Pushing Ahead - Part 2

So I went ahead and started the bow.  As I type here, I am quite excited because the bow is now in the tillering process and bending nicely.  But before I get into that, let me show you how I got to this point in the build.

As mentioned in part 1 I used a circular saw to cut the rough shape of the static limbs.  If you have a band saw you can cut the angles as well.

static limb roughed out with circular saw

I then used a rasp to work the rest of the shape

its a bit of work, but goes quick enough

Once I had the general shape of the limbs rasped out I then glued on my piece of Paduak for the handle.  I will work the final shape of the handle after I get the bow tillered.  I am still debating if I am going to cut a shelf or not.  The Paduak is a nice piece of wood. Seems a bit brittle, but will add a nice piece of color contrast to the all oak bow.

Paduak handle with angle cuts

After the glue dried I added the fiberglass tape backing.  The glue for that dried over 36 hours and allowed me to start shaping the working limbs.

Trimmed backing.

To save time I decided to bring out the saw again.  I cut grooves in the board to a depth that left me 3/8 of an inch to work with in the tillering process.  This saved countless hours.  I was able to complete the initital tiller in a single evening as opposed to an entire weekend of rasping.  Once I had the grooves cut I simply broke out the remaining pieces with a putty knife.  Then it was back to the rasp to work it smooth and to work the fades.

Cuts made with circular saw.
A table saw and dado blade would have been awesome

Breaking out the pieces with putty knife

Rasped out and smooth.  Ready for tillering

At this point I cut the rough notches for the tillering string and then did my first few pulls to test weight and draw.  The next step is where I am really still learning.  Tillering is not as easy as it sounds and takes experience and a good eye for curves to get right.

First pull to 20 inches

Stay tuned to see how the tillering goes.  I am not expecting perfection.  My goal is to have a 50 to 60 pound pull at 28".