60" Osage D Bow Build-along (Limb Patching With a Router)

[4est trekker]

This is a sister-stave to a bow I built for my wife a few months back.  However, this one had some terrible laminar cracks, was a very narrow stave, and had a goofy whoop-dee-doo in the end I didn't really want to deal with.  All in all, when I got down below the cracks, cut the goofy end off, and laid a bow out, I wasn't left with much choice but a bend through the handle bow of about 60" tip to tip.  I got it bending on the long string pretty nicely, then I flipped the tips, induced some reflex, and straightened a little crook in one of the tips.  Right now it's about 1 3/16" wide in the handle tapering to just over 3/8" at the tips.  We'll see how it turns out.

Profile:

   

   

   

   


Aligning the tip:

   

[walkabout]

lookin good so far, should be nice if it turns out for ya

[vanillabear?]

[4est trekker]

Been going pretty slow with this bow, which is not my normal mode of operation.  LOTS of heating, bending, aligning, etc.  I've added a belly underlay at the tips to make them static, got the tip overlays put on, got it tillered good to 24" (will be 26" when finished).  However, I ran into a goofy spot in one of the limbs that really required some attention.  In short, it took a pretty severe amount of set.  I decided to do a Dean Torges style patch, although I needed it to be a little longer than his version.  So, I rigged up my plunge router as such with a compass and straight cut carbide bit:

 


I then rigged up a system to clamp my stave in place and provide an elevated bearing surface for my router base plate.  I clamped the stave with just the slightest touch of reflex at the point where it took the undue set.  When I glued the patch in, it forced the limb to take this same reflex, thereby correcting the set.  You can also see that I elevated the pivot point of the compass bearing bit accordingly:

 

 


Next, I routed out the offending portion of the limb:

 


I then moved my router's pivot point out the width of the blade to cut the corresponding arc on the patch.  I glued this quarter sawn piece of osage to the sacrificial surface using super glue.  This allowed my to not use clamps or screws (neither of which would fit).  I simply knocked it loose with a hammer once finished with the cut:

 


The mating surfaces, both exploded and clamped:

 

 

[4est trekker]

Here's how the patch came out.  It's not that pretty, but it did the trick and is tillering just fine through that section.


 

 

[frank bullitt]

Pretty cool Curt!    

Whole lot of work and equipment for that little stick of hedge! Knowing your work, it should look and bend good.

I remember a bow that Gary Davis made years ago. it must of had about 1/2 dozen or so patches in the limbs. Gary is a master at it!

Steve

[Cherry Tree]

looks good! cant wait to see it done!

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Who say's you can't put it back if you take away too much LOL