2021 1st Newbie build along challenge

[Digital Caveman]

School comes first tradecraft 

Kenneth that sucks, looks like it delaminated, I would have thought elm would hold up. Guess you won't stain the next one right away 

I know, but excellence hurts

[gutpile]

Kenneth thats a shame . Putting way to much pressure to floor till . Tension failure so too dry or might of had a gouge on back for that to break at floor tiller .. sorry brother.. allyn take it slow on tree snap a photo. Never pull to your desired weight stay off it by 5 lbs till you 3 inch from draw length . After you remove some wood put on tree exercise it 15 -20 pulls to your last length then ease into next inch snap a photo .. take it slow . You can dissect your next move over photo and not a stressed bow .. eastcreek im doing a 54. “ overdry under sized only 1” wide .. put tape on it one limb at widest fade 1-1/8 other 1” .. going for 26” draw but i put 3” handle 1” fades. For yours 23” draw i think that design might work if you don’t want to bend through handle . Maybe go at 1-1/2 or 1-5/8  at fade to 1-1/4 mid limb to 1/2 tip .. with a clean back should make a fine shorty ... gut

[Fox]

good advice from gut here! I really need to set up a  pulley system but I don't have a space to do it.... so for now ill continue using a stick and cypress siding wall.... my bow has been real tricky to tiller.... so many tiny roller coster makes it so I can't use gizmo... and makes it look hingy and stiff... also I uncovered some a streak of kinda rotten wood on the belly so thats fun... leaving that area a bit stiff...

Untitled by Livvydog, on Flickr
Untitled by Livvydog, on FlickrUntitled by Livvydog, on Flickr

[Hawkdancer]

Clean it out and fill with epoxy and sawdust?  Need a bit more expertise than mine, though!
Hawkdancer

[Allyn T]

I think it looks great fox, idk what to do about the rotten belly wood. Great advice Gut thank you for hopping on here and giving pointers that is what we all need

[gutpile]

Fox.. that is really nice looking bow your building there.. your first?... that belly rot is scary...where is it located on your bow?.. it was not visible till you started tillering?... is that part of a knot?.. looks pithy... kinda punky too..gut

[Fox]

thanks guys...gut no not my first but only a few bows from it.... the rot is right beneath a knot cluster, I didn't find it till I was tillering. it is in the outer 3rd of the bow..... it also has some deflex there that I heated out and it came back... so definitely worrying, we'll see

[Digital Caveman]

If it doesn't break at the rotten point it could very well fret badly.  You will probably want to get help on that right now.

[mmattockx]

my bow has been real tricky to tiller.... so many tiny roller coster makes it so I can't use gizmo... and makes it look hingy and stiff... also I uncovered some a streak of kinda rotten wood on the belly so thats fun... leaving that area a bit stiff...

That looks like a very decent bend, nice and smooth all the way with slightly stiffer tips. My approach on that rotten spot would be to do an Eric Krewson style repair and rasp it off, then glue a patch in. I had a hinge problem on my last bow at a small knot on the belly, I can't imagine that large of an area is not going to cause you a bunch of grief as you go forward.


Mark

[gutpile]

being that it is in a working spot on limb I'd hold off ,actually before I rasp that knot out I would send Eric Krewsome a message for his input... he is more advanced on patch repair than I for sure.. I would consult him if I encountered that...I zoomed it in and looks real pithy were it is discolored but looks fairly well around it..has an indention there also I assume back side has a hump.. might be able to mix some wood glue and sawdust and clean it and fill it in but hey.. I'm not the one you should ask about this type of patch repair... gut

[Fox]

okay thanks.... I scraped some of the rot out with a knife and it doesn't seem to go deep at all... pics soon..

[Fox]

heres the pithy part scraped out, I think it looks a lot better. theres these strange dark lines in this area kinda reminds me of worms... but there nowhere else in the stave... dunno .      thinking about heat treating and a tiny bit of reflex, should I do that now? or when I get to FD?  Hows everyone else's bows doing? any new progress?


Untitled by Livvydog, on Flickr
Untitled by Livvydog, on FlickrUntitled by Livvydog, on Flickr

[gutpile]

Personally i would refrain from heat treating that part of limb ,in my experience heat treatments work better on white woods if tempering .. are you just wanting to ad reflex? You have done a great job with that piece of wood you should be very proud . I would be afraid to add more stress to an already questionable structural integrity at that part of the limb .. it does look better i figured a hump was on back at that spot which might be your saving grace and work in your favor . We strive to push the limits and IMO your there brother ... your call i think you already done a good job .. gut

[Allyn T]

I would leave it alone if I was you and just tiller it out as is

[Fox]

okay guys got the message  I have a habit of trying to add more to a bow at this point.... which usually screws me 
ill tiller it out and see how it goes...