Need help with risers on board bows

[Kenboy]

I've just finished my second R/D longbow with .030" glass backing (ipe belly, 1/8" bamboo tapered lam, very thin zebra tapered lam and glass backing -- no glass on the belly) and it shoots well. This one is for my daughter, and draws roughly 29#. I've put over 500 arrows through my first glass-backed longbow (50#) with no cracks or fretting in the ipe belly, so I'm convinced that if the belly wood is dense enough, a glass backed board bow works fine.

The problem I've run into on both board bows, however, is ugly risers. I like a recurve-type pistol grip on my longbows with an arrow shelf cut almost to center. But when I make a riser like that on a board bow, it looks stuck on, kind of like a bad room addition. It functions well, but looks like a zit on an otherwise long, thin, gracefully curved bow. Unlike a typical laminated bow, on my board bows no lams go over the belly side of the riser. How do you make a handsome recurve grip, arrow shelf riser on a board bow long bow? Am I stuck with making a regular longbow type handle for aesthetic reasons?

My riser design problem isn't helped by my lack of skill in cutting out and shaping the sight window, shelf and handle, and this is where I really need help. I've tried making "V" cuts with a bandsaw and chiseling them out for the sight window, but chiseling ipe (and the phenolic layer I put in the riser) is like chiseling rock, and no matter how much I file, I can't seem to get the sight window flat. Don't get me started on my radiused arrow shelves. I can't seem to shape one without cuts or grooves on the wall next to the shelf or the shelf itself. Any good hints on shaping risers or am I forever doomed to buying oversized shelf rests and strike plates?

Finally, a more straightforward question. To line up the riser laminations and the limbs, would there be anything wrong with drilling, say, a 1/4" hole from back to belly through the riser and, during glue up, epoxy in a strong 1/4" dowel rod in the dead center point of the bow? It would seem to solve line up problems during glue up and clamping and help keep risers from popping off longbows that inadvertently bend through the handle. If you use a good hardwood dowel, would it weaken the bow? I haven't seen it done in any of the buildalongs, so I'm figuring there's a reason why.

Anyway, thanks for working through my long winded questions.

[sulphur]

basically when cutting through fiberglass your going to destroy your band saw blade.  that being said when i make a fiberglass bow i use and old blade and make several relief cuts to get the sight window right.  phenolic is tough as nails as you know so cleaning up the edges takes a GOOD double cut metal file.

[UnderControl16]

there is no problem putting in a dowel, i was having riser trouble and some one else recommended that to me and i have had no problems since. If you have a belt hander you can use that to get a smoother curve through the handle and bow and it is also what i use to start my risers with my glue on handle, board bows. To finish it i then use a sander on the moto tool. Hope that helps.  

[eflanders]

What I've done is gone to using a router table setup to cut in my radiused arrow shelf on difficult materials.  I do not do glass bows, just all wood laminate longbows and hybrids. I usually glue up my riser before gluing up the lams.  I also use offset fender washers on my form to keep things in alignment on the form.  There are a couple of these washers at each end of the riser to keep the riser in alignment when glued to the lams.