Glue Up Last Night-Now Rough Cut

[gudspelr]

Well, I finally did it.  Figured if I waited for a free day, I'd be waiting way too long, so after the boys went to bed last night, I headed to the garage.  I watched the glue up portion of a video I have for the 4th time, made sure I had all my stuff, and did my last dry run.


 


Then came the glueing....apparently I suck at it.  Anyone else not a huge fan of smooth-on?  I mean, it appeared to work great, pretty sure "operator error" would be the appropriate term.  I didn't stop to take pictures (fairly certain the camera would have stuck to me), but I can assure you I was nervous about getting a dry spot, thus I ended up with a LOT of glue between lams.       I finished up, put the clamps to it, and got it in the oven.


 


I set my alarm and went to bed.  Still haven't looked at it yet, but for some reason I'm not too at ease with what might be waiting for me...  Anyway, I wanted to share with you all since I learned a lot from so many of your posts, buildalongs, and advice.  Oh, and Josh-good call on mixing the glue in 2 batches-thanks for the help.  Hope you all have a great weekend.


Jeremy

[walkabout]

hope it turns out well for ya.i havent yet attacked a lam bow because im not certain that my first one wouldnt end up scrap,lol. from what i know alot of glue doesnt hurt, alot of people use"too much" just to ensure good adhesion, and it will help to ensure there are no gaps. dont get discouraged though,the first time doing anything can be daunting, especially when its something as critical as gluing up lams.if youve watched the videos and followed the steps you may very well open up the box and have a prefectly good bow waiting for you

[Innocente]

hey your box looks identical to mine, man.  i just baked my first laminate, and i had the exact same sensation "jeez this thing's gonna be a twisted piece of glued up junk when i pull it outta the oven".  i was baffled to pull out a really great piece, and after shaping i was astounded to hold the best bow i ever made.  

yer form looks really good.  you are obviously a careful craftsman.  i suspect you will be pleasantly suprised when you crack open your oven.

please post pics when ya can!

[gudspelr]

Thanks for the encouragement.  Innocente-wish I could take credit for the hot box and form, but I was REALLY lucky to have a buddy who'd already built bows several years back and still had his stuff.  Just did my best not to mess up his gear...  Darned near time to go out and start taking everything apart and see what the wee hours of last night produced.  I'll be sure and take pics either way it goes.  Guess if it sucks, at least it'll be a learning experience   :rolleyes:

[Robertfishes]

I use vinyl gloves during glue ups, I usually go thru 10 pair..as soon as I get smooth on on a glove it comes off and a new one goes on..a box of 100 gloves only costs about $5 at Harbour Freight, worth every penny for me

[Innocente]

my failures >>> my successes.  and i hate to say it, but i've learned tons more from my failures than my successes.  

idaho eh? dangit, wish you lived close, i'd beg a chance to cook something on that form myself!

[T Folts]

Excess glue is a good thing. You'll be fine.

[gudspelr]

Innocente-Guess you could always plan a road trip...?  

[Swissbow]

Hi Jeremy, that looks very good to me so far. I have glued up six bows on my longbow form until now and every time I had that feeling 'aaahhrrg, hope it turns out right...'. Afterwards it's a great relieve if pull it out of the form and it looks nice. Even though I don't like that feeling I think it's good, because it keeps us from getting sloppy.

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Andy

[gudspelr]

Swissbow-glad to know even you experienced guys get that "uh-oh" feeling in your gut waiting to see if all went well.

Just got the bow off the form (thank you Turtle Wax)-popped off with minimal effort.


 


Also, thanks to whomever came up with plastic wrap and to those who figured out it was a good idea to use when glueing up a bow.  Here's some evidence of my overzealous glue application-can't imagine the mess I'd have made without the plastic....yikes....

 

 

 


Got all the plastic I could off the bow-hoping tomorrow to visit my buddy with a band saw to see about getting into a rough bow shape.  Then comes the sanding    


Jeremy

[Joshua Lee]

Yeeeha, way to go Jeremy. Very exciting.

[Swissbow]

Looking good. Like your form Jeremy. Believe me, you better have to much glue than not enough of it ( guess how I found out that one... ). What wood combo ( lams, riser ) did you use ?

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Andy

[gudspelr]

Swissbow-
I ended up using all actionwood-the riser was free from a friend and the actionwood lams were relatively cheap but stable (from what I hear).  I REALLY like some of the nicer woods and combinations you all have, but on this bow, I'm hoping most for a decent performer.  Hopefully that's what I get and in the future I can try some more "nice" woods out.  I really like the look of zebra wood, kingswood, and several others.  I think something with bamboo (if it really is as smooth as folks say) and maybe Osage someday would be neat, too.

Current Bow
Back: Black Glass
Actionwood Taper
Actionwood Taper
Actionwood Parallel
Actionwood Riser
Actionwood Parallel
Belly: Black Glass

This is a friend's recipe and will hopefully yield around a 55# bow?  I don't even know my current draw length, but when I shot his, it sure was nice.


Jeremy

[gudspelr]

Well, got the bow over to my friend's house today and got it cut out on the band saw.  Kind of weird seeing it start to take shape.  Also saw some things that make me wonder how successful this is going to turn out...  I can't really see any glue lines between my lams-making me wonder if I didn't put too much pressure on the clamps?  How much of a glue line should there be between the lams and am I pretty much screwed?

Also, through a bit of a miscommunication, I ended up with 1.75" lams and only a 1.5" riser and form.  I chose to try and flush one side up, leaving all the excess on the other.  Worked ok...sorta.  Ended up having one lam in particular shift, but looks like I might be ok-it's going to be in a place where it should get sanded down/rounded out.

Going to do a bit more sanding this week, then back to my buddy's house on the weekend to do a bit more work-might even get the sight window/shelf roughed in.  Will post some pics as I go.


....Please don't break, please don't break, please don't break....    

[marty z]

No glue lines great job  

[Joshua Lee]

Alright, lets see it. I know how it is,,, after my glue up it was a couple days of courting before I could share her with my friends on tradgang.  But I'm sure she is a nice gal, we won't judger er.  I bet you have already flung some arrows, I know I did before I posted.
Eagerly waiting
Josh

[hightop_hunter]

Thats a slick looking glue up
well done