Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: JGR1269 on March 11, 2024, 12:06:07 PM
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I haven’t done a build-along in a while so since I have a lot of time on my hands now, here we go. This will be one of my short, as Kenny would say,“coat hanger” longbows. The specs are 54” / 43#@28”. My 26.5” - 27” draw should put me right around my 40# target weight. This will be a two-piece version so I will I-beam the riser with a piece of 1/4” G10.
I sliced up a piece of Katalox and ran it through my drum sander. After gluing and clamping it’s off to the heat box to cure. While it’s curing I’ll start grinding the Bamboo limb cores and prep the glass.
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Yes! I need something else to obsessively check in on :clapper:
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I changed my mind on limb cores for this one. I’m going with Olive Green glass so I want the cores dark like the riser wood. I had some Black Walnut so I got the cores ground to size and scarf jointed. Tomorrow I’ll get the glass laid out and the riser cut and shaped to fit the form.
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54" and Longbow don't go together :banghead:
54" Short/longbow :thumbsup: :bigsmyl:
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What 2-piece system will you be using?
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As above, 54” is not lb… except for vertically limited people. 65” at least…😉
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This will be a fiberglass sleeve two-piece.
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Looking good Jon !! I like walnut lams too, seems like a quiet bow , I have to add a couple lbs to stack to make weight "usually"
Slong bows work, bro took a kids bow (that I hated profile) home and shot it a couple years back,decided to hunt with it and killed 2 bucks that fall.
42@28 , 500 grain arrow with a VPA 3 blade 200 up front. One arrow fell out ten feet from the hit and the other stuck in dirt. They work! :thumbsup:
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Using walnut lams definitely creates a limb with lighter mass weight and gives the bow potential for higher performance….. but…. This wood can vary dramatically in deflection strength depending on grain configuration and density. I have, and I use a lot of black walnut, and there is a lot of difference between flat wild grain material and straight vertical gran stuff. Branch wood vs trunk milled out of the same tree can give you totally different characteristics in density, deflection, and even compression.
1/4 sawn vertical grain walnut lams and wedges with tight grain can make great core materials.
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Nothing wrong with that Kenny. I plan on putting this one to work this fall.
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I glued up a pair of tip wedges with a piece of Katalox and a piece of white Core-Flex. I’m running a strip of white Core-Flex in my stack so the dark tip wedge will be sandwiched in between two layers of white.
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I cut the arc on the belly of the riser and shaped on my spindle sander with a rub collar setup it to match the curve on my form. Then, I glued it up with a strip of Olive Green glass, a strip of Black Walnut, and a strip of White Core-Flex. When finished the Core-Flex will look like it splits at the fade-outs and runs through the riser.
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I also cut and glued up my tip overlays with alternating pieces of black/white/black glass and a piece of Katalox on top. Forgot to get pics of them but everything is in the heat box curing.
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nice setup :thumbsup:
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Thanks Mark. I’d like to have all the fancy tools but I just don’t have the space. I work out of a tiny 10’x12’ shop I built in the back corner of my garage.
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I was able to get the riser cleaned up, marked out, and shaped with the back profile jig.
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Do you finish your fades on the template or separate.
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I usually get them where I like them on the template. If not I’ll finish them up on the spindle sander or by hand. I have my template set up so I can slide a piece of bamboo lam cut-off behind the tip of the fade and grind it paper thin. That way the piece of bamboo takes the damage instead of the template .
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:thumbsup:
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This morning I got the tip wedges ground and the tip overlay block shaped. I’ll split it in half when I’m ready to install them. I run .001 taper on these bows so I have a 22” long .001 taper template I clamp on the form to check the fit. Everything looks good to move forward with the glue-up.
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What are the spec. on the tip wedges?? :)
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.060 x 4 3/4”
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All glued and in the oven.
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.060 x 4 3/4”
.060 to zero in 4-3/4" ?
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Correct
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Using that short of tip wedge how do you control the exact location on either end?
I mill all my tip wedges at 8” length from .060 to nothing. But….i typically cut an inch or so off the end of the limb coming out of the form. Using shorty TW’s like that is something I’ve never seen before….
I like the way you did your riser fades…. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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I built this one last week in the same specs.
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I got the belly side of the riser and back overlays glued on yesterday. This morning I got one side squared up and ran it through my drum sander. I threw a string on it to see how my tiller was out of the box and everything looks good. Next week I’ll go to work on the two-piece process.
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Where can I get a set of those hooks for pre profile tiller checking?
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Those were some type of hooks for wire shelf hanging. I found them over on the auction site.
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Coming along nicely :jumper:
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what spindle sander do you have and where did you get the rub collar?
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It’s a Grizzly GO538. I removed the belt so it doesn’t oscillate. I use the 2” drum and built the rub collar with a 2 1/8” bearing with a 1/2” center hole that slides on the drum shaft. This is probably the best and most used piece of equipment I’ve ever purchased. I bought another one a couple years ago but this thing won’t die so it’s still in the box.
