My problem was patience, poor designs, and not yet knowing how to read the wood very well. Id try to tiller to fast and did the see-saw thing. Too much on one side, then to much on the other, etc. etc. Till I either had a bow much weaker than I wanted or developed a hinge. I guess i lied a bit about breaking my first bows. My very first bow came out ok. It was intended on being a 70 inch read oak/hickory bow in the 45-50# range. By the time I was done, I had to cut it down to 60 inches and ended up with a 20# @ 20". I see-saw tillered, making it waylight, so I cut it down and turned it into a kids bow. My kids liked it.