Help With First Fiberglass Laminated Bow

[DavidWood]

Hey Folks,
I've been observing this site for a while and just joined today.  I have some beautiful bows posted on here.  I have made a few self bows over the past couple of years and in the next couple of months over the winter I would like to make my first fiberglass laminated bow.  I'm a fan of the simple flatbow in the style of Howard Hill.  I usually draw to at least 28" but have on occasion drawn up to 30" So I want to make one 68" long.  When people say 68" long are they referring to overall length or from nock to nock?  I will probably buy all my supplies from Bingham Projects.  I will probably use two parallel and two tapered lams and .050" glass on back and belly.  I plan on using action boo for limbs and purpleheart for 18" riser.  My question is recomended width and what thickness of lams should I order.  In Ontario bows must be at least 49#@27" for bear or moose so I would like to be in that neighbourhood.  Probably about 52#@28"  In case anyone is wondering, I'll probably use black glass since I like hunting out of a ground blind.  I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between the BoTuff UL glass and ULS glass with scrim.  Which is actually better?  I was also trying to decide whether to use B50 string or fastflight.  I shot bows with fastflight and have noticed the difference but have never actually had one with it.  What would you guys use for tips to make it fast flight compatible.  Keep in mind, I'm also a simple elegance kind of person.  Thanks in advance for any help that you guys could give.

[NYArrow]

I'm by no means a veteran here....but can answer a few questions. As for your bow lamination stack others will chime in based on their experience. I'm in the middle of my 1st glass bow and it's presently 66" and 57lbs @28". This is with a .450 stack of .07 tapered actionwood lams (taper of .001 ea.) and a back and belly black glass of .050. My present weight is measured without trapping or rounding my limbs at all. So imagine a very raw, straight from the bow form set of limbs. In my opinion a stack like this will get you close to what you want, if you plan on trapping the limbs a bit.
As for fastflight vs b-50....in order to use fastflight you need reinforced tips with horn, antler, phenolic or etc. Simple wood tips are not supposed to be rated for the stress of a fast flight string. Fastflight is thinner and stronger thus creating more stress on the limbs/tips. Contrarily, many folks here have stated they use fastflight without reinforced tips.
Best of luck and hope to see the progress!

[onemississipp]

It is from nock to nock, you pretty much described the flat bow on bring ham projects site. Their is also a chart on their site with the stack.

Ff capable you can use scrape pieces of glass, horn, ect..

[LittleBen]

balck phenolic looks nice with black glass ... i'm a sucker for phenolic ever since I discovered it this year.

[monterey]

I would suggest that for your first turn around the track that you just go ahead and build the Bingham flat bow.  It's not really a Hill design but certainly qualifys as "American Flatbow".  Just pick your desired weight and order it in the kit form your first time around.  

Once you build one of these you have a solid base for going off in different directions.  

UL vs ULS?  The ULS has more torsional or side flex stability.  You don't need ULS for a flat bow.  I have used it on occasion and found no advantage in this type of bow.

I risk the castigation of the Hill bow shooters, but will say that I think the basic Bingham design, when built to their specs, is a much more pleasant bow to shoot.  Especially if you narrow the tips just a bit more than the bingham design.

[jsweka]

Bingham's is a good way to go for your first one.  Their instructional materials are great and with one of their "kits", you will end up with a shootable bow close to your intended draw weight if you stick to their plans.  After you built a couple you can then venture out with your own design ideas.

[Dale in Pa]

OK guys ,correct me if I'm wrong,but isn't all colored glass ULS. Thought they came out with UL glass to make a clearer clear.

I've had problems with limb glass splitting when using UL clear.

[jess stuart]

I asked someone at Binghams about the UL vs the ULS once.  I he told me the UL is a clearer and the purpose of the scrim to help with the glass splitting around limb bolt holes and the like.  He said it would not help with torsional stability but, uniweft would. Yes I think all of the colored glass that at least Binghams carries is ULS.