Bow form problems

[VTer]

I've made two bows offf of my form, which is made of plywood laminated together and had the hardest time getting the riser area to release from the form. I took the precaution of coating the form with poly and even used johnson wax on the surface that the bow goes against. I laid saran wrap on the first one and a double layer of saran wrap on the second one. Same issue where i ended up forcing it off with a rubber mallett. Anyways, the bow shot great but eventually it delaminated in the lower riser area. Granted it was in my hottish truck when I noticed it but I feel the rubber mallett treatment was the culprit. I picked up a piece of formica to use as a surface between the form and bow. I'm just going to lay it on there as i'm not sure contact cement will work on the waxy surface. Any thoughts?

[Kirkll]

I use stainless steel myself. I’ve used Formica years ago, and it’s not bad, but doesn’t hold up real well over time.

But if you are having issues getting the bow out of the form, or limbs out of a form you may want to wrap your limbs in heavier plastic than Saran Wrap. I use a painters plastic from 1-3 mills thick. The thicker plastic is much easier to get off the limbs too.

Another issue may be eliminating washers or guides holding your glass in place on the edges. Just drill some 3/8” holes about an inch down from the edge of the form and use heavy duty zip ties to hold the bow in place. This is also really helpful to keep things from sliding around too much once you get your system down. It’s really nice getting recurve limbs into a form too.    Food for thought…