Gluing up a new riser questions

[Doug Treat]

OK, I'm planning to replace my metal (Quinn) riser with a homemade wood riser using my current limbs.  I just got the stuff I ordered from Bingham Projects including: 2 Core-Tuff accent strips, the limb bolt kit, and Smooth-On epoxy.  I have 4 19" ash laminations to glue together with the accent strips.
My questions are:
1. How much epoxy should I mix up for this project/How long do I have to work with it after mixing it up before it hardens?
2. Can I use the same epoxy to glue in the metal limb pins/inserts?
3. My riser laminations are 1 5/8" wide and the accent strips are 2".  Should I glue them together as they are and grind away the excess off the strips later or try to rip them down to 1 5/8" first?
 I guess that's it for now until I think of another question.  Any other advice will be appreciated.  Thanks.

[hova]

yes...


but seriously , someone will be along to help out shortly. id like to see some pics of the old one


-hov

[Bradford]

You will have plenty of time with the smooth on.. it takes 4 hours at 175 degrees to cure the stuff.  So mix a small amount.. maybe a heaving teaspoon of each to start with.  You can always mix a little more.  Since the stuff is not cheap, I don't like to waste it.

You can cut now or cut later.  I would recommend getting everything the same width.. because when you go to glue up and clamp, the pieces can slide up and down.. so it is nice to have everything level so you can see this happen and make corrections.. or even clamp on top as well.

Yep, you can use the epoxy for the pin and inserts.. I have and still are working great a year and a half later.

Make sure you clean everything with acetone first.. make sure everything is roughed up good with 60 grit sand paper.. and you need to cure at a good high temp.  I throw my risers under the fire place during the winter time.. they are cured by morning.  

Estes Park eh.. lucky dog.. I love it there.  We used to live in the Springs.. just moved back to California because of jobs.. sucks!  I miss Colorado.  We vacationed in Estes Park a few years back.. best vacation ever!  After all the kids are gone and I am making bows for a living..(fingers crossed), the wife and I want to move there... ahhhhh dreams!

Have fun!.. post pics.

[Apex Predator]

What Bradford said.  I like everything the same width, so that I can also clamp for the sides on each end.  That way you won't have much, if any, sliding around of the pieces, and will lose minimum width when cleaning up the edges.  How wide do you need your finished riser?  I'm hoping not more than 1 1/2", cause you will lose some of that 1 5/8".

[Doug Treat]

Apex, my current riser is 1 9/16 at the limb pockets.  I will have to be careful not to take too much off the back of the riser when cleaning up.  Actually, now that I think about it, maybe I will just rip up some more lams (I've got more ash that's been laying around for years) @ 2" so that I can just glue it to the 2" accent strips.  Then, I can rip it down to about 1 3/4"on a table saw and run it through the planer to get it thinned down to 1 9/16.  That way if my edges are off a bit when gluing, I could fix it later.  Maybe that would be easier...just thinking/typing out loud here.
Bradford, Estes is great in the summer but really windy and cold this time of year.  We got 42.2 mph winds last night (pretty normal here). Happy Thanksgiving.  Doug

[Bradford]

Yeah... I bet winters are a bit rougher than Colorado Springs.  But still love it.  We were there for the first snow when we came over.  It was awesome.. it was a September.. so the trees where turning, the moose where bugeling... and then a light 2" snow by morning.. that was a great trip.

Have fun with the bow!  I am building 5 one piece recurves at the moment for my kids for christmas.