| From: FrogMan
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| Date: 08-Apr-20 |
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Hello Everyone,
I have been working on my first board bow. I was wondering if anyone who has made a few before will give me some feed back on what I have so far. The boards are maple and mahogany. I only have a draw knife, spoke shave, wood rasp and sand paper to do the work. There is a twist that shows up when I string it. I tillered by using para cord and pulling like I was going to draw. Haven't made a tiller thing yet. Not sure on the #s yet as I don't have a scale yet either. It now also stays bowed about an inch or so. Is this normal? What should I be doing to finish it? Also I have shot a couple dozen arrows out of it and so far so good. Is it ok to keep shooting it or should I put a backing on it or do some other finishing work before I continue to shoot? Also I would like to thank all of the people on the Wall! You guys have me just enough info to believe I could try to do one of these. (Always wanted to!). Also Thank You Scarfy for getting me started and introducing me to the Leather Wall.
Frogman.
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| From: 2 bears
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| Date: 08-Apr-20 |
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It is natural for a board bow to take some set. Any wood bow without glass will do so. To help prevent it some,You should never draw the bow farther than the weight you want it to end up. At first that will only be an inch or so. If you want it to end up 40 pounds only pull it to 40 and do so 20 to 30 times. Remove a little wood then pull it to 40 again. Each time it will draw a little farther. Do so until you reach the draw length you want. Never pulling it past 40 and exercising it EVERY time. Then don't leave it strung to long at a time.
Yes you need to oil it or get some kind of finish on it so it don't absorb moisture. Moisture softens the wood making it weaker. It will continue to take more set. Good luck. It looks real good for your first one. >>>>------> Ken
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| From: Phoenix
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| Date: 08-Apr-20 |
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Ya did good for your first effort. If your down to the weight you want I'd leave everything be,keep shooting it in(at least a hundred arrows) before sanding it up nice and sealing it with a finish sealer.
That much twist doesn't bother me. One thing that can cause it is uneven side to side thickness in your limbs,so check that. But sometimes wood will just do it's own thing. A little bit doesn't hurt anything if your even side to side. If it hasn't blown yet after a few dozen arrows and the grain is straight then there's no need to back it with anything. It being bowed an inch after unstringing is called set,and that's normal. One inch is very acceptable and fine. Set is your enemy by the way tho. The more set it takes the more it Rob's you of cast.
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| From: FrogMan
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| Date: 08-Apr-20 |
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Thank you Ken, Thank you Phoenix,
Do either of you have a recommendation for a sealing product. Also is there a way to remove the "set"? How long can I string and shoot it before I need to give it a break? What do you use for checking the #s? A fish scale or should I just hang 40#s from the Paracord to check what I have for draw weight? Sorry for all the questions.
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| From: Iwander
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| Date: 08-Apr-20 |
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I don't know what I like more of your lower your Chapel chair. They both look great to me.
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| From: FrogMan
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| Date: 08-Apr-20 |
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Thanks Iwander!
The Chair was a request from my wife. I love building my own stuff with hand tools.
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| From: Iwander
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| Date: 08-Apr-20 |
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"bow" or your chair rather. I haven't been able to go to church lately because of the virus, and I guess I miss sitting in those things.
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| From: Phoenix
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| Date: 09-Apr-20 |
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Once set has occurred there is no way to erase it. The wood cells have compressed/damaged some,and ya can't fix that. So you have one inch of string follow from the set right now. That's totally fine,and don't worry about it for your first few bows. I use Tru oil for my finish. Some guys use helmsman spar urethane,and there's a few other choices and basically comes down to personal preference and availability to you. Also get a real string. If you have a fish scale that goes up to 50 pounds those will work just fine if that's all ya got right now.
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| From: 2 bears
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| Date: 09-Apr-20 |
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Sorry I neglected to address the twist in earlier post. On older bows & glass laminated bows I twist and hold them in the opposite direction. If you have built that twist in, you need to remove wood from the strong side & or deepen the string groove on the weak side. That puts the string more toward the center of bow. That is mainly if the twist is evident when braced. Any good wood finish will work. What ever you like. Many use Tru-Oil as do I. The purist used bear fat rubbed in and warmed. Most substitute lard for bear fat now days. >>>>-----> Ken
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| From: PEARL DRUMS
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| Date: 10-Apr-20 |
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Looks great from here. That twist wouldnt bother me. Sand it as smooth as you prefer. You can stain or dye it, or leave it nekked. There are hundreds of products and methods to seal it. I prefer Helmsman clear satin in a rattle can. 3-5 coats is ample. I will say I prefer a few hundred shots before sanding and sealing.
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| From: PEARL DRUMS
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| Date: 10-Apr-20 |
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This is purely opinion. I would sleek that riser up some. I drew a black line were I think it would look great.
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