Thursday 16 July 2015

Scarey Molle'

Blimey this Molle' is scaring the heck out of me. I've reduced the thickness by degrees and at one point overdid it so the left limb was in danger of forming a hinge (weak point where it bends too much) in the outer end.
Damn, I thought I'll end up with a 20# bow, but nope, I still had to take off more. One of the guys on Primitive Archer warned the limbs can get scarily thin, but maybe that will make 'em less likely to chrysal if the tiller isn't perfect.
I think the tiller isn't too bad, it's tricky with the undulations in the natural Yew sapwood back. It would obviously be easier with machined timber... but if I had to trust a backing, it would be good old Yew sapwood (or Bamboo).
Still not sure of the draw weight I'm aiming for... I chickened out of going for the 50# as the tiller isn't spot on yet... close, but no cigar.
I don't want to risk smashing it before I shoot it. The bit I'm really looking forward too is getting the levers as slim as I dare to reduce the tip mass, I'll go for a tear drop shape with the belly side narrowed to allow the string loops to sit nicely.
It's been very satisfying how quick this has progressed. The Cherry is a joy to work, and I've done the thickness by marking every 3" and rasping those points down to my desired thickness (or near enough) I can use the spokeshave to remove the wood between the rasped out portions. Quick and effective. That gets me to the roughly the right thickness, but then the real tillering is by eye and feel.


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