First bow build...Braggin' on KennyM for a bit.

[mlsthmpsn]

So my brother and I are going on our first Elk hunt this coming Sept. I needed a heavier bow to take, so I did what anyone would do and put plans together to build one! I had met another TradGanger (yimbow) at a recent Learn-to-Hunt event we were mentoring at here in Wisco, and we got to talking about bowmaking. He said anytime I want, to come down and use his forms and shop to build one.

So I give him a call back in Jan, he says "the forms I use are KenyyM's. Give Kenny a call...he'll get you set up with lams and glass and you'll be good to go".

So that's what I did. Kenny got me set up for a 64" r/d for 55#, tapered actionboo cores and 0.040" glass.

Got the bow all put together, and pulled out of the form. Roughed it into shape and strung her up...Yimbow was instrumental in this, and showing me the ropes on every step!
 


One small problem...the dang thing came out of the form 10# underweight!!!

We still went to work putting overlays on and rough shaping a bit more before I had to head back home. This weekend I was able to get in my shop and get a good ways towards finishing this one up. Got it tillered to 1/8"+ and the riser is fitting my hand nicely. After all that work, she's now down to 42.5#... Way too light for Elk.          


(you can see the pencil scribbles, that's where I was marking ridges I could feel when shooting it and viewing the shape in sunlight to refine it all)
   

   

       

   

   


Here's where the bragging starts...I give Kenny a  call and explain what we got. He's perplexed and asked me to check the lams for orientation, measure thickness and width at a few spots, and check weight on another scale...Done, and all metrics say it should be 55# range.

We talked about possibly cutting down to 62" to add some weight, but said he doesn't want me going to the mountains with a bow I can't trust...so he says, he'd replace the lams and DONATE new veneers to the cause!!! (I just paid for new glass and some shipping)

Looks like I'll be building another one right quick! Got all the parts in, and will be starting on it this week.

 


I cannot say enough about how much Kenny helped me with this; texting back and forth about all sorts of build questions; measuring stuff and explaining a bunch...then sending me stuff to get another bow built!?!?!?

Just above and beyond what I ever expected. So, thank you Kenny!

I will keep this post updated as I finish it out, and get the next one going.

[Robertfishes]

Looks good! From what I think I see in the pics.. you have 2 bamboo tapers, 2 parallel veneers and 2 pieces of fiberglass. I have built at least a dozen KennyM design bows. For 55 lbs I would think there would be at least another set of parallels to make the stack height. Did you measure each piece in the stack before glue up?

[mlsthmpsn]

I didn't measure the total thickness before glue-up. Kenny ground the two tapered lams, adding all the rest to get to 0.375".

(2) 0.40 glass, (2) 0.03 veneers, 0.80 .001 taper, and 0.155  .002 taper.

[Wolftrail]

"she's now down to 42.5#... Way too light "
Get in a blind get close,  you can nail an Elk.
Looks good.   Would piking 'er help if you can.

[Bvas]

Did you cut your lams to length before glue up?
If so, which end did you trim? Butt end or tip end?

[mlsthmpsn]

Did not cut anything to length before glue-up; scarf joint on the back lamination you can see in the image of the riser overlay.

[kennym]

Still scratching my head on this one. My only poor defense was the first veneers didn't come from my shop. Waiting on the next one to be done and see.

But his thickness at end of riser is good so .....

[mlsthmpsn]

I think it's going to be a mystery with no answers Kenny...but it seems that the one limb (top now) was quite a bit weaker than the other. That limb is wider by a bit after getting it tillered and still shows to be weaker the whole length.

It shoots good from the handful of arrows I've put through it. I'll be able to check their spine a bit better on Wed night at my indoor trad league... But they seem a bit weak so far.

I'll hopefully get it all sanded and rounded a bit this week. Going to test some scraps for dye and finish to get close to matching the limbs. Then I'll shoot for a while and decide if I wanna cut it down another 2".

Sure is fun tinkering on these things!

[mlsthmpsn]

Once it is fully done I'll get a full set if measurements before I put finish on it... Then we'll be able to compare it with others.

[kennym]

Keep an eye on her tiller,  if it changes, may be an adhesion prob.

[Robertfishes]

I looked at my build book I only built 3 64" bows the rest were 66". All had 0.040 clear Gordons  fiberglass and 0.025 veneers. One 42# @ 28" build had a 18" riser, red elm tapers and stack in center was 0.358". Another had a 0.352 stack, amberboo tapers with a 21" riser and was 47# @ 28". last one had a 0.359 stack, amberboo tapers, 17 1/2" riser and was 44# @ 28".. So 0.375 sounds like a good stack height, what was your riser length fade to fade? And did you use Gordons glass or the new Euro glass?

[Robertfishes]

Kenny said something about adhesion.. any way you can set it next to your form to see if there is excessive "spring back"?

[mlsthmpsn]

Originally posted by Robertfishes:
... 0.375 sounds like a good stack height, what was your riser length fade to fade? And did you use Gordons glass or the new Euro glass?

Riser length is 18" fade to fade. The glass came from Kenny, so I believe it is Gordon UL.


I got it all sanded down to 120 last night, and got all the little bumps and facets smoothed out. I couldn't find my rolls of emery cloth, so I called it quits for the night.

Here are the measurements at 10" from center (1" passed the fades).

Top: 0.350" thick, 1.4075" wide
 
 

Bottom: 0.350" thick, 1.3825" wide
 
 


So the bottom limb is a fair bit narrower (-0.025") than the top but is still heavier with the 1/8"+ tiller.

Kenny, when you select top/bottom and then narrow the top to make the bottom a bit stronger...how much narrower are you talking?

[Forwardhandle]

Nice bow I would bet it still has preety good speed 10 gpp , good for late season dear when its a lot easer to get back on sub zero days !  Looking foward to your next !

[mlsthmpsn]

Originally posted by Yellowwood:
Nice bow I would bet it still has preety good speed 10 gpp , good for late season dear when its a lot easer to get back on sub zero days !  Looking foward to your next !

I'd like to know someone with a chronograph...the arrows I have right now are at 500gr with field points (515gr with the broadheads I have). Probably underspined for center-cut like this one and they were sure hitting nock left at 15yds the other day, but it was also a 20mph crosswind.

Yes...  I was gonna bring the speed thing up also...   If you don't have a chrony...  Take you or your friend's Elk bow and shoot the target with both bows...  If the arrows are sinking just as much or deeper, you got a Weener...  
  My buddy came over my house with his 50 lb. longbow and my 42 lb. longbow smoked his by 20 fps using the same arrows....

  You may be surprised what that bow can do...

[yimbow]

I think Miles just wants to come over and build another one. I told him he’d be thinking about his next one before this one was done