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I got the grip cut and the sides routed out to where I want them before I split it. I also routed in the shelf while it was in the jig. I glued on a couple pieces of scrap for stops so it sits in the jig the same way when I wrap the fiberglass. I’ll also use these scrap pieces as a guide when I grind the fiberglass off the back of the riser. Once I grind through the bamboo I’m back to my finish overlay and won’t go any further. After squaring up the end of the tenon I glued on a piece of 1/8” black fiberglass to finish it off and to replace the material I removed while cutting and squaring it. It’s ready for several applications of mold release before I start the fiberglass wrapping process.
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Makin it look easy!! Awesome work! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Am i supposed to be paying for this class? Learning a lot by lookin
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Thanks Kenny. I screwed up the easy part by putting the white Core-Flex on the belly instead of the back during glue-up. All of my other forms have the back side down but I put the belly side down on this model.
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Last night I applied a couple coats of mold release so it could dry overnight. This morning I got it mounted in the jig and wrapped the socket. I didn’t get a picture of this process but I also wrapped it with plastic so I could work out the air pockets and add a little shape to the socket.
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Roughed in the grip, checked tiller and pulled it back apart.
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Really clean looking. What's your acceptable thickness for the walls of the socket
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WOW - I am absolutely in awe of that whole process and the craftsmanship !! :clapper:
Just one question - do you use the same shop cleaning service as Beu?
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Before I build a bow.
(https://i.imgur.com/pst2pjL.jpg)
After building a bow :goldtooth:
(https://i.imgur.com/6JwJFO3.jpg)
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Both takedowns I have done are 40-45 pound bows so I guess socket thickness would depend on poundage. I’d like to know how much more I could take off but I really don’t want to risk breaking it to find out.
As far as a clean shop, if there’s an upside to a small workspace it’s how easy it is to keep it clean.
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I glued on tip overlays to dry overnight. This morning I rough them in and strung it up. Tiller is right where I want it and some minor block sanding trued up the limbs. I finished out my overlays and got the sand scratches smoothed out. I mixed up some clear epoxy and brushed on a coat to dry. Probably will need another coat or two on the grip to fill in any voids.
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Well…. It looks like it came apart ok… hopefully it holds up well…
I hate building two piece bows myself, and never have tried that fiberglass wrapped style of doing it…I’ve always used the brass and steel sleeves myself.
good luck on longevity my friend. Looking good so far. :clapper: Kirk
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Thanks Kirk.
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Is the clear epoxy just because its a take down? Or is this something to be done to all risers? Thanks.
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I do it on all of my risers to fill in the grain. I end up sanding most of it back off but the amount that soaks in makes the finishing portion of the build go quicker. There are a lot of pinholes and voids on the fiberglass socket so the epoxy takes care of them.
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Ok that makes sense. Any particular epoxy you use?
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I use (Hysol) Loctite 0151 clear epoxy. It’s similar to Smooth-On only slightly thinner viscosity. I worked for Loctite and manufactured the stuff many years ago. I’ve used Smooth-On but you need to thin it down to put a thin coat on.
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I sprayed a couple coats of finish on and put the bow in my heat cabinet to dry. I’ll wet sand and continue the process until I feel it’s ready for a final coat of matte finish. Once that has cured I’ll mask off and apply the final black finish on the grip.
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Sweet!!
I sprayed some texture paint on my current hunting bow(only bow I shoot) then black. Thought about some spray bedliner just to try it...
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I like the way that looks with the green glass…. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Nice work! :clapper:
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I applied another coat of sealer and wet sanded with 400 grit. I didn’t get too carried away with the grip finish on this one so I masked the outline and sprayed on a final coat of black. When that was dry I unmasked and gave it a final inspection. Everything looked good so I sprayed on a couple coats of matte clear over the whole bow and hung it in the heat box to dry.
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Pretty much a wrap on this build. I’ll post a picture of it strung after the finish cures for a while.
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Damn this was fun to watch. This bow is exactly how i like a bow to look excited to see strung photos and where it starts to stack
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It’s funny you mention this. I just built two identical bows spec wise. The first is an Osage riser with bamboo cores, .040 black glass, and a 4 3/4” tip wedge. This bow has black walnut cores with a strip of Core-Flex, .040 green glass and a 4 3/4” tip wedge. The Osage bow was .265 (46@28) and the green bow has .263 (40@28) The Osage bow starts stacking hard between 27-28” but the other draws smoothly out past 28”. I purposely reduced the stack slightly because of the Core-Flex and the extra glue line. I was shooting for 43-45@28 but it’s off more than I expected and the only thing I can figure is the difference between core woods.
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Walnut seems to come in lighter than actionboo by 3ish lbs for me, but the stacking thing , no idea... :dunno:
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Surprised I even found this thread about some testing...
https://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/index.php?topic=143549.msg2519680#msg2519680
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I was hoping you’d chime in Kenny. I figured you’d have some explanation.
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I have a big piece of Spanish Cedar I was thinking of cutting for limb cores. I suspect I’ll come in under weight as with the Walnut.
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I’ve never used that but if it’s anything like western cedar I’m bettin you will too !
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It turned out really nice JGR :clapper: :thumbsup:
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Thank you