New bow started(again, 1/4/2022){ and again 8/10/22}

[Pat B]

Well, I'm having trouble with the lateral stability. She keeps wanting to pull one way, I'll move the lever over with heat and she wants to go the other way. I need to let it cool again and see where we are.
I may reduce the length of the levers and see if I can make that work.
I think I have gotten too complicated with this simple design. 

[bradsmith2010]

Pat,, I  had sinew recurve and it really wanted to twist when I got it strung,, I took a bit off the tips and it  got stable,, I remember thinking it didnt take much,,to fix the problem,, maybe brace a little higher
  ok I would like to add,, if you can get it strung at a higher brace,, then leave it strung for a day,, I think the tips will start to come into alignment,,

[Pat B]

I hit a bump in the road on this bow. It developed a hinge at the fade for one of the the lever.      
The body of the bow, the sinewed area is still in good shape but I want to figure out, over the next few days where to go from here. My options are to add an underlay at the lever fades on both limbs and retiller or shorten the levers all together and make it a short, 50" straight limb sinew backed bow.
Brad, if I shorten it it will be 50" and not 57" like I told you but for my 26" draw that should still be OK.

[IdahoMatt]

Shoot Pat.  That’s a bummer.  I would shorten the levers and work back to the weight you want.  Maybe start with 1.5 inches on each lever and see if that fixes the hinge.  If you reduce the draw weight back down.  If not you could still go to the 50 inch option.  Just an idea. 

[bentstick54]

Well dang Pat, hate to hear it, but will be watching for your fix.

[George Tsoukalas]

She is moving to the weak side, Pat, so give the other side a few scrapes and short draw it.

I had a yew stave that Jim Fetrow sent me years ago. You can imagine the angst I had in making sure it would become a bow.

I took pains, to the point of using a caliper, to make sure wood removal was even...left and right. Yet, when I strung it for the first time she was a leaner, favoring one side when braced.

I just took  few scrapes from the other side and fixed it relatively quickly.

I admit I don't have the patience to deal with that much reflex so good for you.

Jawge

[superdav95]

That sucks Pat.  I’m sure you’ll get it sorted.   I personally would just try to shorten it an inch then try again then a bit more if needed.  Sinew can do some interesting things when mated to wood bow.  It’s not the same as throwing a layer of fg on the back that’s for sure.  I’m sure your sinew job was consistent to the naked eye and done very well but I wonder if a variance in sinew thickness perhaps between the two levers you developed the hinge at was enough to cause it.  It was bending good prior to the sinew so my guess would be that a touch more sinew was applied to the stronger side.  Without seeing it it’s hard to know for sure but I’m sure you’ll get all good. I think you can salvage it like you say and shorten a bit and like jawge says to do a few scrapes after to get it in line.  Fingers crossed.  I hoping good things for this bow.  All the best! 

[Selfbowman]

Still watching and learning.

[Pat B]

I've decided to go with a patch. I have a thin piece of osage but I didn't want the contrast and I think it would be too stiff. My next option was a thin piece of ERC but I didn't want to chance that. Then I picked up a piece of the elm from this bow, sawed a thin piece out and flattened and smoother it with the belt sander.
 My next decision was glue. Should I use some Unibond Roy sent me or TBIII. I went with the TBIII because I wanted to glue it up at room temp. I was afraid of introducing heat for curing with the hide glue/sinew backing.
 I ground the patch flat then ground the area to be patched making sure I took just enough off to get a flat surface and made sure the patch and patch area glue surfaces mated well. I buttered both glue surfaces with TBIII and with a stiff backing over the patch I clamped with spring clamps. I'll give it at least until tomorrow for the glue to set then I'll see what I've got. After that I'll re-shape the patched area and see if it worked.

[Piddler]

Same comment as Selfbowman. Watching and Learning.
I'm quite sure you can make it happen Mr Pat.
Piddler

[bradsmith2010]

really cool,,

[George Tsoukalas]

Sorry, Pat. I missed that hinge started. Jawge

[superdav95]

Still awaiting how this turns out. 

[Pat B]

I removed the clamps and exposed the patch...

then took the bow down to my shop to reduce the patch and blend it into the limb. I started with a rasp working along the edges to shape the patch to the outline of the limb...



then started reducing the patch thickness working from inside to out as not to snag and rip up the patch...



once I got the patch reduced I started using a scraper for fine tuning. no pics of that but here are the results...


Now, I'll wait another 24 hours to allow any moisture from the glue to evaporate before straining the bow on the test flight.   More to come...

[George Tsoukalas]

Looks good! Jawge