I have a nice, straight grained, 67" piece of red oak that I wanted to make into a bow. As I started the layout process, I found that the board has a slight bow right in the center of the board. As a result, one of the tip ends and the center align perfectly, but the other end is off by about a 16th of an inch. Is that 1/16" enough to reject the board? Is there a work around? Thank you for your help.

Move the out of line tip to bring the 2 in line.

Forget about the outside edges of the board, and whether they're bowed a wee bit.

Work off of a centerline.

Lay a weighted single strand of bowstring, or dental floss or whatever, from one end of the board to the other. That's your full length centerline. Under the string, mark your tips and center of the handle. Draw a line to connect the dots. Lay out your front profile on that centerline.

I use big teardrop lead fishing weights tied to either end of a single strand of bowstring over 6' long.

You could also use a long piece of BoTuff fiberglass, a 6' level or whatever. You get the point. Start with a good centerline. Layout your bow from there.

Thank you gentlemen! I have learned a great deal over the years from this website.

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