Am I wasting beautiful lams? Advice needed.

[Dimondback]

Well...just finished my first linen-backed red oak board bow and other than coming in a lot lighter in draw weight than desired it is a joy to shoot and clean work. I will try to make this explanation as short as possible so that I get to the point...

1)I came up with a recipie for a hybrid R/D bow based on Binghams draw weight specs (which assumes the use of glass backs and bellies).

2)I built a form that looks strikingly similar to the curves of a Martin Savanna.      :D      

   

3)When I was coming up with my bow recipie, I did not have access to a shop where I could cut/sand bows with glass on them but have a selection of hand tools that I can shape the bow with....I now have access to a fully outfitted wood shop so this is no longer an issue.

4)I had planned on using a .125 Hickory back, Walnut .060 parallel lam, Cocobolo .040 parallel lam, Birdseye maple 0.120 taper lam and a "Dymondwood Desert Camo" Riser block for a total lam thickness of .345 (all wood, no glass)
A 62" glass/wood lamination of this style/thickness should come in around 50# based on Binghams chart. I'm thinking a hickory backed version may come in slightly less?

5) I also now have access to a 68" flat longbow form that apprears to be from Bingham Projects with the fire hose etc that I could also build the bow on.

6) I am going to place an order with Kenny for enough wood/glass for several bows in a couple of weeks now that I have the ability to work with glass.

Finally the question....Based on the above, am I going to end up wasting these nice laminations chasing an all wood version on this form or do I have a decent chance of having a fucntional bow assuming I do everything correctly on the build? (The shaping and wood work is no issue, mainly concerned about wasting wood on an ineffective recipie. I could always save these for another build but it would be nice to have a project to work on until I can get my order together and give Kenny a call. It will also provide continued practice for shaping handles, tips etc. which I think has value similar to the board bow build (which I learned a lot from!)
What would you do....go for it or wait until I can get some glass and go that route?            
What estimated draw weight could I reasonably expect (40-45# @ 28" would be ideal)?

I have a thick skin so don't be shy...just trying to feed my new addiction until I can get my other materials and proven combinations.

[Dimondback]

Forgot to mention....I also have an additonal .125 piece lam of hickory that I could incorporate if needed for additional draw weight. Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated

[Dimondback]

TTT

[Trux Turning]

My guess is a very light bow with that stack- for 55#s in my 62" rds I use a stack of 385 -that has two .040 pieces of glass in that measurement. Nice looking form you have there.

[eflanders]

My guess is that you might be coming in around 45# in an all-wood version but much of this is dependent on the width of the limb and how it tapers to the tips. Also you do not mention if you are planning to use any wedges and how long your riser is.

[Dimondback]

Originally posted by eflanders:
My guess is that you might be coming in around 45# in an all-wood version but much of this is dependent on the width of the limb and how it tapers to the tips. Also you do not mention if you are planning to use any wedges and how long your riser is.

45#ish is what I am going for..I can go to just under 18" after tapering the fades on the riser. I do not have a defined limb width at this point (limited to 1 1/2 or less based on lam width)...thought about starting wide and tapering down if needed...again this is kind of experimental so any suggestions will be incorporated and I will post pics of wins and failures....may help someone else from going in the wrong direction..     Still having fun either way!

[eflanders]

What is the draw length?  If you are trying for 45# @ 28" with an all-wood bow, your overall length should be about 66".  If your draw length is less than 28" then you can be shorter. (Using the formula of draw length x 2 x 1.15 + 1 = 65.4" or overall bow length.)  I personally would use the 1.5" wide riser then taper down to 3/4" - 1/2" from the end of the fades based on a 16" long riser.  IF you are too strong at 3/4" tip width, you can taper it closer to 1/2".  On all-wood laminated bows, I think it's better to shave weight from limb width rather than from thinning the belly lam.  If you are too light at the 3/4" tip width, add a riser lam or two.

[Dimondback]

Thanks Eflanders!

I have a 29" draw and this is enough to get me cranking on this thing....after I return from my 2 week trip to Ft. Sill, OK, unfortunately. Again, this is an experiment so to speak just to form a baseline on what to expect from my form. I just didn't want to "lam-up" what I had and end up with a 15# @ 28" that just looks really nice. Part of the problem is that my level of excitement to get going on this is pushing me to go for it and then order more wood after learning from it. But I would at least like to end up with something that will throw a stick at a respectable level. I am sure you understand where I am coming from...  :D

[Dimondback]

Still open to other opinions though! Thanks for the input....will post progess pics once I get back into town and get to work on it.