You really should remove wood just a little at a time!
A while ago I promised my 3 year old that i would make him a bow when he was older. Big mistake! Since then he's gone on and on about it! So last week when we were out for a walk in the local woods I found a freshly fallen stick that I decided to take home to try to make into a toy bow for him (and practice my bow building).
I knew it would be tricky, because it had to be very light (so he could pull it, and also so that it cant throw sticks with any damaging force), and yet well tillered so that it wouldn't snap while he played with it. It was also my first attempt at a non-board bow (since I was 12 at least). To add to that, it was just a stick from the park. I couldn't identify the type (nothing quite like a challenge eh?)
Things were going so well! I had it shaped, with a non-bending handle and arrow shelf, but the tiller wasn't quite right. The fades on the top limb were too far along so it was too stiff and causing excessive strain on the rest of the limb. That meant I needed to remove a large amount of wood thickness. Despite all I've read, I thought "I'll just take it all off in one go, then check the tiller. It'll be fine!" *sigh* As soon as I checked the tiller again I speed a hinge right where I'd removed the wood. I tried to even it out, but it was no good. It snapped just as I was about to call it "done".
Here's a few before and after pictures:
R. I. P
A while ago I promised my 3 year old that i would make him a bow when he was older. Big mistake! Since then he's gone on and on about it! So last week when we were out for a walk in the local woods I found a freshly fallen stick that I decided to take home to try to make into a toy bow for him (and practice my bow building).
I knew it would be tricky, because it had to be very light (so he could pull it, and also so that it cant throw sticks with any damaging force), and yet well tillered so that it wouldn't snap while he played with it. It was also my first attempt at a non-board bow (since I was 12 at least). To add to that, it was just a stick from the park. I couldn't identify the type (nothing quite like a challenge eh?)
Things were going so well! I had it shaped, with a non-bending handle and arrow shelf, but the tiller wasn't quite right. The fades on the top limb were too far along so it was too stiff and causing excessive strain on the rest of the limb. That meant I needed to remove a large amount of wood thickness. Despite all I've read, I thought "I'll just take it all off in one go, then check the tiller. It'll be fine!" *sigh* As soon as I checked the tiller again I speed a hinge right where I'd removed the wood. I tried to even it out, but it was no good. It snapped just as I was about to call it "done".
Here's a few before and after pictures:
R. I. P