Bluefeather Bow #1 is Done!

Well.
I've finished with all of the rough stuff on my first bow! Tonight I tillered the bow, quite an amusing process, and a learning experience.
A little FYI here. A bow is measured in many ways. Length of the bow is important. But what an archer looks for specifically is called draw weight. Everyone is different, and the draw weight for a bow depends on your arm length. When you pull an arrow back to shoot it, that is your draw length. Mine happens to be 29 inches. So a draw weight for me is measured at 29 inches. Make sense?
When I built this bow I wanted between 30 and 40 pounds at 29 inches. I worked and worked and worked it until it was about 50 pounds at about 12 inches. That would make it way too much at 29 inches, and would probably break the bow. Well, I marked off more areas of the arms to shave down and went to work again, this time really going at them, figuring I had plenty to work with. The next time I checked, the bow was at 33 pounds at 28 inches! In other words, I got lucky.

I finished shaping the handle, made a string for it and finally got to shoot it! I set up a bunch of knocked down cardboard boxes at the other end of the shop and flung my first arrow. After three shots I could put the arrow in a half dollar circle, so it shoots pretty well!

All that's left now is some finish sanding and putting on a finish! I'm going to post some pictures as soon as I find the little cable thingy that connects the camera to the computer.

Anyway, I celebrate another accomplishment... today I am a bowyer!

(And I guess it is pronounced " BOY-er")

More Later