Asymmetric Bamboo back and Belly trilam

[Powder]

Forward handle, 16 inch riser, upper limb two inches longer than lower.

1 1/4 at fades, 68 inches NtN, 57 lbs at 28 inches.

Smooth, fast, quiet, and no shock.

First time trying bamboo belly... Definetly going to do it again,

[Powder]

Sorry for the repeat pics. (Old man yells at computer)

[mmattockx]

Sorry for the repeat pics. (Old man yells at computer)

You can go in and edit the post to delete the extra pics.

Very nice work, that's stout for a natural material belly and narrow width.


Mark

[simk]

cool bow sir! bamboo belly/back is on my list for a while now. However the glueing process seems a little more compliceted, a few problems to solve for me with the rounded belly. does not work in my clamping. what I hear ist that not many woods can challenge boo in compression. Did you taper the midlam, roasted the belly? cheers

Edit: one more beginners question. I make most of my bows symmetrical, installing a 3-8mm positive tiller (One to three 1/8"). when I make one limb a little shorter I only tiller mininmal positive. How do you do? Do you have positive tiller? I'd be interested in thoughts.

[Powder]

@ simk

(Bear in mind I am just an enthusiastic ametuer)

Core was tapered in a belt sander. I eyeballed it... Nothing scientific.

I toasted the living sh!t out of the belly. Used a basic heat gun holding jig and moved it every 30 seconds. Went back by hand and evened up the color.

I clamped the riser onto a block, rubber banded (inner tubes) the lams, propped the tips up higher than the riser, then brought mid limb back down to the neutral plane with clamps. My belly was flat when all was said and done.

I glued the core to the belly first, then riser, short lam, and back separate. (I call it a tri lam because there are three main lams in the working limbs. However, there is a VERY thin and tapered lam in the center, 24 inches long, that I use in this kinda build to help ease the belly, core and back together at the end of the fades).

I shoot three under, so I normally do minimal positive tiller. This on is almost dead nuts even.

Also, boo seems to be stubborn to change via scraping... prepare for a longer tillering session.

Meadowlark Adventure Gear is a youtube channel and online store. He got me on this type of build and is a wealth of knowledge. He also answers phone questions, and will take time to help.

[wood carver 2]

Nice bow. It would make a great moose killer.
I build my bows with bamboo back and belly too. Main difference is that I “ toast “ the belly with a propane torch until it’s black. That’s the way I learned to do it, but it also looks really good under finish.

The one on the right is one of my oldest, and although it has taken a weird set, I tend to shoot my best with it. After more than ten years, it still draws around 60#.

This is how dark I get the belly.
Dave.

[Powder]

I like that wall rack... I tend to just use a few 1x2's of cherry... Never thought of something like that. Looks nice...

I'll try the propane torch on the next one.

Appreciat the feedback!

[wood carver 2]

The bow rack is a piece of pacific yew sent to me by a fellow Trad Gang member.
Here’s a picture of some bows that shows how I thin the belly lam to help it around the curve of the riser. I want to try heat or hot water bending to see if it works better.

If heat makes the bamboo bend more easily, my next bow will be a recurve. 😬🤞🤞🤞
Dave.

[Powder]

I know steam works so long as the rind and nodes are still intact.

[wooddamon1]

Nice bows, guys!