Thank You to everyone who has responded to my many questions along my self bow journey, it has been a big help getting me to this point.  I've had some set backs and failures along the way, but I think I have put all my new found knowledge to work and I'm getting close to a usable bow.
Here are a couple pics of where I'm at.  First pic is braced at about 6.5", the second pic I have the bow pulled to about 20" draw. I had it pulled to just shy of 23" last night with the scale reading 49.5 lbs. I'm hoping for a 48-50# bow?  At this point, do I just scrape a bit off both sides evenly over the whole length of the limb and keep checking weight until I get out to my draw length (about 27.5").  Any critique is welcome - the shape of the bow so far, or anything that might look funky?
Thanks Again!
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Left limb looks decent. I wouldn't touch the outer limb and would do some scraping coming off the fades to about 1/3 out to get that moving more. The right limb looks to have a hinge about 1/3 out. I would only work on the fade area on that side and the outer part of the limb to get both moving or that hinge will sewer you.


Mark

Quote from: mmattockx on December 14, 2023, 10:42:37 AM
Left limb looks decent. I wouldn't touch the outer limb and would do some scraping coming off the fades to about 1/3 out to get that moving more. The right limb looks to have a hinge about 1/3 out. I would only work on the fade area on that side and the outer part of the limb to get both moving or that hinge will sewer you.


Mark

Yeah -I see what you mean, I'll tape that area off so I don't touch it moving forward.
Thanks

I agree with marks tiller assessment.  Just add in a few limb scrap on the left limb to keep them balanced as you get the right limb bending correctly. if both limbs are bending properly you just take eleven scrapes in each limb and while continuing to pull to intended weight until you finally hit the length. I generally stop scraping about 2" shy of my intended full draw. The his allows for weight reduction between cleaning up the limbs, sanding, and shooting in. Those last few inches go pretty quick and don't take much material removal to hit weight.

Kyle

Thanks Kyle
I think I've made some progress - when I get a chance I'll take another pic with it drawn closer to 25" and
see what you guys think.

The right fade and out about 6" looks stiff. You could loose a couple of pounds just getting that bending more.

[attachment=1]

Thanks Roy
That oval really tells the story.
I just have a terrible eye for identifying these type of things.

Welcome
I used the paint app in windows to do that. Very easy...

Here is the latest progress. In the pic it is pulled to 25" and is right at 50#.
Do self bows follow the rule of gaining about 2# per inch of draw? If so, at 28" we're looking at about 56#
I'd be happy with a bow even down to 45-46#, so need to loose 6+ lbs.
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Looks better but still flat at fades, especially right limb.

Yes about 2 pounds per inch gain on draw.

You really do not want to pull a wooden bow past it's intended final weight.

I'd thin up those flat areas plus scrape both limbs to reduce the weight.

It looks like the edges of your limbs are square?

That is asking for trouble.

They should be rounded over, that will take some weight off too..

What 'ole Roy said.     

Thanks again guys!  Heading out of state today to see family for the holidays, I'll get back to some more tillering next week.
Merry Christmas.

Burnsie,
Please consider that I know nothing about the build progress of this bow other than what is shown in this thread. Based on that info I think you're going to have to drop the draw weight down to about 36-38# in order to have a chance at salvaging it. Think about the hinge area outside the fades on the right limb as the weakest link in a chain. Actually, the weakest part of your bow. Just eyeballing here but it looks like that spot can not stand more than about 38# of draw. So, you'll need to leave that spot alone and balance the rest of the bow to about that draw weight. Just my thought.
Honest Jon

Troy, what type of wood is that?

Jon has a valid point.

You need to mark an inch out on both ends of the hinge area and never touch it again.

Get the area from the hinge inward towards the handle bending some first.

Get the other limb fade bending some to.

You need to make a tillering gizmo and use it to tiller.

https://www.3riversarchery.com/blog/how-to-make-and-use-eric-krewsons-tillering-gizmo/?gad_source=5&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiqa0kpaygwMVr0xHAR12IwE5EAAYAiAAEgLL6_D_BwE

Roy - It is Osage
I built this gizmo with directions from Kramer (Shatterproof Bows), but never really knew how to use it.
Thanks for the info from Eric Krewson - that spells it out pretty good.
[attachment=1]

Very nice job.

Yes use the gizmo, they really work well. If you have any questions about it, send me a PM.

[attachment=1,msg3044385]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbHHStWU8UE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf7CnshkW7I

Troy, I sent you 3 PMs.