hello again, all!
If anyone is able to comment on this one again, Id be grateful!
After a long hiatus, I have finally done some more work on this bow. This is only my second attempt at a split stave bow.. I have a lot of trouble tillering especially with the dips and curves. So, of course I started getting way lighter than I wanted, but still not confident I have it bending well. Iv only pulled it 24" where it pulls ~40lbs.
I wanted to see if I could add a bit of weight so I figured id try a little heat treating, which Ive read black locust does well with, generally. I thought I was heating pretty slowly but of course I started to se a small crack on the edge of the belly near the handle. It was so faint you could barely see it but now more noticeable after stringing and drawing. Im wondering if it will affect the longevity of the bow (which might not matter considering my tiller anyway). I cant really do more tillering and its also on the side and cant really narrow the bow at this point (the belly is also semi hollow). I also heat treated for nearly an hour (I did the whole length at once) and just barely have any colour change. It had a bit of natural deflex and maybe an inch of string follow, now sits just about straight unbraced, but ive only strung it up for the photo.
Also I think maybe I have it bending too much in the inner thirds and not enough near the tips for the profile of the bow?
I hoping someone might have some more advice about all this. Its always a bit discouraging to keep making mistakes on your only current bow candidate.
Thanks again.