Amature r/d build-a-long

[Furtaker]

Ok guyes ,this is my first build-a-long so go easy on me.
The riser i built a couple months ago so I only have a finished shot.Wenge and light bocote with a paduk accent.
 
First I cut the veneers to 1.5".Mount the cutter in the vice and run the sheets through.
 

Slow and easy here because the cutters will try and follow the grain and run you off coarse and then all you will have is some nice fire starter.

Now off to the lam grinder.She's no beauty queen but looks aint everything.It is slow doing a stack but it does a good job.
 
 

[Furtaker]

OK, lams are ground time to splice.
I made this jig to grind the splice joint.
 
 
It worked pretty good.
 

Gluing these together I lay a strait edge on the bench and a piece of plastic wrap on top.
 

A little CA ,lams against the strait edge,fold the plastic over and clamp it.
 

[Furtaker]

All splices made, and everything laid out in order ready for the dry run.
 

From bottom to top:
.040 clear glass
.022 mosambique veneer
.082 cherry @.002/taper
.078 sassafras para.
.084 cherry @.001/taper
.022 veneer
.040 glass
.368 total stack.
I'm shootin for 60" mid 50's at 28".

Dry run looked pretty good after a few shims of masking tape.
 
 


I think the fades will close up nice once I get the air hose on it.
More later guys,time to get some glue on it.

.................
      Frank

[Stiks-n-Strings]

looking pretty good so far

[bjansen]

Looks quite professional to me.  That riser looks great.

[Scott F]

I'm with Brad on this one, it looks very professional to me.  Good luck and keep us informed on your progress (w/ pictures, of course)!

I liked how you protected your fadeouts.  I have to drive to a workshop to thin my fadeouts.  The way I protect them is to just drive home slowly with the goods resting on the front seat of my Jeep.  That process (nonsense) has instantly changed forever, thanks!

[Furtaker]

Thanks for the kind words fellas!

Scott,most of the time I will build risers way in advance,taking alot of time getting those fade-outs just right and paper thin only to  knock it off the bench onto the floor a couple days later.With a few choice words , there goes your hard work down the tubes,so I thought I would put all those scraps I got laying around to good use.

[Greg Szalewski]

Looks a nice looking bow. One thing i like about build a longs is picking up different ideas and I see a few on yours. The lam grinder looks familiar. Was that the one i saw on a lam grinder build a long?

[Furtaker]

Ok,I got it glued up.
First thing I did was warmed up the epoxy while I preped everythine else.
 
After about an hour ontop of the stove it's warmed up just right.I try to mix the two parts pretty equal.One time I mixed the two parts just by eyeballing it.Didn't work,too much hardener and half way through the glue up, it started to set.I salvaged the bow and it still shoots today.So now I use the old measuring cup meathod.
 

Something I tried this time,always had trouble with the epoxy cooling off and getting stiff.
A light mounted on the bench to set the cup under between lams.Worked like a charm.
 

My glue up at half way.Put it together on the bench this time,I like this method better.
I used to lay each lam in the press one at a time.
 


 Another trick I tried,attached a band to my form....
 
And wrap it around the riser to hold it in place.
Never liked using a clamp and fiber tape.
 
 
In the press and in the oven.
Time for a beer and some football.
 Later men.
................
   Frank M

[Furtaker]

Greg, I think that was a build-a-long by Russel S.

[Mike Most]

I will be following this build along, looks great, thanks for taking the time to share the pictures. Always looking for new ideas.

Mike (by the way I dont have to worry about smooth on getting cold down here.)

[Russell S.]

looks great!!  i love the wenge

[Apex Predator]

Looking wonderfull!  Thanks for taking us along!

[kennym]

Lookin good Frank!!  We need more tho ! LOL  

[Furtaker]

There's more to come.don't know what happened to the pics at the beginning but I'll keep going.

Got it out of the oven and cleaned it up a bit.
 
 
 

The fades closed up ok but I'll do better next time.
What do you guys think of that mosambique?

It will be slow going now,had to rejoin the rest of the world and go back to work monday.

...........
 Frank

[Furtaker]

Figured out what happened to the pics.
Some bone head sat here and deleted his pics off
photobucket.That was a rooky move and it won't happen again.
My apologies to all!!!
Guess I'll have to do another build-a-long to make up for it.

..........
  Frank  

[Shaun]

Nice build along. Looks like the fades on your riser are a little abrupt. I have read that it is a good idea to try to make the last part of the fade take 3" to go from 1/4" to 0" thickness.

Great looking form - looks better than some of the pro ones I've seen visiting bowyers shops.

[Furtaker]

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay but progress is slow.
I got the limbs laid out and ground down to rough stage and cut string grooves in it so I could check weight.I left it at 62" just in case my calculations were off,(it's going to be 60")
and my scale said 48# at 28".
So if I cut an inch off each end and after tillering and final sanding, it should hit mid 50's at 28".
But at full draw I wasn't crazy about the bend right out of the fades and how flat the rest of the limbs were, so I ground a couple power lams out of .050 clear glass and will glue them on this afternoon after work.
Here's a picture, what do you guys think.
 

More to come, this will be another long weekend for me.

[kennym]

I think p-lams will help a lot! How far past the fades are you goin?

Will probably add 2-3 #s tho. (goin by what I've heard,no exp yet)

Let us know what it adds if you would,I'm gettin ready to do the same to one...

[Furtaker]

Ok I got an update for ya.
My p-lams were .050 clear glass 12 inches long.
Extended 5&3/8" past fades.
Tapered the last 4&1/2" of p-lams from .050 to .000.
Weight gain was 9 pounds.(went from 48# to 57#)
Here's a pic of the result.
 

Compared to this before P-lams.
 

I'm much happier with the top pic.
Gonna get back at it cause I realy want to shoot this one now.
See ya all later.