finally put one in the oven

[Robertfishes]

this is my first one. 58" one piece recurve, cocobolo veneers, actionboo core, cocobolo dymondwood riser, shooting for 50lbs @ 28". will be using black phenolic and cocobolo for limb tips. a big thanks to the Tradgang members who have helped me out over the last 3 months thru e-mails and pm's. I gotta find something better than "cling wrap" to put over my form.

[Dmaxshawn]

Ha It gets easier Robert.  I thought the same the first one I glued up.

Shawn

[Robertfishes]

Shawn, the next one will have walnut veneers, either red elm or boo core, walnut dymondwood riser. not sure about using carbon right now but I do want to build a black and dark gray bow in the next few months..

[Dmaxshawn]

     Come on Robert Lets see it.

[Robertfishes]

I let it cool down for 10 hours and hit the edges with my belt sander and had to pull the tape off of one the belly side limbs just to see what the cocobolo looks like under the glass...

[Robertfishes]

       fresh out of the oven, edge sanded to remove some of the excess glue, tape still on the limbs

[Robertfishes]

 this is a pic of how I made my template, I first traced the pattern on the plywood then followed the mark with the aluminum, then cut out with a router, this was the first time I used a router,compared it to the paper pattern, it came out perfect

[Dmaxshawn]

Looks great Robert.  Cant wait to see the final outcome.

Shawn

[kennym]

Lookin real good Robert!!

[Robertfishes]

thanks guys, got the tip overlays glued on last night, I used black glass, black phenolic and cocobolo dymondwood, got the overlays glued on this morning. this afternoon I sanded the tip overlays down and filed some shallow string grouves,found an old string, strung it up expecting the bow to be a twisted mess...I could not believe it the tiller was 1/16" and just a very very slight twist in the strong limb (easily fixed). I hope to have the riser cut out and shaped by Monday, every thing I have done has been a fight, I even almost got whooped by the "cling wrap" during glue up. took some more pics but my camera battery died..

[Robertfishes]

Had some extra time today, so I got in the shop and started working... got the bow almost done just have to fine tune the grip/riser and spray finish it. I just shot about 20 arrows thru it and I am very happy with it, it 'feels" like the draw weight is very close to the 50 lbs I was going for. I shot the same arrows that I use for my 51 lb Black Widow PSA X and they flew great! after a little fine tuning, I may have to go to a little stiffer spine. I should have this one done by Tuesday night. I have some Walnut veneers and Red Elm Tapers that I got from KennyM that I should have in another bow by next week (if I can get some more Smooth On by then).        

[kennym]

Robert,looks GOOD!!
But it makes your target look like a longhorn,especially the unbraced pic! LOL

[pditto613]

looks good Robert.  Sounds like you have the bug to build now.

[Holm-Made]

You have to be happy with that.  Great job.  I remember my first glue up.  I was wishing I had an extra set of hands or two, I know that! Chad

[Apex Predator]

Great job on that one!

[Robertfishes]

Thanks for the kind words,I'm doing this as a hobby and for therapy... I shot a coat of finish on the bow last night, found a couple of places on the riser that need some more sanding. I think I'll shoot it a couple of days and see if I need to change the grip then sand it down and put 3 new finish coats on.      

[Dmaxshawn]

I like it Robert.  

[Robertfishes]

thanks Shawn, I took it to town to the local bow shop today and if I did it right the draw weight was 55-56 @ 28", I was shooting for 50 @ 28, I pull 26 1/2" and I could tell it was a little stronger than my other bows.  I will shoot it a few days and see how she feels, I will start the Walnut veneer/red elm core bow either tomorrow afternoon or Monday next week. KennyM is sending me some .030 Curly Maple parallels, gonna dye them to match a Cocobolo Dymondwood riser block for my 3rd or 4th bow.