How the heck do you hold it ???

[Old man of the swamp]

How about some ideas on supporting a bow while spraying the finish on please. Have been using a wipe on finish but have never got the results I want. Just changed over to Thunderbird and using an airbrush. Results are fabulous but can't figure out how to do it without leaving a mark in the finish. Help!!!!

[DVSHUNTER]

try tying it up with fishing line around one of the knocks then hang it from the ceiling.

[ALW]

On selfbows I drill a 1/16" hole throuh one tip (side to side) and hang it that way.  I usually take a heavy paperclip and tie a cord to it and can just stick the paperclip through the hole.  When I'm done I just spray the hole to allow it to fill with finish or leave it open to attach a wind indicator.

Aaron

[George Tsoukalas]

I nail a shingle nail to the middle of a selfbow and hang it with a string. Jus make sure the bow doesn't bend in the handle at all. Jawge

[No-sage]

Like this:

  Finishing Grip

[Pat B]

I use hand rubber Tru-Oil so I add the finish to the handle area first. After a few layers have been added and cured I add the handle wrap and work on the limbs , balancing the bow by the handle as the limbs dry.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Brilliant Pat, never even though about doing it that way, I always do things the hard way it seems. Spray finished get hung with fishing line a stated above.

[GREG IN MALAD]

I use a bent coat hanger. This is my swap bow that I sprayed with Thunderbird yesterday. I use a hanger on both ends, spray the top half then flip the bow over and spray the other half. If you use small wire the finish works it's way under the wire and doesn't leave any marks.

 

[Rain Man]

Do what I do.  Hire David Copperfield to lift it with his mind.  Expensive though

[Roy from Pa]

How do you keep the bow from moving around when you spray it? It takes off like a kite when I spray them. How do you control dust? Water down the floor?

[T Folts]

I'll have to take some pick but what I do (I make takedowns) is for the riser I have a base made up using 2X4's making a stand with a 1/4" bolt that I thread the riser on and it hols in straight up and down or I can change positions, as for the limbs basically the same set up but taller and I use a tapered dowell that I slide the limb on thru the bolt hole and it holds it upright.
Terry

[Roy from Pa]

I can see that for takedowns, but longbows and recurves would be different, thanks Terry.

[GREG IN MALAD]

Roy,
I hold the bow with my left hand while I spray. I start at the tip and spray to the middle of the riser, then I flip the bow over and spray from the riser to the tip. When I get close to the tip I hold the hanger. I wear gloves so I don't get oil on the bow.
Keeping it dust free is black magic. I start by cleaning the shop really good with a shop vac. My shop is split in half by a bearing wall so I have a clean half and dirty half. The clean half is only for glue-ups and form storage it also has the spray booth.
I put a box fan in a window in the dirty side and push air into the shop, through two 16"x25" filters in the spray booth wall, and outside through a vent. The door into the spray booth is located directly across from the outlet vent so any dust that follows me into the booth doesn't get to the bows.
I mist the floor with water and turn the fan on for about 15 minutes to clear out any dust. Before I spray the bow I mist myself with water, then hope for the best. It's really easier than it sounds, I will post some photos of the spray booth. It wasn't expensive to build and works quite well.

 

 

[Old man of the swamp]

Thanks for the info and pics. I was hanging the bow by fishing line but couldn't keep the line off the bow tip. Took it a step further today. I tied two large fish hooks together at the eye with the points facing each other. I put a hook point in the nock groove on each side of the limb and they acted like logging tongs holding the bow when I hung it. Only thing touching the bow was the needle point of each hook. Worked great but you don't want to bump it.