Bow Build Along.......let the fun begin

[initialimage]

You can see that I need to get the outer limbs bending more.  I also have a hinge starting on the left side near the riser.  I need to even that out.  I'll work on the hinge, get the outer limbs bending more and get limbs evened out and then I'll try a low brace height.

[Huntrdfk]

Amazing Jeff, just amazing....thanks for taking us along..


David

[Cutty47]

Great thread...please keep it coming...I know I'm not the only one who has appreciated it...you should think about self-publishing it...it's that good...

[initialimage]

Decided to come back to the shop and work on it some more.  I just braced it.  You really see where to work the limbs once you brace it the first time.  Notice how the string is still touching the limb on the right side.  

 

[initialimage]

I won't be hunting with this bow.  I've been working on the tiller which is a nightmare right now.  Still dealing with a hinge on the left side and can't get the right bending enough yet.  It has also started taking on a lot of set.  I think by the time I'm done it will draw about 25-30#.  It is going to be severely underweight.  After I'm done with this one I'm going to glue up a fiberglass bow so I can get a shooter and put this one behind me.  I'll be working to finish this one out completely and it may just end up a wall hanger.  I wasn't sure if I could pull this bow off or not and I've learned tonight that the answer is "not".  Oh well, I won't lose any sleep over it.  I will most likely only post a couple more times which will deal with tip overlays, shaping and finishing of the riser and staining/sealing the bow.  Thanks for all the complements.

[Tom Leemans]

Think of this bow as a really good teaching tool. When I dreamt up a concept for an ambush bow, the riser area was to be deflexed much like yours but I wasn't going to start the reflex so early in the limb. That bow of yours has got some serious swoop to the limbs! You've no doubt learned a great deal from this project. Can't wait to see your next one.  

[Allan Hundeby]

Originally posted by initialimage:
...Oh well, I won't lose any sleep over it.  

Heh.  No more all-nighters on this project then?

?  Sorry, I don't know much about bow-making, but could you cut off some length off the tips to stiffen it up - and shorten it at the same time?  Then it could at least be used by a smaller person, no?  Or as a "demo/loaner" bow get younger people interested in archery?  


Well, thank you for the journey, anyways - especially the pictures!  I've learned SO much from this visual process.  This thread is now in my bookmarks.

I work at a shop that hand-makes high-end custom-ordered jewellery, and I've had my share of "do-overs".  I tend to get frustrated when that realization comes... mostly when the master smith gives me a sad grin.  He's so patient - always reassuring me that I can chalk it ALL up to experience: "It'll go twice as fast the next time round, Al!"

He's always right, even when I'm a victim of... my own poor planning.  

[John Sturtevant]

Jeff, have enjoyed watching this.
If you want to mess with it, finish the tillering to what ever poundage it will allow……then add a thin belly lam of hedge or bulletwood to bring the weight back up.
Very simple process that it would appear you are very capable of.   All depends on your desire to turn this into a hunting weight bow or not.

[Buemaker]

Very interesting thread. Is the belly lam from laminated Bamboo?  Bue--.

[jchunt4ever]

First off, I just want to say that that is a very awsome looking bow. I have never built a bow, but wish to try someday. I know there are many good books and videos on the subject which I am sure I will review before I actually start, but I am curious about the tillering of a glass bow. I understand the process of tillering an all wood bow, by sanding, cutting, and rasping away belly wood and the sides of the limbs, but this just doesn't seem logical to do on fiberglass. Am I wrong and this is how you do it, or is there another method entirely, or do fiberglass bows just tend to not need much tillering? I am curious.

[initialimage]

Tom...Definitely a learning experience.  Never intended to do this at first but thought what the heck.  I won't use this form for the next one.  I'll go back to my original form for my other glue ups.

Allan...I'm not going to cut the tips off because it's already a 58" bow and I've got a fairly rigid riser.  I should have had my riser shorter with more working limbs.  

John...I thought about gluing another belly lam on but because the bow has already taken on quite a bit of set and I've trapped the limbs I'm going to pass.  My son had a birthday next month so I'm thinking about thinning the riser area a lot and turning it into a bow for him.  Jury's still out.

Buemaker...Yes to your question.  I ended up using what I had for this bow.  I was going to use raw boo and ipe but my ipe was too narrow for my form.  

jchunt4ever...When making a fiberglass bow it almost tillers itself.  It is a much more controlled process.  The main thing to work on is getting the nock grooves lined up correctly so that the limbs pull straight.  I'll post on this thread again when I work on a fiberglass bow so you can see the comparisons.  I hope to get some fiberglass ordered next week and I'll start planning the first glass bow off this form.

I hope everyone has enjoyed this to this point.  As stated above I might turn this bow into a birthday gift for my son.  I tend to learn more from my failures and I feel this bow was exactly that.  I should still be able to turn it into a very nice looking useable bow, but I missed the mark from its original intent.  I hope to finish it up next week(schedule permitting) and I'll probably pick this thread up with a fiberglass bow blank when I get to that point.  It might be interesting to see the comparison of the two bows made off the same form.  Thanks again for looking.

[Sant-Ravenhill]

A great and realistic journey...thanks for letting me come along!

[Lewis Brookshire III]

So what ever happened to this bow? And did you wind up making a glass bow with this form?

[initialimage]

ReviveOurHomes,

I haven't logged on for quite some time and haven't done anything to the bow other than let it collect dust.  I got really busy with work and have been working on merging my company with another one so I've had no time to even think about bows.  I'll be moving my company to Houston which I'm in the process of doing now and hopefully in a couple of months I can get back to bows again.  I'm ready to glue up a fiberglass bow on the form(going to make a slight modification to it) and see how it comes out.  The new shop is located on 25 acres so I will have a ton of room to shoot and setup different targets.  I also will have private hunting land about an hour away so I really want to get on the glass bow sooner than later.  Thanks for the inquiry and I will get back to posting once my professional life settles down.