Stave makin :) and a bit of tillering.

[Grooveski]

Yuk. No luck.
Never nice when nasties come out of the woodwook.
Hit a void on a paddle a couple of weeks ago. A blackened area that looked almost burned. Totaly surrounded by solid wood and just as I was getting to depth, means I'll be patching the edge as soon as the paddle's done.

 

[dwardo]

Yeah sucks, i suppose we could all just use fibreglass instead?

:evilangel:

 

[yarrow]

Not good, I would say stuff it with super gel, but I have never filled something that big. Oh well at the very least its well travelled fire wood.

 

[dwardo]

Not good, I would say stuff it with super gel, but I have never filled something that big. Oh well at the very least its well travelled fire wood.

Thats wood for you mate, it isn't over yet though!
The stave was a complete stunner from the outside but thats wood for ya

 

[Grooveski]

I find a lot of that late tension change will come out early in tillering anyway.

Certainly did. Lost all of it and took on an inch and three quarters of set as well.
Mostly from pushing a little for a higher draw weight at the early stages. I backed off later and settled for mid-high 30s. Was thinking about what you said about finding the bow that's in the wood instead of trying to force it to become what you want.

I'm pretty happy with it. There's a bit of a hinge on the longer upper(left) limb just above the handle that stopped me in my tracks. Really the rest of the top limb should be working a bit more but that'd mean softening everything else to suit and it's shooting pretty good as it is so I reckon I'll leave it be(for the moment).

Just put a few dozen arrows through it. At first using my usual heavy arrows then remembered I had a set of 1616's that came with a bow I bought years ago. Dug them out and it liked them a lot. I'll set it up for them when I get a chance to get out the farm.

...so, handle, string, tidy up the nocks a bit, oil it up and job's a good 'un.
Glad this one ended up a bow rather than a pair of tent pegs.

 

[Grooveski]

Started scraping at the other bit of yew. Full of knots this one but at 64" it's a good bit longer that the little stave and wider too. Will be aiming for high 40s@28".

Going to be a bit more asymmetric than the wee one too. I've moved the handle down to about here to get some clean wood for the lower fade and push yon 3-way knot into the handle. The arrow position will be half an inch above centre.

 

[dwardo]

Looking great mate. Tiller on the lighter one looks good, maybe a bit still right limb first third? Seems like a big old draw length there
Whats the unbraced like?

That next one is a right character and will be nice to see it as you go.

Not done a thing my self in a while and also need to go shopping for more wood before i do awt else.

Keep it coming all.

 

[Grooveski]

Yeah, I see it. Need to match the bit that scared me. Think I'll use sandpaper - things sure change quickly at this stage.
Not bad unbraced.

Was surprised how easily it went out to 28". At 18" or so I was still pushing for 40lb and it felt like the belly was being crushed but when I dropped the target poundage a bit and took off a load more wood it felt much happier.

 

[dwardo]

Looks good mate and only a bit of follow which looks nice and even.
Making the tips and outers really skinny helps no end with lighter bows. There is so little stress there you can go just that bit more than you think u should ;-)

 

[Grooveski]

After final sanding. Top limb's still on the left.

Lost a few pounds while tinkering and took on another half inch of set. Ended up bang on 30lb@28".
Called my mum to check her draw weight and she said "This bow's 25lb but I think I could go up a few more - been thinking of trying a longbow."
You have to laugh sometimes.

 

[dwardo]

Lovely bend you go there and perfect for your mar.
I have had great results heat treating yew. I dont go as mad as with white woods but it does work very well for reducing follow. I think if you did it now through you would have to reduce the weight again. Plus a little follow makes it forgiving.

Great job cant wait to see it all tarted up.

 

[Grooveski]

Been having another scrape at it today. Pretty much laid out and ready to tiller.

Slowly does it this time.

 

[Grooveski]

Getting close now. 50lb@26" but the brace height's still quite low so a little leeway there too.
Haven't been using the tiller stick, this's the first the bow's been cranked up on it. Still prefer using a mirror.

2" of set so far but no worries, it's pulling a decent poundage at the start of the draw.

Not a million miles off at brace.

Top limb needs to be bending more out towards the tip. Bit of a flat spot there that's forcing the rest of the limb to work too much.
Pretty happy with the lower limb.

Great idea dwardo - sketching over pictures makes things a lot clearer.

So, fixing the top limb should bring me about out to length then I'll set the right brace height and switch to sandpaper. Final sanding will hopefully bring it back out to length again. Only really have the belly to sand - done the sides and back before starting to tiller this time.

 

[Grooveski]

Little closer, tiller's more circular now. All sanded.
Going to work the handle a little and the bottom fade in particular. Tiller at brace is a few mill smaller at the lower fade just now so it could do with it anyway.
Can't really get the handle bending fully because of all the knots but should be able to introduce a little flex and get the fades working a bit more.
Still have an inch to go at 50lb(am at real brace height now). Don't mind going down to 47-48 though if it comes to it.

 

[dwardo]

Little closer, tiller's more circular now. All sanded.
Going to work the handle a little and the bottom fade in particular. Tiller at brace is a few mill smaller at the lower fade just now so it could do with it anyway.
Can't really get the handle bending fully because of all the knots but should be able to introduce a little flex and get the fades working a bit more.
Still have an inch to go at 50lb(am at real brace height now). Don't mind going down to 47-48 though if it comes to it.

Sorry I missed this post.

