So I finally got to work on my hickory bow some more, this is my first attempt at making a selfbow (or any bow for that matter). Ive finally been getting some good moment out of the limbs (shooting for 50-60 pounds at 28") and so I braced it for the first time today. Its still way to heavy and needs some work. It probably braces at 35- 40 pounds right now.

Also wanted to ask you guys what you think and if ya have any pointers!

So far so good.. You have a nice even brace. Arvin

Thanks Arvin!

Make a gismo....and use a sanding block to finish tiller...makes the process so much easier....especially for a novice like me..good luck Chief

Looking good at brace. Build a gizmo and take things slow. Keep that hickory dry when you're not working it. If it's still really heavy at that braced profile then you are in good shape. Lots of wood still there for adjustments. Keep us posted.

Looks good at brace. How long and wide it it? How long is the non bending handle? More on my site. http://traditionalarchery101.com Jawge

It's 66" long and 1 3/4 inch wide limbs from the fades to the outer 3rds of the limbs where it starts to taper down to 1/2" at the tips. I will definitey look into the gizmo! I have noticed I have a slight twist to the bottom limb at brace and I was wondering if I could correct it by removing slightly more wood from one side of the limb or do I need to heat it to correct the twist?

My strong advice is to forget the 60# idea. First you don't need a bow that strong. Second that's asking a lot of hickory at that width. You could probably do it, but leaving the bow thick enough to get 60# would result in more set/string follow than is best.

Unless you are planning to shoot through the shoulder bones of a moose or elk or going grizzly hunting, 45 to 50# will do it and be more pleasant to shoot.

I agree, the bow is looking good. Keep on being careful as you tiller it and you'll have a nice shooter.

Nice job on the bow, especially for your first; mine sure didn't look that good, it still shoots though, so there is that. Hickory sure makes a nice bow.

when you say it braces at 40 what do you mean,, how far do you have to draw the bow to get 40,, if you tell me that, I can tell you the bows projected draw weight at 28,, then you have something to go on,, the bow looks pretty thin, now,,

I agee with Jim, that a lighter bow is easier to make , or has a higher success rate, and is still a good hunting bow etc,, as you get closer to 60# draw I agree you would need a bit wider bow,, if you are pretty physical,, then 60# is not a problem,, and not unrealistic bow weight to shoot or make,, most the bows I shot and huned with when I was younger were 60 65,,, I now shoot 50ish I am 63 and just dont have time to stay in shape for heavier bow now,, my elk bow is close to 60,,,, you might have to shoot a 55 or 60 self bow ,,, to get the same cast of a 40ish modern bow,, so its hard to compare,, that being said, 50 to 60 should do you fine,, on this one,, 45 sounds like a good plan,,

keep in mind,, a 45 with little set, gonna shoot as hard as the 50 with string follow,,

Regarding the propeller twist. I would not remove more wood on one side of the limb to compensate. I also don't think that there is enough twist there to cause you any trouble at all. If you get further along in tillering and its very troublesome, you could adjust with some dry heat, but it's honestly not my favorite thing to do. Wood doesn't much like to be countertwisted in my experience. Only small correction can be done that way.

So this is the bow braced looking down the string from the top limb to the bottom limb. You can see the top limb looks pretty good but the bottom limb has some twist to it. Would you guys use dry heat to work on this?

I would probably not. As I said, you may not know for sure whether its needed until you get further along. I've found that the twist actually becomes less prominent as the tillering (limb thinning) progresses. You have good string alignment over the handle. Youre good to go.

I finally got a cabinet scraper set up properly (bur) and really liked using it to fine tune tiller as opposed to sanding.

Don't worry about the twist.

Also, don't treat about making weight. Rather, aim for the best tiller you can get.

More on my site.

Jawge

http://traditionalarchery101.com

x2 George. What point is making weight if tiller is wonky? Take things slow and this can be a good bow. Keep it dryyyyy!

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