BBO with recurve tips

[recurvericky]

I will be building a BBO bow for my daughter and she would like recurve tips. All my experience in bow building is with glass lamination. I have read a lot of information on inducing recurve into a stave and/or slats by using a heat gun. My question is how easy is it to glue on the bamboo backing once the recurve is enduced into the slat? Will the bamboo bend without splintering?

[Bruce Martin]

I built such a bow a couple of years ago and it worked great. I flattened and tapered the bamboo as you would for any backing, thinning with a block plane or belt sander to 1/16 inch or less at the edges. I tapered the osage slat to 3/8 inch thick (top to bottom)  from 5/8 or more at the handle, so a more severe taper than might be needed for a mild r/d. I only used heat to bend the osage before glueing up the bamboo on the slat (this was a r/d with a near static recurved tips the last 6-7 inches). And I only used heat on the recurved tips, nowhere else. Then I buttered up the bamboo and osage with Urac 185 and clamped the bamboo to the osage on the form, just using c-clamps, but a clamp every inch or so.

[Roy from Pa]

I do it with a heat gun before glue up. This tip isn't recurved very much, but you can go more.

 

 

 

[recurvericky]

I am trying to view a build along on a BBO with static stips "Bamboo backed static build along", but I am not able to view it. Can anyone help me with this?

[Bowjunkie]

Get Dean Torges' DVD... Hunting the Bamboo Backed Bow... it's all in there. That video is a wealth of info. I don't know why folks would choose to go without it.

BTW, the bamboo backing piece is glued onto the core wood the same time that the 'shims' are inserted/glued into the kerfs of the outer limbs. It's easy.

Here's one I made with bamboo and yew.

 

[Bowjunkie]

One of osage with less-pronounced recurves...

 

[recurvericky]

Nice looking bows Bowjunkie.