How did this bow go? Looks very nice. I had a nice knotty yew stave recently that was looking al-right till it started to show some long grain decay. I spent a day trying to chase around the problems but its a no go. Lovely bit of wood too.
..Two ash bows that I should not have even attempted due my gut feeling on the early/late ratio. Both bows are barely capable of 40lbs with a poor cast, despite their girth.. Also an unlucky plum stave that looked perfect until mid.final tiller and the edge uncovered 3 pockets of dead wood

Back on thorse and chasing another wych elm static. This was the lesser half of the last elm bow I made. This elm is very heavy in the hand and feels responsive on early floor tiller. It has only just had a pair of temporary nocks filed in have its first torture session on the board. To get it this far i have had to remove about 30deg twist from each limb and move it at the handle twice to even it up. Only just of the long string now and the profile there is natural deflex. Just pondering how far to take it RD.

I have been very low on decent bow wood recently as its sometimes luck and sometimes a lot of hard work that is hard to fit around family life.

These three blokes are coming down soon and have already been ring-barked. Lots of lovely elm there providing its suitable after splitting and sorting. If not it will be timber for other needs in the wood, firewood if nothing else to heat the home of the wood owner.

 

[Clouston98]

An interesting read, I've always been interested in bow making but new nothing, nice to see how it's done a bit.

 

[Grooveski]

How did this bow go? Looks very nice.

Yeah, turned out great, I'm well chuffed with it.
Sanded the lower fade a little and it balanced right up. Made it a string and leather handle and gave it half a dozen coats of danish oil. It's pretty much my dream bow - have fancied a yew flatbow for a long, long time.
I'll take a few photos in daylight.

Also pleased that the bow-failure ratio is over half again. When it was one bow from three attempts it was a little depressing but three from five is alright, makes you think that maybe you are doing the right thing after all and encourages you to make more.
The two that I broke were both flatbows much the same design as this one(ash and rowan), both went about six inches from a tip and this stave had a knot on each limb at just that position(as well as all the others). Was pretty nervous towards the end of the tillering.

I need to make it some arrows. It'll spit out my existing ones but I have to cant it over and hold it down to make up for them being a little too stiff in spine. Upright they group well but left. Ended up at 48lb but it's a softer draw curve than modern recurves and of course has a wider handle to go around.

Right, down-side to the story:
Woke up the day after posting yon photo and finishing the sanding to a whopping allergic reaction. Face was puffed up round my eyes to the point I could barely open them, red and raw skin, tears streaming........
It's gone through various stages of eczema from raw and inflamed through dry and stretched to looks alright but still a bit itchy. Although it improved every day it's been slow going.
I knew the dangers of yew(and wood dust in general) and worked in good ventilation all through the process(took my mums bow outside to sand).....
....right up to that sanding session. It was a calm night but I wanted to get the 240 grit session done so I could start oiling.
Didn't help that I was celebrating a bit, the scary time was over and the job was a good 'un, after a couple of jugs of cider I doubt I even thought about the dust.
Oops!

 

[Grooveski]

I have been very low on decent bow wood recently as its sometimes luck and sometimes a lot of hard work that is hard to fit around family life.

These three blokes are coming down soon and have already been ring-barked. Lots of lovely elm there providing its suitable after splitting and sorting. If not it will be timber for other needs in the wood, firewood if nothing else to heat the home of the wood owner.

Certainly look promising, could well be bows hiding in there.
I'm down to four wych elm billets now. One pair for a longbow and the other for a flatbow. Will be my first attempts at splicing(although after seeing Yarrow's [lovely] longbow I may well try fitting one with a takedown insert).

 

[dwardo]

Yeah, turned out great, I'm well chuffed with it.
Sanded the lower fade a little and it balanced right up. Made it a string and leather handle and gave it half a dozen coats of danish oil. It's pretty much my dream bow - have fancied a yew flatbow for a long, long time.
I'll take a few photos in daylight.

Also pleased that the bow-failure ratio is over half again. When it was one bow from three attempts it was a little depressing but three from five is alright, makes you think that maybe you are doing the right thing after all and encourages you to make more.
The two that I broke were both flatbows much the same design as this one(ash and rowan), both went about six inches from a tip and this stave had a knot on each limb at just that position(as well as all the others). Was pretty nervous towards the end of the tillering.

I need to make it some arrows. It'll spit out my existing ones but I have to cant it over and hold it down to make up for them being a little too stiff in spine. Upright they group well but left. Ended up at 48lb but it's a softer draw curve than modern recurves and of course has a wider handle to go around.

Right, down-side to the story:
Woke up the day after posting yon photo and finishing the sanding to a whopping allergic reaction. Face was puffed up round my eyes to the point I could barely open them, red and raw skin, tears streaming........
It's gone through various stages of eczema from raw and inflamed through dry and stretched to looks alright but still a bit itchy. Although it improved every day it's been slow going.
I knew the dangers of yew(and wood dust in general) and worked in good ventilation all through the process(took my mums bow outside to sand).....
....right up to that sanding session. It was a calm night but I wanted to get the 240 grit session done so I could start oiling.
Didn't help that I was celebrating a bit, the scary time was over and the job was a good 'un, after a couple of jugs of cider I doubt I even thought about the dust.
Oops!

Great stuff the bow sounds perfect. Just about my maximum draw weight for comfort. Looking forward to the pictures ;-)
Bad news on the reaction to the wood. Yew tends not to bother me too much but I am careful. It's cherry that got me last time and ended up on antibiotics for nose infection and trouble breathing. Cleaning off drt cambium and bark can be the worst source of material for a reaction.
I am down to very few staves my self after so many fails and none starters which is why I need to get the wood and start cutting as soon as I have 5 spare.

 

[dwardo]

An interesting read, I've always been interested in bow making but new nothing, nice to see how it's done a bit.

Half the idea of this thread is folks to post their bow projects and for others to chip in. So feel free to start making wood shavings and get the results up here for a bit of help if needed.