Need some advice on my bamboo backed bamboo

[SEMO_HUNTER]

It's all glued up, out of the form, and I just cleaned the edges up this morning.
What I need help with it the edge of the limbs. DmaxShawn mentioned that they need to be traped?
Never done that before so some advice would be much appreciated from you all who have built one of these before. I don't want to pull it for the first time and lift a splinter on the edge.

4estTrekker, I know you finished one of these also. Please jump in here if you wouldn't mind.

I'll check back in when I get off work tonight and see what direction I'll take next. I'll also get some pics up soon.

Thanks!

[PEARL DRUMS]

Go back to work shop rat, you aint got time for bows!

[J.F. Miller]

first, you don't NEED a trapezoidal cross section to keep from lifting splinters on the corners. simply chamfering the corners will do that, and I think its a good idea to always do it before you start doing any serious bending. I round off all the corners even after trapping the limbs.

I believe firmly that a trapezoidal cross section is beneficial to the design of most any wooden flatbow if done correctly, especially those with flat bellies and a backing of some sort. every selfbow and bamboo backed osage bow I've made in the last 10 years has a trapezoidal cross section, although it is much more pronounced on my bbo's with their "as flat as I can make them" bellies.

for lack of a more clever way to make the trapeziodal shape even on both sides of both limbs I use my bandsaw. I tilt the table to the desired angle and trim the edges with the belly flat on the table, clean it up with an 8" long sanding block with a piece of 36 grit paper from a spent sanding drum wrap glued on it. this works better for me than a rasp for "squaring up" the edges of limbs.

[canopyboy]

Originally posted by J.F. Miller:
I believe firmly that a trapezoidal cross section is beneficial to the design of most any wooden flatbow if done correctly, especially those with flat bellies and a backing of some sort.  

Can someone expand on the the philosophy of why a trapezoidal cross section is beneficial (and clarify the orientation of the trapezoid -- is the back or belly wider?)

[Roy from Pa]

I used to trap the back of all my BBO Bow's. As I read Deans books and watched his DVD'S, I would see him trap his BBO'S. Then he would go on to say, not to take too much off the boo when scraping off the rind, cause ya didn't want to get down into the power fibers. Well hell, isn't that exactly what ya do when ya trap the back of a BBO Bow? Ya cut right down into those power fibers with the rasp and ya leave little tiny scratches all along the edge of the power fibers in the boo backing! I have had so many BBO Bows through up a splinter at the inside edge of the trap on the back. I quit trapping the backs, now I get my Boo edges as thin as I can and just round off the edge just a tad. I have had so much more success since doing it that way.

[scottm]

What Roy said.Just finished an all bamboo R/D bow.Just put a nice smooth rounded edge on it.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I've always just rounded the edges slightly on all the bows I've made and haven't had a problem yet with lifting a splinter on the edge unless it was due to a natural anomoly in the wood grain and not because I didn't finish the edges properly. I just wanted to make sure before I went ahead with it and did it wrong.

I won't need to take all the rind off the back anyway because if it makes it through about a month of shooting, it's going to get a pair of rattlers on it anyway. I toasted the belly and think I'll just finish those as they are, haven't quite decided yet. I do like those blackish scorch marks and would kind of like to keep those on there, kinda like natural camo.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Originally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
Go back to work shop rat, you aint got time for bows!

I finally got a couple weekends in a row off and decided to finish this project so I can hunt with it in September if all goes well. It's looking very promising at the moment, but nothing is guaranteed especially in bow building. I just prepare for the worst and hope for the best. If it doesn't work out I'll cut it apart, save the desert camo riser and start over again. This was an experiment into the unknown for me cause it's unlike anything I've attempted as of yet.