Great Northern - Bushbow

[wbyrd]

First off I want to say this forum is awesome! Nice to come to a place and be able to read about archery without having to read about everyone's difference in opinion... Dang I'm glad I found this place!

I have been looking at the Bushbow on the back of Traditional Bowhunter magazine for a couple of months and I really like the way that bow looks. I would love to build something that looks like that. I have never built a bow before but I have built a whole bunch of other stuff and love trying to do things myself. Just wondering how difficult it would be for a first time bowyer to build one, if anyone can point me in the right direction for where to get the wood and what type of wood, and if anyone might have some plans that would work for this type of build.

Thanks tradgang!  

[Mike Most]

Welcome to the gang,

Hang around and enjoy, I did my first thru binghamprojects.com .

Its not the only place in town but is a wealth of information. they have plans and stuff to look at. I am sure some of the others here will chime in with lots of stuff to look at.
Good Luck

Mike

[adam]

Talk to Kenny for getting your wood! By far the best guy to deal with in my opinion. Here is his website

 http://www.kennyscustomarchery.com/

You might also want to check out bighams for plans. They sell some proven designs for a good price.

 http://www.binghamprojects.com/

I'm sure others will be on here to point you in the right direction.

[gudspelr]

Not certain as to what bow you're referring to, but if it's a laminated one, I say go for it.  I built my first bow a little bit ago and it was a R/D laminated longbow.  I was like you-never a bow, but built plenty of other stuff.  This place has more info than you can shake a stick at-check it out, ask questions when you run into something, and I think you'll be fine.

I ordered my lams through Bingham's (didn't have any problems), but from my experieces dealing with different folks on this site since then, I think Kenny's going to get any future lam requests.  He's got a reputation on here that goes for miles and that means something.

Good luck and post some pics   .

Jeremy

[Jason Scott]

I like that simple,clean bow too. It appeals greatly to the minimalist side of me. I have built one that is similar to the critter gitter, the bushbows sister. They are at the top of my list. We can get you set up with a plan to build a bow very close to the bushbow. We all do things a little different but end up at the same place, a finished bow, and get real excited when we see others building bows too. You will have to make choices along the way as to how you go about it though, most of the decisions will be governed by budget for tools, at least mine are. First though, what kind of saws and sanders do you have and have you become familiar with the terminology of bowyery?
First you will have to build the form and hot box, start that now. That will take at least 15 hrs labor. You could probably get it done in a weekend. I would give the form 1/2" deflex and about a 1/4" net reflex. Before you start building the form you have to decide what method for compression you will use. I started using the rubber band method with inner tube straps and pegs and really like it. Search Appex Predator build alongs and you will see it. It is the less expensive method for starters and does a terrific job.
While you are building them place your order for the bow materials, I would build it just like the one on the mag you like. It is flat grain red elm under clear glass with either a burgundy or cocobola actionwood/dymondwood(?) riser. You have to know what # bow you want at this point. Get two pair of .002 red elm tapers @ 0.099", one pair red elm parallel @ 0.0625", one pair 0.0625" to 0 tip wedges 4.5" long, a riser block 18" long, two clear 0.040" glass and some smooth-on glue. Total stack .340" will give you about a 50# bow with the 16" riser they use on a 62" ntn 1 1/2" wide fades bow with the tip wedges installed. You can adjust the total stack 0.020" up or down for every five # if you want a different weight bow.
That's what I would do. One other reason I like these bows is because they build quicker than others, without the overlays that require additional re-bakes in the oven.

[wbyrd]

Jason - Thank you for breaking it down in to everything I'll need for the build. Just what I was looking for. The only thing I couldn't find on Kenny's website were the tip wedges, I'm assuming when I place my order he'll have them though?

Fortunately for me my best friend is a carpenter and as a hobby he builds and refinishes guitars so I have access to all kinds of saws and sanders. I've actually had him build me some wood grips for a couple of my pistols out of ash and they came out awesome. I've been reading through this forum for the last few weeks trying to pickup the terminology of bowyery and think I have a basic understanding. I do find myself having to search more to figure out what certain things mean though. My searching has really just given me more ideas for bows to build though ...

Thanks again!

[Jason Scott]

No problem, Yes, Kenny can make you some tip wedges when he makes the lams. The most important thing I can think of is getting the form surfaces right, true and square. No shortcuts allowed there. ANY blems on the form surface will definately show up on the bow. I recomend some cabinate grade plywood, it ranges from $30 to $45 a sheet and you can make two rubber band type forms from one sheet. Also, choose a really strong material for the pegs, there is nothing worse than having pegs snap under the intense pressure of the inner tube strips while glueing. Get a 1/8" x 1 1/2" x 6' aluminum strip for the pressure strip and do a dry run layup (with out glue) including the bow materials and pressure strip, checking for gaps at the riser fades. Then you can make any revisions to the riser if needed to make it light tight. This will also help pre-form the pressure strip to the belly profile of your bow and you will have no second thoughts when you are glueing up, no time for second thoughts then.

The Bushbow is an ideal candidate for a first build.

[wbyrd]

What would you recommend I use for the peg material? Just a heavy wood dowell? I used to build custom motorcycles so I have a bunch of scrap steel laying around, I know I have some 1/2" round stock. That should work, huh?

[Jason Scott]

I used round 3/8" steel stock about 4" long because my drill bit was 3/8". Drill the holes the same diameter and hammer it through. I spaced them about 3" apart. 1/2" if you have it already. I went to the tire store and got some old car tubes from the trash and cut into 1" wide x several feet long strips.

[Jason Scott]

The first time I did the tube thing I used some dowels from some poplar wood that I use to make arrows with. Several snapped before I finished banding. Maybe another harder wood would work but I went ahead and got some steel stock.

[wbyrd]

I'll go with the steel stock, I probably have at least 100ft of it laying around....

I've got a bicycle shop right down the street, would bike tubes work? Oh, and how do you tie off the tubes when you're done wrapping? Just a square knot? Are the knots difficult to untie when you're done?

[Jason Scott]

Predator uses bike tubes. I make an ugly square knot on each end with one loop sticking out and start wrapping and when I get close to the end of that strip I just pick the closest peg and loop it off there.