45.5" TTT 65#@26" osage in progress ( FULL DRAW PAGE 2 ) fd chart pg 5

[sleek]

Well, here it is braced. Along with its predecessors. The small one on the bottom is the 45.5" I have been posting about.

[sleek]

Well, as of now its 55#@18. I will progress more tomorrow.... hopefully.

I should add, I didn't measure set but I did notice it is so far all in the fades. They are over stressed right now. I will be taking care of that as I tiller the limbs to bend more outwards. The splinter that popped seems to be holding. From 18 inches on I will be taking poundahe and set measurments. Hopefully set wont be bad. After I reach full draw the bow will get a belly warming.

[mikekeswick]

When you deflex something as sharply as that the area acts like a 'stress riser'. A stress concentration (often called stress raisers or stress risers) is a location in an object where stress is concentrated. An object is strongest when force is evenly distributed over its area, so a reduction in area, e.g., caused by a crack, results in a localized increase in stress.
 The deflex concentrates the bending stress there. Better to make your deflex on this design by splicing the handle into the required deflex that will leave your limbs to be reflexed and do the bending without the harsh forced concentration of bending right out of the fades. If it's taking set out of the fades already - it's toast! No set at the fades is going to be key.

[sleek]

You have a strong point Mike.  But I will say I may not need to go do your very sound advice yet. I was dumb and stressed the bow only a few hours after steaming in the fades. They were not dry yet. I was hoping they were thick enough not to need to worry. Wrong. I am going to temper them very strong to stiffen them up.

For the reason you state, one key to this design is stiff and thick fades. How thick is needed I don't know, I'm learning and figuring this out still.

I just measured and any set it had is now gone after drying out some more.

[sleek]

[sleek]

[sleek]

Well folks here it is. 55#@26 45" ntn. Its not fast. But it is still a very capable bow. I don't have the string tension I want but I am not sure if that can be increased without also increasing draw weight, which I don't want to do. I am going to start by reflecting the mid limb to bring tension up.

Being not one to stick his head in the sand and ignore the obvious I am going to say the likelihood is I will need to bump up draw weight with string tension and to shoot an arrow under 10gpp but still hunting weight for speed and penetration with a hunting arrow.

[sleek]

Set is 1 inch even throughout the limb after just unbraced .Reflecting the limbs and heat treat should help performance.  We shall see.

[JonW]

Nice effort Kevin. Tiller looks good. I would say to let it be but I know you and that aint gonna happen.

[joachimM]

Yeah, im sure I recall a post here about percent of strain on the back and amount of working limb. I was half asleep when ilI read it and now its gone. I believe the point was it couldnt be done that short?



As I remember more the post also contained something to the effect of limb thickness and how thon these limbs would need to be. Why was that post removed?

Sleek, it wasn't removed, I just posted it in the wrong thread, the one on sharp hooks, p2.

[bow101]

    she is a cutie

[PatM]

I think you are kind of going for the Scythian look in which case you need to think of the reflexed and deflexed portions as essentially non-working.
 Nothing wrong with doing that as long as you realize that they are out of commission.
   It's just a variation of a single deflexed area at the center being split in two and moved outward.

[sleek]

You pretty much nailed it Patm.  I just need to find the limit of short and still powerful enough to be a viable weapon.

[sieddy]

MAn that bow looks wild! Enjoy it. 

[sleek]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Right now i am reflexing the limbs for string tension.