Final Working When all the heating, straightening, and bending is done, now's the time to get down to the nitty-gritty of finishing your project. With rasp in hand, approach the bow cautiously. You're going to carefully remove wood to the final size—very slowly, so as not to overdo it. Remember, it can't be put back. Usually, but not always, the grip will need no further work. If, however, it was left oversized, for the purpose of straightening or whatever, start there. Work it down till you have what you want. Don't just jump in and start filing away, though, but look it over from all sides and remove wood so that things stay uniform. Final shaping and bending (tillering) should be done cautiously, slowly, bit by bit. I work one limb at a time, rasping or scraping gently with a steel blade held at an angle of 90° (plus or minus) to the belly of the limb. I sweep the entire length, from grip to tip. The thickness getting
thinner,
the farther
out toward
of the limb should
be
the tip you go. This is a must!
Also, I've found that some students read or hear me say that the belly needs to be flat the entire length of the limb—and rightly so. But don't misinterpret this to mean that you can ignore the shape of the bow's back. If the back sways south, so goes the belly. The final limb may appear like a rough road, but it must match
the back
in
thickness.
Bend the bow to test it, by placing the tip on the ground and applying backward pressure at the grip. Watch the bending. You don't want to see any one area bending. If you do, it means that excess stress is being placed there, so you must remove material from areas above, below, or both to even out the bend. Most every time it'll be visually apparent that areas are thicker or thinner, simply by looking from the side. Running your hand down the limb, thumb on the belly and fingers on the back, will often feel thicker or thinner areas. Take your time. All material is to be removed from the belly. Leave the back (one growth ring) alone! D o the other limb till it looks and feels the same. Many times, that's all I need to do to now string the bow. The last few paragraphs won't take but a minute to read, but, in the doing, expect to spend the better part of a day to do things right. Remember that, when finishing, you're going to remove any scorched areas (except from the back; if you have scorched here, it'd be best to
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Ultimate Guide to Wilderness Living