DIY Lamination Cost

[DGK]

Does anyone know how cost prohibitive it is to make your own laminations "after" the proper tools have been purchased? Say the average store bought lam cost $20.00 per pair, what would be a ballpark guess to the cost of homemade lams? I understand there are several factors involved, but I'm just curious how much could be saved over the longhaul if I were to eventually build many bows. Thank you in advance for your knowledge.

[stickmonkey]

I would say initial cost for a basic setup that will produce accurate lams 400 for the grizzly 10" drum sander.

A box of quality bamboo flooring 100 bucks

an accurate saw or band saw to process the lams 200 - 800.

quality metal sleds? 75-100 each

sandpaper 5 bucks per roll for the 10" drum sander

health hazards from the dust that is created????

air filtration ?????

your time to make them and ensure the lams are accurate ??????

I have been making my own lams for a few years now and I do it because i enjoy making it all not because its cheaper because unless you are making a lot of bows and selling them it is not cost effective, not to produce quality like KennyM produces.

If the bow is not for sell then i can see making the lams and enjoying the process but if you are thinking that you will be making more money on selling your bows by making them yourself then I am telling you from experience you better have them accurate or you wont be selling many for long.

Hope this helps

[Cambow]

I agree with stickmonkey... Lams are much cheaper when you do them yourself.. but you have to take lots of time and be super careful to keep them accurate. Most of the time, I miss spending the money on lams and just going straight to glue-up. The only reason I started making my own was to be able to hand pick the exotic grain and color of my woods.

In my opinion... dust collection is not optional when grinding lams  

[strungstick]

It also makes a big difference on the species of wood as well, for your return.  You can get a lot of good quality lams from a board of hard maple, for instance, but try to make some lams out of some yew or similar and you will have a lot of waste ($$) and frustration to get a few quality lams.

[GREG IN MALAD]

Figure one board foot of lumber for each bow. Maple is around $6 a B.F. so that is what it would cost for 4 pairs of lams. If you add in the riser accent strips and the cool footed limbs that you can make it only takes 5 to 10 bows to pay for a drum sander. As for how much you can save over the longhaul, that depends on how many bows you build and the quality of sander that you buy.

[DGK]

You guys are great. Thank you all for your input. This is a topic I plan on pursuing a lot more. I am moving back to my original homeland, Louisiana, soon, and the new homestead we are acquiring is going to provide me with the shop space that I've always dreamed of. I'm making plans to broaden my bow building skills, and the lamination dept. is something that's been heavy on my mind. Any further information thrown my way would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again.

[Bradford]

I do my own.  It saves me money and I enjoy doing it.  I made my own drum sander which did not cost me much and this way I get to pick out what wood and how I want them.

I zip them out on a band saw at around 1/8" or so, then start running them thru the sander.  They come out great.  I MIC them up and down and all seem to be the same size.  If you got the room.. do it!

[JamesV]

If you grind your own lams you are not hampered by delivery time or someone elses work load. If you want to do a little experimenting, you can grind lams from different materials and different taper rate combinations. Keep good records and you will learn a lot and have some fun along the way.

[ChristopherO]

I needed a project to focus on this spring and a lam grinder has been in the back of my mind for years.  Because I had the scraps of plywood in the shop as well as the oak hardwood, the motor was reclaimed from an old blower fan, or something of the sort, so that was not a cost, the pulleys on hand the only parts that cost a buck were the sealed bearings, the rod for the axle and the drive belt.  There is not $40.00 in this machine, if that, but I am happy with the way it works.
 

A shop vac keeps the dust down to nill but it would be a bear without it.  
Due to current circumstances I've only been able to grind one full set of osage lams and the inlay/overlay strips for a future bow to be glued up but they are clean and true.  
The sled I used was created a few years back out of a strip of furniture grade plywood shimmed for a .002 taper run through the planer for the belly lams and the parallel lams were run on a piece of ash that was preleveled on this lam grinder before use.  The dial caliper confirmed that everything was true so I am confident of the quality of the bow once it is made.  
If you like making your own tools it can be done.  Hope it goes well for you,
Christopher

[DGK]

These are really good points. I'm starting to see the advantages of being able to produce what you want, when you want it, and how you want it. Also, thank you for the grinder pics, Christopher. Is there a place on this forum where you've posted more photos of your setup?

[ChristopherO]

DGK,
Here is a link to the original post about this machine:

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=006375;p=1

[DGK]

Thank you, Christopher. I appreciate you, and everyone else, sharing their knowledge. Blessings.