So I made a mistake.... Expert opinions?

[Michael Scott USMC]

Gentlemen,  I accidentally cut one of the pieces of Bo-Tuff to my Bingham's Recurve Starter Kit 4 inches too short (one of the belly pieces).  I am mad at myself for making such a dumb mistake, but it's over and done with so I was wondering if I was to add a 4 inch piece of Bo Tuff to the center area under the riser to compensate do you think the bow would hold up?  That way the limb would be the same length it would just have a split in the bo tuff 4 inches from the center belly of the bow...  Also the handle profile has to be cut there so it would end up being less than 4 inches in the end.  Opinions?

[Bowjunkie]

It would probably be fine. If I remember right, that's a long riser... 22" maybe? It's very stiff and flat where your 'oops' butt splice would be, so structurally you should be ok. I would bevel the two pieces on 45 degree angles, gouge them with something to roughen the gluing surfaces, and glue them together with Smooth On and a shop light for heat. The only thing is, you might see that tiny edge of the glue joint from the side of the bow when it's done. If you think that will bother you, order a new piece and use the piece that's too short for patterns, glue applicators, etc.

[Robertfishes]

If you do that make sure you make it the bottom limb..because the top half has the shelf and window cut out and you want a full piece of glass there for strength.

[Robertfishes]

I have a Bingham's 58" one piece form..instead of cutting the belly glass in two pieces I use my dremel tool with cut off wheel and cut a square hole in the center of glass for the centering pin to go thru. The one piece of belly glass is easier to deal with during glue up.

[Michael Scott USMC]

Thanks for the input guys.  I beveled it and glued them together and it seemed to work out fine.  Robert I will definitely do the hole thing next time!  I just finished the glue up and put it in the press.  Boy was that a doozie!  Definitely a two person job next time.  The worst part was getting the bolts to line up in the press with the bow in it.  I need to get some pipe clamps next time.  Hopefully it doesn't come out crooked!  Thanks again guys.

[Robertfishes]

Ya when the "smooth on" is on the laminations it gets interesting fast, that stuff is slicker than grease.. I use a bar clamp to pull the top half down if needed..I also superglue each belly taper together in center and drill a 5/16" hole in center of them before glue up, that way I have one 62 inch piece not two 31" pieces sliding around the form!.the index pin on my form is 1/4". Make sure you let the form cool down before you pull the bow out of it.

[Michael Scott USMC]

Just got the bow  out of the form and it looks great!  I'll post some pics when it is done.

[Trux Turning]

Everyone like pics!! Should be fine.