price/quality of buildin your own???

[Jason Scott]

That's what I did first. I bought a quality blank and finished it. All I needed were files, hacksaw, sandpaper etc. Finished it in one day and it shoots as good as any.

[Aeronut]

If you are a scrounger like me you can cut costs quite a bit.

My hotbox is made of two sheets of 1/2" X 4' X 8' foil backed foam insulation.  Just cut some 3/4" square stock from a board for the corners to screw into.  The light sockets are also salvage from other places.  I bought the piano hinge and light dimmer new.  With two 60W and two 100W bulbs I can maintain over 160*F.  This is super light weight and I can easily move it anywhere by myself.
 
 

My form is a sheet of 3/4 cabinet grade plywood that was less than $40 when I bought it a couple of years ago.  Check/ask at the local Lowes or Home Depot for any damaged sheets that may be discounted.  Kenny has real good instructions for form building on his website.
 

Makes me happy to be able to hunt with my own handmade-by-me gear.  The only thing I haven't done yet is knap my own points to hunt with.  Maybe when I retire I'll be able to find time for that hobby.


The trouble with making your own bow is that you get hooked on it.  This is my latest and I have another one in the works now.
 

I will say that my first glass laminated bow had so much hand shock it would make your teeth hurt.  I figured out how to reduce a lot of it and it is a fair shooting bow now.  I decided I could do better and am still improving.

Dennis

[Johnny Reb]

Ya'll dont care to help a brother out do ya?  Lotta good info been posted here, some serious food for thought.
   I assume that bingham probably has a how to dvd?  any one put me on to a no must have/read book or dvd that is considered esential.

[bubby]

try Sam Harpers site, he has wood or glass bow build-a-longs for foks with minimal tools and funds. It's a good place to start

[Johnny Reb]

Can Mr. Haprers site be accessed from this site or will I need his site adress?

[OH Longbow]

I agree with Jason Scott's figures.  Although, as he points out, a lot of the expense can be minimized.  Several other posters also pointed out areas in which to save money.  Here is a link to one of "Hera's" builds.  I think the only bench tool he uses is a 4 X 36 sander.  He does great work.

  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=000231;p=1  

I just did a step by step build-a-long and posted it.  I used a lot of common shop tools but there are always other ways to do the job, it just takes a little more time and physical effort.  I bought limb laminations, riser, glue, and accent pieces.  I think I had right about $200.00. in materials.  I already had the form and bow oven.  Remember, if you're using "smooth-on" epoxy, you don't need an oven.  It will cure at room temperature, it just takes longer. (its either 16 or 24 hours, I can't remember which).  And, if you wanted to build a flat longbow, your form could be as simple as the edge of a nice straight 2" X 8" with 3 or 4 - 1/2" dow rods cut to length and installed as tie down points.  Simple stuff.

As far as quality goes, I've built 4 bows so far (2-longbows and 2-recurves).  I think they are as nice as some store bought bows.  The nice thing is they deliver an arrow to my point of aim, time after time.

Do it!  You won't regret it!  Be careful though, it does get addictive.

John

[barley40]

I just finished my first laminated longbow after years of selfbow building. If you really pay close attention to details (every little one) you'll do ok. If you're gonna do just one bow it's better to buy one, but there's a world of satisfaction in becoming a builder of all your own gear. When you finish one you start planing the next.

[Innocente]

here's sam harper's new site, the link takes you directly to the buildalong.

 http://poorfolkbows.com/oak.htm

cost: about $6 for the red oak stick, about $5 for the fiberglass tape, mabey $5 for the glue, might have to buy a couple hand tools (i spent mabey $30 when i got started following this buildalong).

[Johnny Reb]

Is this a great web site or what???    Ya'll  are great,  its gonna take some time to get around to maybe after Christmas but I cant stand it,   I gotta try this,   I love makin stuff.

[Jason Scott]

One thing to consider. If you want to build a reflex/deflex bow the form will be most of the work. The hours it takes to build the bow alone from riser cut out and glue up to finish is only a fraction of the total time invested. The form took me a week to get right because I didn't have a router like Kenny M. The form is the foudation and if it is not perfect your bow will never be. For my next design I will follow Kenny's steps to build a form. I just had an old jig saw, rasp/files and a square.

[steve wasson]

I'm at about $250 in materials for a recurve with exotic riser wood and a carbon limb strip, all bought from Binghams. I use the Helmsman urethane for the final finish.  My first bow sucked but I did some research on EVERY site and they've all been good since.

Steve

[kennym]

Hi Steve,
 How much do you think you are getting from the carbon in speed or smoothness?
I don't stock it but thinkin.....

[steve wasson]

Hey Kenny,
I haven't done any scientific crono testing and until last night, the carbon strip went in between the tapers, essentially down the middle of the limbs and across the back of the riser.  They SEEM faster and more consistent, quieter, and more stable (less chance for limb twist), and definately smoother.  I just built one with a .030" carbon strip just below a .030" UL glass so that it is very close to the outside of the back.  We'll see how fast it is.  I hope the sheer-force between the carbon and the glass doesn't cause it to explode. The layup, back to belly, all 2" wide, 64" recurve was: .030 UL glass, .030 carbon, .110 walnut taper, .090 actionboo taper, .030 bocote parallel.  Stack .340 at fattest, .200ish at the tips.  We'll see.  I pay about $45 for each carbon piece at Binghams.  Mike Fedora won't stock it because he feels exposure to the fibers is too dangerous and for the extra 3-4 FPS, he said it's not worth it.  I grind mine outdoors with a good respirator so I'm not concerned. I'd say the jury is still out...

Steve

[steve wasson]

Forgot to add the .050 ULS glass to the belly on my list.  Ha, can you imagine a wood belly with a carbon/glass back?  Can you say KABOOOM!!!  Steve

[kennym]

Thanks Steve! I have heard KABOOM before!

[Johnny Reb]

Sounds technical,,,but interesting.   Whats the deal with carbon fiber be'n  dangerous???