Recurve build questions

[Chris Pharr]

Hey all, on my first recurve build and have a couple questions.

Building a lightweight recurve for my son of my own design,  shooting for somewhere around 30lbs. The design is based on a mix btw a Kmag and a KHunter,  shooting for 56" nock to nock.

Ordered my lams already(thanks Kenny) and glass and working on getting my form done this week.  Here's my stack as of now:
.043 glass
.05 action-boo(.001 taper)
.015 stabil-kore
.05 action boo (.001 taper)
Riser
.015 stabil-kore
.043 glass

That leads to my question. Was thinking of using 2 lams of the stabil-kore since its gonna be a lightweight,  1 btw my lams and the other under the belly glass. I think I read it on here it works best towards the belly side of the stack. Anyone try this idea?

Also,  was planning on both boo lams on the back of the riser,  having just stabil-kore and glass on the belly side of the fade outs. Would this work or should I separate them with the riser?

Last one I promise,  anyone ever try using g-10 for tip overlays? Was thinking about using .03 g-10 sandwiched between glass(?) Or scrap futurewood from the riser. Or instead of the .03 g-10, I'll have some scrap .15 from the riser I beam(so I can cut 1/8th past center at least).

Sorry for all the questions. Just wanted some experienced opinions and feedback.  I'll see if I can't figure out how to post a pic of my design so I can get some feedback there as well.

Thanks in advance!
Chris Pharr

[C. Johnson]

How long is your riser?  This will have quite an effect on the working limb length.  Also, what is your limb width?

I'll admit I'm not familiar with the bows you were inspired by, but I think you're going to end up in the ball park.  Especially at 56" NTN.

I build a kid's recurve at 48" NTN with a 16" riser and 1 1/2" limbs.

If I use a single, .002" taper measuring .100" at the butt end (scarf jointed under the riser) and a single parallel at .040" going up the ramps with .030" glass, I get a bow that hits about 18-20 pounds at a max draw of 24".  About 15-16 pounds @ 18"

[Chris Pharr]

Planning on using a 16" riser,  from fade out to fade out(not really sure if that's how they're generally measured) with 1.625" wide limbs. Purchased all glass and lams @ 1.75 so I'd have a little wiggle room.

I'd like to be able to get the bow to 30" draw safely, hopefully I'll have enough working limb with a short riser to do so. Planning on a 50lb bow off this form after I get a baseline for draw weight with the stack height from this one.

Thanks again all.

[monterey]

You should be ok with one strip of stabilcore.  There is one vendor who advertises it as .015 but it's actually .016.

If Kenny would stock it I'd have one stop shopping!  You reading Kenny?  

[bamboo]

i run the tapers on the ramps--easier riser / form fit

[Chris Pharr]

Bamboo,  does that eliminate the need to pad the form with reverse tapers? Kind of a mute point I'd think for my situation since both my lams have tapers. Maybe next time I'll go with a parallel lam to try that,  if I'm understanding correctly.

Got my form glued up and a half template made up for the bow,  trying Kennys method of routing a template and flipping it on the centerline to make symmetrical limbs. Problem is my riser template appears to be asymmetrical, using the deepest part of the grip as the bows vertical centerline.

Thanks again for the advice all

[monterey]

I guess some might pad a recurve form with reverse tapers but there's no need for it IMO.  The only time I pad with reverse tapers is on an ASL where the back of the bow at least in the area of the riser is dead flat.  That eliminates any riser fitting other than being sure that it's Dead flat.

With a recurve you are going to be fitting the riser anyway.

[C. Johnson]

Laying reverse tapers on your form allows you to place your tapers under your riser.  Some people, myself included, believe this allows for an easier glue up since you're not trying to bend the thick end of a tapered lam to match the ramp (belly) side of the riser.

If you plan to put your tapers on the belly side as opposed to under the riser, then, you won't need the reverse tapers on your form.

[Chris Pharr]

I think I get what your saying.

So if I match my riser to the form(with no reverse tapers)  and both core tapers(total .002 per inch) are on the back of the riser,  I'll need reverse tapers to account for that. I will have no parallel core lams in this first bow.

Assuming I'm thinking correctly,  looks like I would need to pick a taper rate and have my reverse lams match whatever that rate may be,  this time it'll be .002.

Thanks again all

[C. Johnson]

Yes, exactly Chris.

Let us know how it turns out!

[Chris Pharr]

 Well,  got it glued up finally. And it looks like a bow

[Chris Pharr]

Problem though,  one side of my fade out busted during glue up and looks like it busted the belly glass. What an expensive waste now. Gut wrenching to say the least. I'm assuming that its a wall hanger now,  what's everyone's thoughts?

[Chris Pharr]

 The other side looks good to me though. And static tiller looks straight, bottom fade measures 1/8" more than the top fade. I think that's right

[kennym]

I’d say if the glass is failing it is a wall trophy. No need to chance losing a body part over it. I had one with a dime sized dry spot under clear glass . Shot it off and on for a couple years , thought the spot was getting very slightly bigger and then boom, there it was , blew the limb clear off, stringwhipped the crap out of me and near caused laundry failure. Ain’t worth it....