New to laminate bow making...intial costs??

[BassBow]

Hey there friends,

I am considering taking the plunge and buying a Bingham bow kit. The straight limbed 68" bow kit. I am saving my pennies and want to know after I purchase the kit, what other cost will I encounter and what are the essential power tools needed to make a longbow.

Sam, from Poor Folks Bows made a hot bow from foam insulation. Initially, I might make my first box this way to waive some of the cost. Aside from that, I really have no idea. I know I'll need plenty of clamps etc...

What essential  tools and costs will I be looking at. Band saw? Belt sander??

Thanks in advance!

[eflanders]

I'll take a stab at this question but it is a hard one to answer...
If you buy a kit or even all of the components from a vendor, you will not need more than a rasp and a card scraper at a minimum.  If you plan to make your own lams then the power tools that could all be used are: oscillating spindle sander, horizontal belt sander, band saw, planer, thickness sander, jointer, table saw and more.  If you took a good look at Roy's or Kenny M's shop you can see what I am talking about.  I think most guys will say a decent 14" band saw is the first power tool to get followed closely by a belt sander.  Lots of clamps are not needed as there are other less expensive alternatives.

[macbow]

With fibre glass bows you can do a lot  with a less expensive spindle sander with heavy grit and medium grit.
Glass is hard on saw,blades so using a,heavy grit sander is better than a band saw.
Even risers can be glued up straight and the spindle sander works well.

This is for the straight limbed longbow.
If you move to R/D longbows then you'll need a more elaborate form maybe including the hose,style clamping system.

[macbow]

One more thing to say.
Maybe find a new friend with a shop and work a deal to make a,couple of,bows to see,what you think of it.

[Mad Dog]

Bassbow, I'm a newbie and I just took the plunge and made a kennym fiberglass r/d longbow kit. Kenny's great answering questions, nice easy to use pattern and great products. He had everything but the firehose i believe. I agree with macbow, i used a cheap harbor freight spindle sander and a cheap delta disc/belt combo sander to do 90% of the bow work. I used a bandsaw to cut out the riser and form, and trimmed the form flush with a router with template bit. I used coarse emery cloth and a long block of wood to sqare things up. I didn't make it perfect but, it's a shooter, which is all I wanted. Now I'm thinking BBO is in my future.

[BassBow]

Ok. It seems like the bandsaw and spindle sander are the most used. I figured as much. Thanks gents!

Does Kenny sell kit type set ups for new bowyers? Are they comparable in price to Bingham? Aways willing to support a sponsor.

[macbow]

I haven't compared cost but bet Kenny is a little cheaper.

[eflanders]

Rigid makes a combination spindle / belt sander that is pretty popular with part-time bowyers.  This is the belt sander I was referring to in my previous post.