air hose bow form without a top

[Forwardhandle]

I glued up my current bow with the modified form it worked great snuged up the mule tape like Monty sugested every thing looks good !

[monterey]

Yeah that looking real good. 

[Forwardhandle]

I have mentioned this in other threads so I figured I would come back here and up date my form tests so others can avoid the problems ,this glue up with the form resulted in tight glue lines but using the .030 pressure strip is to thin, it allowed the hose to put a slight cupping in the limbs it ended up being a non issue when I narrowed the limbs but for bow 3 coming soon off this form I'm going with a .065 or thicker aluminum pressure strip ,hopefully that will solve the issue !

[monterey]

That's a well timed heads up for me.  I was thinking of going to a soft rubber pressure strip but now I'm going back to an idea that popped into my mind earlier.  I'll show it off when I know if it works.  No point giving Ole Roy any ammo. 

[Forwardhandle]

Well I'm glad I posted then, this form has been a real evolution in solving issues but think bow 3 should have it solved I hope 

[Forwardhandle]

Got the 3rd test bow off the form & the limbs are flat with no issues , I tried the the thicker pressure strip during a dry run & didn't like it ,I didn't have a good feeling with how it was working in the fades , so I thought it out and went back to the .030 pressure strip but added many more straps after pulling the hose down as tight as I could , it almost completely inclosed the hose in a cocoon, it works good now , I think it's putting more even pressure now.

[fujimo]

trying to learn here, but for those of you that have gone the topless route
what is the motivation?
is it to save time and materials, and not have to make a top, or is it for increased versatility with the form?

[Forwardhandle]

I can only speak to why I did it but in hind sight it would have been a lot eaiser & cheaper to build the topped form but I wanted a form where I could exsperment with one peace riser design, but if I knew what I know now it would be easy to
make another , Im just posting to save others time & trouble or maybe somebody will find something else that I missed but I have to say I really like it now the bugs are out !

[Garman]

I thought about making one for youth bows (straight/flat hill style) that way you could do several sizes. One thing that has stopped me has been that the form with a top appears to give you the ability to see glue lines much easier while adding air pressure.

[Forwardhandle]

I use the zip tie method  prior to the straps so no worries about the limbs or riser slipping & I air up incrementally also you can still see between the posts you could probably make a strait form of one of these in under 2 hrs you could just wrap around the form no need for posts, at one point I was almost going to cut dado channels every in. or so on the botom of the form and wrap around the form it would have worked but it would have used a lot more mule tape but with a strait form not that much ,Im going to eventualy make one for a HH bow that way !

[monterey]

trying to learn here, but for those of you that have gone the topless route
what is the motivation?
is it to save time and materials, and not have to make a top, or is it for increased versatility with the form?

For me, it is the versatility.  I had three ASL forms with tops that I could see would be more versatile in the the length and shaping of the riser.  I had been using rubber bands on several forms but using the topless air hose is far simpler, faster and gives better glue lines.  At this point I have four topless ASL forms and will convert my RD form before the next layup.

My work areas are all unheated so this is the time of year to mess with forms which I will be doing for the next couple months. 

[garyschuler]

Why not just drill 2” holes in the form and use clamps with a rubber backed backed pressure strips. I use old belting for my pads with a .030” S.S. Pressure strip. I glue the belting to the strip.
You can adjust  pressure where you need it.
They built a lot of bows this way in the past and it is a time proven method that is still used by many Bowyers still.

[stretch2]

thanks for posting this all the info was great

[Mark R]

I think its a versatile way to experiment with different riser shapes and lengths, when you find what you like you can just make a top form for it, and or still experiment with other riser designs if you like.

[Forwardhandle]

I think a big plus for this form would be for guys that make the ASL type  bows with varying riser lengths, for me Im a fixed center just can change riser depth and shape !

[buddyb]

Gary I used to use clamps and a rubber strip but once I tried the fire hose method I'll probably never go back to clamps.