'boo backed / 'boo bellied....need advice!

[Pete W]

I thought that kieth {The Coonoongibber Kid } would be popping in here.
He is the bamboo guru from Australia that is building a couple bows for Herb Haines and me.There is a bit of knowledge on Boo bows that we can take from him.
Good to see you here Mr Keddie

[John Sturtevant]

Doug, I've asked the same question myself.  Figured out the primary reason to build BB belly bows is because they take longer.  Allows you more time to enjoy the process and you don't end up with so many bows laying around.  

And....If you got a whole jar full of one dollar bills in your settlement, you came out pretty good.

Have you worked the bow quite a bit?

[rocdoc]

John.  Thanks man.....I knew there had to be an up-side.    

I figured another application might be for all those bbo's I made that came in under weight.  I'm thinking a guy could remove the handle cap, flatten the belly and glue a peice of 'boo on the belly to bump the bow's weight quite a bit???

John....I guess I just had a good attorny.      

Keith.  Thanks for the input and your web addy!  

Is it best to temper the belly boo BEFORE glueing it on or after you have finished tillering?  My guess would be before, but It's a pretty 'uneducated' guess.

[rocdoc]

Oh, yeah.  I have worked the bow a LOT on the tiller tree.  Only shot it a few times (that's all the shoulder's good for).  The last working session it seemed to be pretty slow in snapping back to shape after I unstrung it.  Looks like it's going to follow the string a bit.  I'm going to temper the belly boo this morning, do you think that will help with the string follow?

In retrospect, the center lam was a BAD idea.  Seems to have been a little too thick and a lot of my set is coming right past the lam.  Bottom line, either build a 'D' bow or don't....this psuedo-D isn't working.    

[Ralph Renfro]

Doug, a couple of observations.  You have too much time on your hands! That answers your own question about WHY YOU DID THIS!!! Next is a heartfelt thanks for the pic of the bow in the vice. I now feel much better about the cluttered condition of my garage. I can see more of my workbench than you can. Finally, be verrrry careful with your comments about all your friends, as they are so important to your "getting work done without breakin a sweat" lifestyle.  As for the bow-Looks to be very close at this point. We could have JohnBow come over and do some munchkin scraping for you.  

[rocdoc]

Dang Ralph...that pic showed the CLEAN side of my workbench!  I will be more diplomatic with my responses.....can't afford to jeopordize my "No Sweat" system.    

[rocdoc]

OK.  I heat tempered the belly 'boo and am amazed at how well it 'snapped' the bow back into shape.  Before tempering and having been unstrung all night it had about 1/2" of string follow.  Here is a pic after tempering.  Almost 1 1/2" reflex.  Of course I haven't exercised it since tempering, so I'm sure it's going to relax some, but I may end up with a straight bow after all???

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v442/rocdoc

[rocdoc]

Did that pic come up for anyone?  Not coming up on my computer.

Here's another potential problem.  I noticed this while tempering.  Don't know if it was already there or not, but I'm wondering if, because the belly nodes are under compression, do they have a tendancy to 'open up' checks?  Or maybe the tempering caused it and I heated it too much or too quickly?

 

[rocdoc]

Man, that's one 'out of focus' picture!

I'm posting the other pic again....see if it comes up this time.

 

[Madpigslayer]

cool! is that glue around the check?

[DCM]

Interesting project.  You cash looks like a jar of zip ties to me.  I gotta get my eyes checked.  I've had boo check from quick drying or excessive drying.  Looks just like that.

[rocdoc]

MPS.  Yeah, while it was still warm from tempering I figured I might as well pump some CA into it.      

DCM.  I figured that It happened from the tempering.  I don't expect any problems from it....but then, what do I know?

[horseapple]

Doug, I've had boo check like that too... only thing I could assume was that the node area are always thicker so it holds on to moisture just a tad more, so when you heated it the check opened up from loosing moisture to quick, you done right on soaking it with CA glue, now if your going to stain the belly make sure you sand all the glue off as it won't take stain very well in that spot...

[mich-mtnman]

i think i missed it guys.... why is the center lam too thick? and if it wasnt there would you have a core of action boo or boo flooring or something???
 or were you just suggesting that you kept the thickness and just had a back of boo and a belly of boo , with a stiff handle section sandwiched in between?

[rocdoc]

Jamie.  I have an 8" long piece of yellowheart sandwiched between the back boo and the bulletwood.  I do this on the R/D bows I make, only I use a 16" long piece.  This bow is supposed to bend through the handle but I thought I could get away with a 'short' lam. to add a little substance to the handle area.  It's not too bad but by stiffening it there I put a little too much strain on the bow just past the ends of the lam and it caused it to take some set there.  After tempering the belly though, the bow looks like it's going to have a good finished shape to it; probably a straight-standing bow, which is what I was shooting for initially.

[rocdoc]

JD.  That's what I thought it probably was.  I found another node that opened up a litte too, so I heated it and CA'd it good.

I remember you telling me that superglue doesn't take the stain.  Of course, I've never had to use any superglue on any of my bows before so this is new to me.        I'm not sure if I'll stain the belly or not.....any suggestions?

[mich-mtnman]

why dont you 'tiger stripe" it using horseapples method. and stain the belly to match..if there is any inperfections the tiger stripe affect will hide it . just a thought.mtman

[rocdoc]

Jamie.  Do you really think the fiddleback pattern will cover up the imperfections in tiller?    

Shucks, I thought you had come up with a cure for  hinges.    

[John Sturtevant]

Cracks going that way aren’t a big deal.  Irritating when they go the other direction, though.
Probably from drying too quickly.   Did you cure the belly lam in a hot box when you glued it on?  
Curious, how hot did you get the belly when torching?   Did the BB change color?
Sure brought the reflex back.

If you still can’t get the weight off you could soak it in the bathtub for a few days?   Just a thought…..

Keith...enjoyed your website very much, thanks.  
Do you temper the BB on your bellies?
Gotta ask….what is a Coonoongibber?

[mich-mtnman]

are you ready to finsh the bow?
what are the finished specs , and did you say you trapped the belly more than the backing boo ?
do you have tip overlays , im dyin to see some pics! nice bow . mtman