Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Badger on July 13, 2017, 11:45:39 am
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Working on a bow this morning, I have 2" to go to get to 28". I feel like a kid building my first bow. I call this the death zone. I just can't decide where to remove wood, everyplace looks perfect. I spent two hours getting the last 2'. This is what I love about buildng bows, what else can you do that you get the same thrill out of no matter how many times you do it?
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I can only think of one or two... ::) >:D
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I get that way to, Steve. Ill have the tiller balanced and looking great, but 15-20# too heavy. Its sooo tempting to leave it be, but I know I cant draw it. So I get apprehensive about removing more wood.
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I get that way to, Steve. Ill have the tiller balanced and looking great, but 15-20# too heavy. Its sooo tempting to leave it be, but I know I cant draw it. So I get apprehensive about removing more wood.
I am always tempted to remove a little more wood close to the fades because it reacts quicker and I can finish up. I really have to force myself to avoid doing that.
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I get that way to, Steve. Ill have the tiller balanced and looking great, but 15-20# too heavy. Its sooo tempting to leave it be, but I know I cant draw it. So I get apprehensive about removing more wood.
This is my love/hate relationship of building bows for others.
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I am not a patient person, so that last two inches is a challenge to me,, lightly scrape and sand the whole thing and hope the bow gods are with me,, sometimes it takes me days to get it,, cause I get tired of patiently sanding,, (--)
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I find that a rasp or a few scrapes on the fades helps get over the hump since a little movement there is magnified many times over at the tips.
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Yes it's fun getting to that point but it's gotta be done.
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I usually trick myself into not hurrying the last couple inches. I place pencil marks across the full length of each limb and then remove them with a scraper or by sanding. I can see the progress by removing the lines with very little change to tiller and draw weight. You might say I sneak the final 2 inches of draw length out of the bow. And hope I hit the draw weight I want. Loads of fun.
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I am not a patient person, so that last two inches is a challenge to me,, lightly scrape and sand the whole thing and hope the bow gods are with me,, sometimes it takes me days to get it,, cause I get tired of patiently sanding,, (--)
+1 ;)
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Yes that final ,final is not so much a challenge as the fact that it bends so even but just to heavy. If they hit between 40- 50 and not a custom I'm done. Arvin
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I gotta say, I'm still a bit apprehensive around the entire tillering process cause I know I can destroy a lot of good work in planning and ruin a piece of wood real quick. It's fun though and I do feel like I am just a new comer to learning it with different profiles and all.
I find that a rasp or a few scrapes on the fades helps get over the hump since a little movement there is magnified many times over at the tips.
One thing I have messed up on was getting a bow too close to weight and realizing I still had rasp tool marks to get down to and before long I was way beyond help. Probably sounds simple to many of you but cleaning up all the tool marks off the edges and going to a scraper a little earlier in the process has been real helpful and only took me a dozen or more bow fails to figure it out )P(
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This bow I was working on this morning was the fifth in a series of Elbs I have been building. I was going for zero set and I made it. The other 4 came out good but had just a whisper of set. I actually went 1" over just for security.
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I gotta say, I'm still a bit apprehensive around the entire tillering process cause I know I can destroy a lot of good work in planning and ruin a piece of wood real quick. It's fun though and I do feel like I am just a new comer to learning it with different profiles and all.
I find that a rasp or a few scrapes on the fades helps get over the hump since a little movement there is magnified many times over at the tips.
One thing I have messed up on was getting a bow too close to weight and realizing I still had rasp tool marks to get down to and before long I was way beyond help. Probably sounds simple to many of you but cleaning up all the tool marks off the edges and going to a scraper a little earlier in the process has been real helpful and only took me a dozen or more bow fails to figure it out )P(
Get some bastard files and some second cut files. :)
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Oh that feeling :BB it's a part of the process that makes us bowyer geeks do it over and over again. Feels a bit like learning a difficult trick on a skateboard and after that you just do that trick all the time ( even after 30 years, still do some I learned when I was 14 ;D )
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When I am that close to finish then all I use is sandpaper, unless it's grossly overweight. Then it's some light scraping and then sandpaper.
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I do the same as Marc. I'll work it down with a Palm sander or the outside edge with scraper.
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I usually can't resist short drawing it and flinging some arrows through to see how it feels. Then like Marc sand paper and light scrapping if needed. Round edges and smooth everything out.
Bjrogg
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Yes, indeed, steve. We must take out time. :)
Once I string the stave for the first time I only use a scraper-like tool.
When I hit full draw it's time to celelbrate!
Jawge
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I try to get a real good even floor tiller, then brace it. Once braced i will nit draw it until brave profile is exact and perfect. Then I draw it usually without any tiller problems, and work it down to weight by scraping with my KaBar. Thise last few inches can be a pain. Especially when you take shavings off and weight doesnt drop.
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That's always challenging because your at the point of no return lately I have been attempting to get my bows to tiller early & side tiller to final draw not always suscesfull but don't like removing belly wood when every thing is right !
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I was actually talking more about the feeling you get when you are creeping up on a near perfect finish.The excitement you feel is possibly more intense that the first bow you ever built. I think as you gain experience your expectations get higher and that's what keeps the intensity up.
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I'll let you know in 10 or 15 years when I sneak up on my first "perfect" finish ;D ;D ;D
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Me too DC. It is awesome that someone who has made as many bows as Steve has still gets his tuning fork ringing from tillering a bow!! It's powerful stuff. Enough internet - heading to the shop. I got a bow to work on...
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No, Steve, I keep all feelings under control until full draw. Then I celebrate. Jawge