Inaugural “junior” bow trade

[Muskyman]

Okay I finally got around to bending some reflex into the bow. I don’t think I really heated up quite as much as I should have. Ended up with about 2-1/2 inches in it. Also the limb that has the little dipsy do in it seems to bend a little different than the other. Haven’t decided what I’m going to do with that yet. I already redid it to try and make it look better and improved it some.
Should I try again?
Also should I put the overlays on the tips before I start the tillering? I’m thinking whitetail antler tips. I’ll at least get it bending some before I do, floor tilling it some first before putting my overlays on.
Last question. I’ve glued t wood overlays on with gel superglue. Should I use a different glue with the whitetail antler overlays?
Sending a couple pics of the reflex. Thinking I’ll check the profiles by tracing them out on some paper and checking against each other.
Any thoughts?

[JW_Halverson]

Okay I finally got around to bending some reflex into the bow. I don’t think I really heated up quite as much as I should have. Ended up with about 2-1/2 inches in it. Also the limb that has the little dipsy do in it seems to bend a little different than the other. Haven’t decided what I’m going to do with that yet. I already redid it to try and make it look better and improved it some.
Should I try again?
Also should I put the overlays on the tips before I start the tillering? I’m thinking whitetail antler tips. I’ll at least get it bending some before I do, floor tilling it some first before putting my overlays on.
Last question. I’ve glued t wood overlays on with gel superglue. Should I use a different glue with the whitetail antler overlays?
Sending a couple pics of the reflex. Thinking I’ll check the profiles by tracing them out on some paper and checking against each other.
Any thoughts?

Oh my, now I like that side profile just like that!

[Muskyman]

To late JW I already heated and bent it a fuzz. It actually fits the profile of the other limb better now. It wasn’t real bad but when I drew the profile of the better limb it was off a little on the last 8 inches or so. So I clamped it and focused on that part and got it a little better.
Now how about those tips 😁

[Aaron1726]

I think it looks great!  Mine's still a long way behind...  this is some good motivation, hoping to make some headway over the weekend.

[superdav95]

Making good progress mike!   Looks good. 

[Kidder]

That looks great muskyman! As for the tips, what I do is leave them wide at this point (.6-.7”). I then cut in string groves with no overlay. Once I’ve got it strung and bending nice with a short string I then go about narrowing the tips factoring in string alignment. The hope is that they are narrowed evenly but if you need to adjust alignment you can do that by narrowing one side more than the other. Then the overlays go on. The only reason I can think of not to do it that way is if you intend not to have side string groves and anticipate having to narrow the tips from only one side. Keep up the good work.

[Muskyman]

Thanks Kidder. I’ve got it bending pretty good on floor tiller now. One limb needs to have a little more bend in the last foot or so. Other limb is bending nicely though out. My tips are already about 1/2 inch. I had my alignment perfect but lost a little bit while bending in my reflex. It’s slightly off to one side of the handle but not much maybe 3/16ths according to my lazer.. I might try and get that back to perfect but not sure I want to fool with it. Though about making a long string, kinda like a bow stringer just to get it on the tree so I can see how the limbs look as far as bend goes. Get it bending to about brace height then put my overlays on and cut my knocks into it. Main thing for me is to not bend it too much and cause a bunch of set in it. I have been known to do that 

[paulc]

I actually have free time this weekend!!!  I'll get more done on my "hoped for" bow and get some pics up.

Paul

[paulc]

So I strung my bow today...pretty terrifying but it didn't blow. I've got about 30lbs at 20". Do you think this bow will get above hunting weight (40lbs here in GA) around 26-7inches draw? I've corrections to make before I try to.draw beyond 20".

Bow is now 64" nock to nock.  River birch. Thanks, Paul

[paulc]

And the wife's new puppy...

[Muskyman]

Hey cute pooch. Looks good so far to me.. don’t know anything about river birch myself. If it doesn’t make your weight you might be able to heat treat the belly. I don’t know how river birch reacts to heat but hickory will gain some weight when heated. Not sure how much of an increase you get with hickory or any other wood but it was a thought I had when I saw your post.

[stuckinthemud]

Very cute pooch.  Bows are looking good, thanks everyone for posting

[Muskyman]

Did a little on mine today. Got a long string on it and am starting to bend it.
First pic it’s at 40 lbs and the second pic it’s about 35 lbs. so I’ve got a good way to go just to get it to where I can get a string on it. I took a little off with a file to loose the 5 lbs but I’ll probably do the rest with a card scraper. I figure I can keep better control of the limbs doing it that way.

[Muskyman]

Question. My bow is currently 70 inches. For a 28 inch draw could I cut it down to 68 or possibly a little shorter. If I remember correctly the rule of thumb is 2 X draw length plus 10 inches. Which would be 66 inches would be about as short as I’d want to go. Probably stay at 68.

[stuckinthemud]

I’d have thought you could risk 66 but 68 would be ok