Bingham Take Down Recurve Tools

[prognastat]

Hi I am a first timer and I would like to get the bingham take-down recurve kit and follow it.

I was just hoping someone else who has done so before might be able to tell me what kind of tools and materials they used outside what is supplied in their kit.

I am looking for this information so I can check which tools I have and what I will need to buy so I can get a good estimate of cost before actually purchasing the kit.

[Al Dean]

The extra tools I bought before my fist take down were a rigid combination spindle/belt sander, a Craftsman 10" band saw, and a craftsman bench top drill press. $400 to $500 total.

[Al Dean]

Also plywood and glue and screws for hot box.

[prognastat]

Thanks for the information. I'm assuming you bought new, I've been looking around and the best advise for a beginner seems to be to get used tools in good shape to save a decent bit.

And what size drill press would you advise being a minimum requirement?

Another thing I've read/seen people do is make a drum sander attachment for their drill press so they don't need to get a spindle sander, but other people say this could possibly damage/unalign the drill press due to the lateral forces involved.

Is this something that could be done or I really should avoid due to significant risk?

[Al Dean]

With some patience you can find the tools new on sale at real savings.

[M.Kerry Bird]

I would start with a 1 piece first to get the feel of things. The bingams 1 piece has exceptional performance and is easy to build. Takedowns can be a little tricky for a first bow.  Research limb drilling methods. The bingams jig is close to worthless. A used craftsman bandsaw is pretty easy to find for less than $100 and a good belt sander and hand rasp will take care of the rest.

[LittleBen]

I agree with M.Kerry on the takedown vs. one piece.

I haven't built bingham's bow in either style, or a glass bow at all. But I'va mde many one-piece and takedown bows all wood. I can say for sure that the limb drilling and alignment can be a bear.

Unless you really absolutely need a takedown i also recommend starting with a one-piece bow.

[RidgeRat]

Al Dean has it right on the power tools you would need to make it a bit easier. Me and my son just build one. A Bingham take down. Osage on the riser and the kit wood with black glass belly and back.  I had the kit for a while and my some who was home from college kept nagging me that he wanted to build it. I ain't no carpenter, rough stuff OK. But we followed the instructions and it came out very good. Came in at about 54# @ 28". It was 68" long. I chose the take down because i did did not want to build a 7' hot box and have it sitting around the garage. We actually took a cubby in my garages shelving
And enclosed it which accepted the lights and press just right. Some of the bow builders at our local club said you could skip the hot box, it just takes longer for the glue to cure. We had to make some adjustments as we went along. Take your time drilling the hardware bolt holes and get them straight. Also, make sure that the press is smooth and even. Square wild be the carpenter word. Any twist in your limbs will give you a little fit when tillering. I would have cut the limbs a touch smaller in width. I was looking for a 50# bow. You can only take so much off the glass as you sand it. I wound up trapping the limbs along the working part of the limbs which knocked it down from 58# to 54#'s. good enough for the first time and as we typically shoot 50-55# bows regularly this was not an issue. Pick up some cheap rasps at your local hardware store. A lot of the work will be sanding and the belt/disk sander we bought worked well even for a cheap one. I used spray gloss polyurethane and put 3 coats on. It came out factory. Used a small junk tarp and made a little paint booth in our garage. Took a bit to dry as its very humid in Florida this time of year. Moved everything into the house between coats and it came out great. But in the end could it shoot?  Yes, yes it does.  My son shot it in a few local competitions and he did very well. It's shot straight once we got the right arrows.  Total time for the entire build for us 80 hours +/- .

[Dan Bonner]

Where in TX are you? I have a tabletop drill press that I made a bunch of bows with that I no longer use. If you are close to Houston you can come get it. If not pay the freight and its yours. It's kinda heavy and the freight may be more than its worth if you are too far away however.

Bonner

[RidgeRat]

Also, the drilling jig they send you with the kit worked fine.  The trick will be squaring it up on your drill press which we used and shimmed it straight. When you watch the video they send you, the guy working on the riser took it and drilled it with an electric hand drill, bam, done.  He didn't take a lot of time messing around, just drilled it.  Of course he probably has build 1000 of them.  We were a bit more cautious. It's important to drill all the holes straight and square, but if your off a tiny bit, it will still shoot.

Important tips:
1. Make sure your press surface is square.
2. Use enough glue.  Follow their directions.
3. Drill your holes straight, square and centered.
4. I would use another layer of phenolic on the tips in addition to what the kit came with. You could use a piece of the riser which will get cut in some spots.
5. Be careful sanding the limbs and thinning out the glass to much. Trapping the working edges will work.
6. Make sure your press comes together to squeeze the LI bs together.  You will get a lot of glue squeezing out. You can take that off once the dry with a belt sander. Better more then less.
7. Don't be in a rush. We took so long because we are dummies and we would lay it out and think about the process before we started glueing or cutting.

[M.Kerry Bird]

If your only planning on making a few, I wouldn't waste your time on the hotbox. Smooth on stated that the glue reaches the same strength in 24 hrs at room temp as it does cooking it. I have built many bows both ways and can't tell a difference. If your set on a takedown I'll sell you my lightly used drilling jig cheap.

[prognastat]

Reason for the take down was mostly a combination of space saving on both the hotbox and bow form in my garage and also saving space when storing the bow. I am planning on making at least 2-3 and depending on how much I enjoy it possibly more.

Also I like the idea of being able to make multiple separate risers and limbs and posibly experiment a little with what works better and what doesn't. Also if part of it breaks the whole bow isn't scrap or am I incorrect on this?

Definitely appreciate the offer, I am in Austin, so not that far, but with current gas prices it would likely run me $50 for the trip with the car. Not sure if shipping it would be more or less than that. How much does it weigh?