What I would tell someone wanting to build a board bow

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jaydee2trad
Posts: 1173
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:28 pm

What I would tell someone wanting to build a board bow

#1 Post by jaydee2trad »

First off, grain is everything watch Swiftwoods bows board build videos. He explains the grain thing pretty well. then buy several boards if you can and count on a lot of learning on the first bow for sure. Go slow, and tillering now becomes everything. Remember that once it comes off, you ain't putting back. Oh I am sure that there is way to fix things but why not avoid them in the first place. Remember that go slow part? Well just figure that you are still going to go faster than you should on the first bow and hopefully you will be able to see and realize your problem areas of your build. Have someone else critque your buid as you go, send them pics as you go. Then, after the first one is done and you know what and where you mostly went wrong, start on the second one but this time really take your time, especially in the tillering dept. Know ahead of time what the tillering string is and when and how to use it. What is meant by the long string and then bracing with the short string. My first bow was of course, very low poundage(25#) and my limb taper was too fast. On my second one, the limbs taper look a lot closer to what they should be. A tillering tree is super easy to build and once you get the basic tools etc, you are set for years of bow building except for upgrades. Due to a lot of brain tramau from a series of strokes etc, I am pretty challenged on new things so if I can do this, you should be able to do it a lot easier than me. You can do some, leave it for a week or two if need be and then work on it some more. in other words, no super big hurry and you can work at your own pace. It is very cool to see a simple board turn into an actual bow. it is a blast and they are fun to buid and shoot. I still love my laminated bows and will be hunting with them this season for sure but I like having options. You can get lots of help here, just ask. Actually a pretty cheap hobby and prepares you for an actual selfbow build with that high dollar stave.

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