It's a lengthy interview but very much worth it if you're in your shop just sanding stuff anyway. Many people recognize Joe as an archer but not everyone knows he's also a guilded master bowyer specializing in warbows. His tillering philosophy, especially "being nice to the stave", is very interesting. I also felt seen when he mentions that if we do the same things over and over as bowyers we don't learn anything new.
The cat was eating a spider and I got distracted.
I've tillered about halfway down the tree with temporary nocks that are now gone. I like to do the rest with the bow more or less as it'll be intended. This will be a full compass "warbow" from a Pennsylvania hickory stave.
Ipe/ boo laminate with a stitched leather handle and polished horn nocks. Finished with shellac and Tru Oil.
Raw horn on left vs finished/ polished on right. Horn responds better than most wood to a rasp and will take a finer finish more easily. In other news this one is finished apart from serving the string and stitching on a grip.
You guys might have seen the hickory ELB I posted a few months ago, or not. It was abt 75#at 30 and the new owner has been thrilled. I've since been tasked with creating that bow's upgrade, using the same materials, etc. I cut some tillering grooves into this thing already despite it being *off* and that very small wiggle got over 50#. Going for 95-110. I think this stave will do it if I do it too.
Here’s the next thing underway. It’s an Ipe belly backed with boo and as you can see horn nocks have been roughly fitted for early tillering work. My goal here is to get the boo nice and even by shaving it down as seen. This is no problem with a natural bamboo backing. You can also shave the nodes down with your scraper until they’re little bumps without worry. It’ll eliminate a ton of guesswork as the tiller progresses because the back of the bow will be of an equal strength down its length in tension.
