pecan

[longbow steve]

Hi guys, here are some pics of my first attempt at a self bow. thought I might take pics and post before it blows .
The timber is Pecan, grown in northern NSW, cut about 4 months ago roughed out and set to dry in the hot box.
The photos at full draw give the impression of a hinge in the left limb, but according to the bend meter (4 inch piece of timber) it is bending ok???
2" wide, 1/2" at the tips 70 inchs ntn, 2" of set immediately after shooting but recovers too about 1". Dont know for sure if it is fully dry, impatience got the better of me. I have a few more staves and billetts to play with any way. Steve

[yeoman]

Good man for makin' some shavin's. No one makes just one bow, however.

what's the draw weight/length of the bow?

Pecan is closely relatd to hickory. Hickory, as a bow timber, really excels when the moisture in the wood is taken below equilibrium. Bowyers in the States dry out their bows to be very dry, then oil/seal them. Pecan may be the same. If you do dry it out more, clamp it into a bit of reflex first.

The stave appears to have some nice character to it.

I agree with your self appraisal. As well as ther being a little bit of a hinge just left of the handle, I'd also suggest that the rest of the left limb is a little bit stiff still, though that may be due to natural reflex in the stave before you started?

On your next bow you might want to try having the limbs a parallel width to midlimb, then taper to the nocks. For a long, flat bow, with elliptical tiller this gives better performance than pyramid design, which really shines as a design element when the bow is 65" or shorter.

That aside, good work. Your next bows will be even better. Keep us posted!

Dave

[Hamish]

Looks good Steve. Its always hard to tell with natural staves. My thinking is the shape of the original stave needs to be reflected in the drawn bow.If there was originally a dog leg near where the "hinge" is you are on the right track. Because of the pyramid design, I'm guessing the thickness of the limbs is pretty constant, unless you have thinned the area too much accidently its probably OK.
Hamish.

[longbow steve]

Thanks for your kind words Yeoman, I have reworked the hinged limb, removing timber from around the Knot that I left conservatively thick. Looks Better . The draw weight is 45lbs@26 now. I will post another photo this eve. Steve
Looking forward to the Ashalong, could have done it last week for me