Tip overlays?

[Blue EagleBum]

How do you get the fine feathering of the overlay down to the limb?

I always seem to violate or gouge the main limb.

[kennym]

My least liked  task!

A nock file wrapped with fine sandpaper works about as well as anything for me, maybe I worry bout gettin into the limb glass too much! LOL

[Dmaxshawn]

What the master said above.  Oh and one other very important point.  DONT GET IN A HURRY!!!!!!

Shawn

[kennym]

master??        

Good one Shawn!

[Roy from Pa]

On the wood bows I make, I leave the horn overlay about 1/32nd thicker than the limb where they meet. Then I use a palm sander with 220 grit and start on the overlay and slowly with light pressure work towards the limb/overlay joint till it's close. Then I use 220 grit with my thumb.

[Walt Francis]

Taper & Feather the overlays before you glue them on.  Also, make sure the surfaces are flat and mate up to each other without any gaps.

[fujimo]

i tape the limb, right up against the tip overlay- to guard against any unforseen accidents.
then when i finally remove the tape- i finish up real slowly by hand, or an old arrow dowell with some sandpaper glued on.
go slow!!!!
g'luck
wayne

[Pat B]

I do like Walt does.

[vanillabear?]

[coaster500]

vanillabear, very nicely done !!

[Eric Krewson]

I glue my overlays on as a square piece of wood, rough shape them on a belt sander with a 36 grit belt and use a Dremel tool (make sure the rotation is into the overlay not the limb) with a carbide cutter to get close to finished on the leading edge.

I should add, I was once a power duck decoy carver and used a Dremel extensively in my craft, I know how to use it. It is one tool that will ruin a piece of work quicker than anything in inexperienced hands.

I next I feather the leading edge with a small riffler file and follow up with a little hand sanding.

It takes me longer to write about it then to do it. The picture is one of the double nocks I make to accommodate a simple bow stringer.

     

[tenbrook]

Originally posted by Walt Francis:
Taper & Feather the overlays before you glue them on.

This is what I do.  Makes a big difference.  

[PEARL DRUMS]

Use some doubled up painters tape to protect the limbs. If you do bump it with the rasp or sand paper it wont get to the glass/wood underneath. It works great.

[snag]

The thing I have trouble with is sanding the tip flat on a selfbow. It usually leaves an irregular edge on the part nearest the handle..not the tip end. So then you have to fit the overlay to match as to cover the area properly, so as not to allow any exposure of lower wood layers.....not to violate the top ring when using osage.  Does this make sense to you? If so, how can this be overcome?

[monterey]

Eric, I like your stringer nocks!

I rough them out with a drum sander on a drill press and then work very, very, very carfully with a very, very, very sharp chisel to finish the taper.  Ya gotta keep it off the glass!!

[DVSHUNTER]

Prertaper overlays. No easiervway to do it imo

[kennym]

I pretaper also, but still hate getting the part at the limb glass.

[bjansen]

I do it this way

Cut some shallow nock grooves in first so you can measure equal lengths of overlays.  

1.  Mask off the area you will glue on the overlay,  sand it well...clean it well

2.  Using smooth on (as it sands very well and it is the strongest) glue the overlays on ( I do not preglue the overlay stack, nor due I pretaper them).  Clamp it with spring clamps.

3.  Remove the tape off the area you masked and clean up all the excess. Let it bake at a lower temp than you glued the bow up at.

4.  Out of the oven, remask the area (double it up).  Take it to the spindle sander with 220 grit paper and grind the overlays to fade them into the limbs (I use the large side of my ridgid osc. belt sander)...sand until it just touches the tape.  

5.  Finish it by hand with 120 grit, then 220. Do not be afraid to sand just a bit into the limb glass (just not aggressively of course)  For whatever reason after I finish sanding I put a drop of thin ca glue on it and rub it in.  At this point, if you run you finger along the limbs up the overlays you should not feel any transition.

Then I proceed to trap or otherwise finish the limbs.  If you wait to finish the limbs and shape the tips.

[bjansen]

One other tip that I like....use a piece of clear glass as your first overlay on top of the limb (stacking your colored pieces on top of it)...it makes it much cleaner looking and is easier to get a good look.

[Swissbow]

I had some issues in the past glueing the tips ( phenol ) with epoxy, so now I use super glue. Never had any troubles since and on top it saves me a lot of curing time.

Then I mask the glass with tape ( double ) and do almost all the rough shaping with a rasp. When I was a young lad ( a long time ago... ) my boss forced me to work with file and rasp for month's and I hated it, but now I'm very happy he did. Everything has it's purpose in life... d:-D

After that I use sanding paper to make it nice and smooth until I'm happy with it.

@Brad: I have to try your suggestion with a piece of clear glass. I bet it looks cool.

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Andy