The $10 ELB board bow

[bjansen]

I just got this finished today.  I took a few pics along the way.  This was an experiment that actually worked.  I had a 1 inch piece of walnut and a 1.25 inch piece of hard maple left over that i was going to throw away and thought I might as well try to make a bow out of it.  I also had a piece of mesquite I bought for $3 which (i was going to try to use for a riser but thought it may look good on this bow to beef up the handle as it would have been so small without it).  

So the $3 mesquite, $3 worth of epoxy, $2 worth of finish and $2 in string material/arrow shelf... i ended up with a half decent bow..I never tried an ELB before so this was a good experiment.

First I glued those two scraps and tried to give is a bit of R/D..(it took quite a bit of set regardless but worth a try).

 

[bjansen]

Now unclamped you can see the ever so slight R/D...but like I said it didnt matter in the finished product

 

[bjansen]

I glued on that mesquite to beef up the handle a little

 

[bjansen]

After i sanded that smooth I also did this to the front and back as well

Here is a pic of it rough sanded

 

[bjansen]

Had the camera in the house...so we missed all the work but I also added mesq. tip overlays and tillered it down to a very skinny, almost entirely round bow.  This was the first time I used Thunderbird as well, so I sanded it to 220, applied 3 coats of TB with a brush (waiting 1- 2 days in between and sanding with 320 ist coat, then 400 second and 3rd.  Followed up with 0000 steel wool and 2 coats of paste wax...then buffed it out.  I am very happy with the ease of sandign on the TB..This is a decent finish even without getting out the spray equipment.  

 

[bjansen]

[bjansen]

[bjansen]

Havent had it on the scale, but I am assuming 58# @28.  


 

[Rich Evans]

nice bow, I like the contrasting woods.

[Diamondback59]

turned out nice  brad !!!  brock

[Lost Arra]

How long is it?

[bjansen]

68" n to n

[Chuck Hoopes]

Nice job, Iam lik'n it. Whats it shoot like? Iam guessing slow, stable, and consistent.--just how I like em.

[bjansen]

Thank you...Its shoots pretty decent actually..but overall as you guessed...The draw weight is fairly heavy compared to my others...so the speed is not too bad (compared to what i am used to with the same arrows)...it is very lightweight and has very little handshock....but take the string off and it has considerable string follow..(beign so skinny with those woods).

[soopernate]

Tiller seems a little funny lookin to me...hmmmmgood job though

[SoNevada Archer]

Looks great! Have fun with it!