New to the forum/Seeking knowledge

[Ben.Kellerman]

Hello All.  As stated I'm new to the forum and green as can be to bow building.  Got the itch a few weeks ago after digging out a couple of my fathers "antique" fiberglass bows(unusable because of cracks).  I've been stalking the forum and a few other sites and watching endless youtube videos and I started my first bow a few days ago.  Red oak board from Lowes.  Went with 62"X1.5" and tapered to .5" at the tips.  I'm shooting for at least 45# @ 28".  I jumped in head first and blind folded so I may have made some mistakes but here is the bow I'm working on.  Made a make shift tillering tree and in this picture it's at about 32# @ 18".  Now I'm kind of at the point where I feel like I'm in over my head so looking for advice from the pros.  Where am I at? And where should I go from here?  Thank you all in advance.  Your knowledge is much appreciated!

P.S.  Picture would not attach so more to come

[Pat B]

Welcome to PA, Ben. Once you get the pic thing figured out we'll jump in and help you out.
 Your pics might be too big. You want them to be 640x480. You can use an image storage site like Imgur. It is free and will resize your pics for posting on web sites.

[Ben.Kellerman]

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc386/Bktgifridays/IMG_2012.jpg

Hopefully this works.  Thanks Pat.  Image size was way too large.

[Parnell]

I wonder how many of us started with the red oak board bow...I did.  Welcome to PA, Ben.

[Badger]

  You are doing pretty good for your 1st bow. Tiller has a few minor stiff spots and I see one potential hinge in the left limb. I doubt you will make your weight on this bow. It needs to be working a little further into the fades also. I would just take my time and get the tiller rounded out nicely before I went any further in draw. maybe end up shooting for 35# on this bow. The one area I see bending too much I don't think will hold up to a 50# draw,

[Ben.Kellerman]

Thanks Badger.  Not a big deal at all if I don't get the weight I wanted.  Would like to be able to hunt with it but I'm already positive this is far from my last bow.  Just curious is the 10" riser I used to large for this length bow?  I felt like I was having problems with the fades transitioning to the belly?

[Ben.Kellerman]

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc386/Bktgifridays/IMG_2016.jpg

I feel like a took a lot of wood off but I see very little change.  I know I obviously need time developing my eyes for this stage but after staring at the difference between the before and after photos, all I can see is that I think the left limb needs some work to match the right.  My biggest tell that I actually worked on the bow was how much easier it was to draw to my original 18" mark.  I didn't weigh it (kids bed time)but could tell it was significantly lighter than before.

Thanks as always for any input.

[Ben.Kellerman]

Trying this to see if I figured out how to resize the picture.

[bjrogg]

Welcome to PA Ben. It looks to me like most of your bend is in the first third of your limbs coming out of the fades. I would stay away from that area for awhile. Look at where you limbs start to stiffen and straighten back out. Put a pencil mark from there to your tips. Remove wood by pencil mark. Keep repeating this process until bend is even over entire limb. Some guys use a tillering gizmo or even just a straight edge. If you put a straight edge against belly of bow while on tree you can slide it up and down the limb observing the gap between limb and straight edge. Where limb is bending gap will be wider. Where limb is stiff gap will be narrow. Usually leave last seven or so inches stiffer by your tips.
     I think 62" board and 28" draw might be asking a lot from a red oak board bow with a stiff handle. I'm not sure as I have only made bows from staves but even for a stave bow I wouldn't call it conservative.
      It takes a few to figure out how much wood is required to get it to start bending. Like you said the first few seem like you keep taking off wood and nothing is happening. Once you reach a certain point just a few scrapes can make a big difference. I'm thinking your at that point on first third of your limbs. Now you need to get the rest of your limbs bending especially if you want that draw length. Your limbs should tapper in thickness getting thinner as they get further from the handle. Especially a flat bow not so noticeable on a piramid style.
      Good Luck and carry on. The real secret to this is tillering and making the bend even over the whole limb. They all are a little different and they all have something to teach us.
Bjrogg

[Ben.Kellerman]

Thank you for the insight Bjrogg.  I guess I was pretty far off as I was assuming I had the majority of the work left near the fades!  It seemed like the tips were getting really thin.  Any idea what an average thickness should be at the tips?  I'm not home now but I believe they are somewhere around 3/8" maybe a hair less.

[bjrogg]

Ben it really depends on if they are or aren't  bending. It's pretty amazing sometimes how thin they can be. If you are concerned they are to thin you can "tiller from the side" also. I like keeping my last seven inches or so stiffer. Bending but not as much. I think if you put a straight edge against belly it will help you see how limb is or isn't bending. If you study your picture though you might notice a nice bend in first third of limb. Then your limbs are straighter with very little bend. This is very common as the most stress is in the area bending.
Bjrogg

[M2A]

Hey Ben. Looks like your off to a great start there. I don't have the experience like many of these other fellas. Just want to throw out 1 thing if you are worried about thickness of you limbs. Double limb thickness will increase draw weight 8x , double limb width will increase draw weight 2x.  My point is, it does not take much to change things when you are tillering from the belly. Hope I explained that correctly. Good luck! Lots of smart cookies on here to lead you in the right direction. Cheers Mike     

[bjrogg]

Ben I agree with  M2A. You've got the start of a nice bow going there. It's all about taking off what not bow and leaving what is right now.
Bjrogg

[Ben.Kellerman]

Thanks folks!  It's encouraging enough hearing from you guys that I'm off to a decent start!  Was afraid I'd get on here and find out I did something fatally wrong and that I had a nice looking piece of firewood!  This hobby may get me and my addictive personality in trouble!

[bjrogg]

Ben it very possible this could change you forever.
Bjrogg