How to ruin a project in a hurry...

I may have mentioned before that I am trying to make a red oak bow, following the American Flat Bow pattern. I had cut the basic shape out of the stick, and attached a riser for the handle.Next I drew the shape of the bow on the sides of the stick, and to save time, decided to use the bandsaw to cut away the surplus wood.

You know what's coming, don't you?

First try I did a nice job 1/8 to 1/16 proud of the line. Second side I decided I could do better, and of course cut well within the line in a couple of places. This leaves me with a bow that bends easily on one side, and when it is tillered will probably have a draw weight suitable to a child, instead of the 35-40# I was aiming for. SDF!

I will continue the project, as I can still learn some things from it, and of course I will immediately start a new bow when this one is finished. I've already learned that it is a bad idea to use a bandsaw to reduce the belly of the bow.

Here is how it looked before the mishap. The riser is Peruvian Walnut.

Bummer!! Will definitely be interested in how it comes out. Looks like you're mostly doing the "bow from a board" technique?

I have my first in progress bow in progress as well, its a piece of cherry that I split and strapped to a board with some blocking to dry a bit recurve. I'm letting it dry another few months before I do anything more with it - but am somewhat concerned about a small twist in the line so we'll see how it goes. Its also quite a small/short bow so it'll almost definitely end up being a kids bow if it works at all Haven't decided what to use as a riser yet.

Do you have the "traditional bowyers bible" series? http://www.amazon.com/The-Traditional-Bowyers-Bible-Volume/dp/1585740853 - that's pretty much what I'm using as a guideline (another way to say I have NO idea what I'm doing )

Disclaimer: Don't know nuthin about bows.

Having admitted that - could you maybe even up both ends, then laminate on another section so that the originally intended thickness is achieved? Epoxy would (should?) be flexible enough to handle the bowing when you draw it.

Ya, you have my respect for even trying one. I have spent many hours studying long bows, and how to make them. Something I have wanted to try and maybe still will if I live long enough!

Maybe someone could tell me this. I have a length of straight grained ash left over from my canoe project. It is about 3/16" thick. Would it be worth a try to laminate this onto the back of the bow? This is a bit of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' for me. I may just try it. Everything is a learning experience.

To answer my own question, Barbow Archery in England sells ash backing strips, so I guess I can. At $90 - $200, I can't afford the fancy staves they and other specialty retailers are offering, so I'm following Mike from Boarrior Bows (on Youtube) who has a great series on making board bows, starting with selection of the board.

From what I've read ash can take a bit more set than some other woods (black ash supposedly more than white ash) so maybe tiller it a smidge heavy to start and put it through some cycles to see where it ends up?

Although as a backing strip its under tension so the effect should be pretty small so might not worry about it (I think most of the set comes from the compression wood - please correct me if I'm wrong there ).

Certainly seems like it can't hurt to try!