is much thicker than the previous one. As for string tracking I used two wieghts and string like Torges and it is on the side of the handle, at this point not center shot at all. I will get the floor tillered next.

[Hillbilly]

Sounds like you've got it under control. As for the string tracking, I wouldn't recommend narrowing the tips to one side, you'll violate the longitudinal grain, which needs to be followed wherever it goes. You can bend the handle area later if you need to move it more toward the center.

[GregB]

Hopefully you will still have adequate limb thickness after taking it down a grain to make the weight you want.