Self Bow

Four years ago I decided to make a self bow. I cut down two maple saplings to shape into my bows. I split the two pieces in half to make two bow blanks. I decided to work on the smaller blank first.
However, after working on the smaller stave for a time I began to exercise it and heard a small crack. I decided to stop working that bow. After having the two bow blanks in my room for four years I decided once again to work on my bows. Since I had already damaged the smaller bow I began to work the larger bow.

This is w hat the end of the bigger bow blank looked like before I worked it.

This is what the end looks like now, you can see how much material I have removed (I apologize for this and the next few pictures, my camera had decided to stop working well).

Looking at the belly of the bow as it looks now.

You can see from the side profile how the bow was really beginning to look like a real bow.

In the tillering of the bow I was drawing on the bow to see where it wasn't flexing enough and crack. I attribute this to the poor initial quality of the blank, the fact that is was way to dry and in my complete lack of experience in working on this sort of thing. However, I have learned a lot from this and soon I will go out into the woods and cut myself a new sapling. Hopefully, I will be able to post about that if I am successful.