Hi guys, new to the forum and new to building bows. I started building them 6 months ago, and after a half dozen broken board bows that died in tillering I have 2 bows made from a local swamp Bloodwood now.
One is a 55lb, not pictured, and my latest is a 40lb - the pics are of that one.
Thought I would share some pics and maybe get some thoughts. I know there's still lots of room for improvement and I'll be changing the design for the next one, but its a start.
This bow is 40lb at 29", 65" NTN. 1 1/2 wide, heat treated belly, arrow shelf and leather grip cover. Made for a friend and honestly its the better of the two, very accurate and much neater than my 55, though it lacks the punch. Its taken just under 2" set, mostly due to my dodgy tillering on the upper limb (left limb on the tree). There was a natural lump just out of the fades there that I found hard to factor in.
One more stave from that tree to work on now, will be trying for a 60lb with an arrow shelf.
Thanks for looking!
Bloodwood bows
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Bloodwood bows
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Re: Bloodwood bows
that is quite a nice looking bow in my humble opinion, well done tillering looks very even.Is it a pyramid style bow?
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Re: Bloodwood bows
Thank you 
It's not quite a pyramid bow, it is full width from the fades to halfway along the limb length where it tapers to the tip. My thoughts were i could keep the limb mass toward the handle by getting the limbs to do a lot of work just out of the fades. It did not work as well as i would have liked, instead the limbs took a little set straight out of the fades which exaggerated the set at the tip, and also with 1 1/2" limbs i noticed it took a little set at the exact spot where the taper to the tip started.
For the next bow in this wood I think I'll keep limbs full width until 6" from the tips, make that 6" rigid and tapered, and tiller so it does not work so hard at the fades. Oh well live and learn.
It's not quite a pyramid bow, it is full width from the fades to halfway along the limb length where it tapers to the tip. My thoughts were i could keep the limb mass toward the handle by getting the limbs to do a lot of work just out of the fades. It did not work as well as i would have liked, instead the limbs took a little set straight out of the fades which exaggerated the set at the tip, and also with 1 1/2" limbs i noticed it took a little set at the exact spot where the taper to the tip started.
For the next bow in this wood I think I'll keep limbs full width until 6" from the tips, make that 6" rigid and tapered, and tiller so it does not work so hard at the fades. Oh well live and learn.
Re: Bloodwood bows
Ryder,
The transition of the fadeouts into the limbs look too abrupt. This seems to be a trend with some of the bowyers in the USA.
Daryl.
The transition of the fadeouts into the limbs look too abrupt. This seems to be a trend with some of the bowyers in the USA.
Daryl.
"And you must not stick for a groat or twelvepence more than another man would give, if it be a good bow.
For a good bow twice paid for, is better than an ill bow once broken. [Ascham]
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” [Einstein]
I am old enough to make my own decisions....Just not young enough to remember what I decided!....
For a good bow twice paid for, is better than an ill bow once broken. [Ascham]
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” [Einstein]
I am old enough to make my own decisions....Just not young enough to remember what I decided!....
Re: Bloodwood bows
Daryl,greybeard wrote:Ryder,
The transition of the fadeouts into the limbs look too abrupt. This seems to be a trend with some of the bowyers in the USA.
Daryl.
You're not the first person to say that, and in hindsight I tend to agree that it doesn't look quite right. I think it probably also puts a lot of stress on the wood where the edge of the fade joins the belly side of the handle.
I made them this way because of the arrow shelf design. As the shelf goes slightly more than a third of the limb thickness in, I figured it would need significant reinforcement to prevent breakage. I gave it that reinforcement by building a deep handle.
I think I should also have increased the length of the fades to reduce the angle of them. As it stands, the length of the handle is 4" and the fades are 2" each. Perhaps it would have been better to make the fades 2.5 or 3" each, and increase the overall length of the bow by an inch or two with such a deep arrow shelf?
In any case, its not currently causing any issues, touch wood, and I don't want to mess with it now. Its something I can do better with on the next bow though, which is currently in stave form waiting for the weekend!
Re: Bloodwood bows
nice bows- cool wood.
i agree with Greybeard- its not the depth of the riser thats the issue- but one wants a smooth long taper and a seamless transition into the working limb- hard to tell in the pic, but the transition in fade to the limb looks noticeable- and therefore too abrupt. try and get it so you cant tell where the fade ends and the limb starts.
great looking bow and obviously a good shooter.
dont be scared of a bit of set- makes for a well behaved bow.
cheers
wayne
i agree with Greybeard- its not the depth of the riser thats the issue- but one wants a smooth long taper and a seamless transition into the working limb- hard to tell in the pic, but the transition in fade to the limb looks noticeable- and therefore too abrupt. try and get it so you cant tell where the fade ends and the limb starts.
great looking bow and obviously a good shooter.
dont be scared of a bit of set- makes for a well behaved bow.
cheers
wayne