How do you make tapers?

[perry f.]

I know you use a taper to grind another taper, but what if you don't have one. Is there a way to make tapers without another taper?

[bamboo]

i bought a real nice taper sled from kennym

[George Tsoukalas]

You mean point and nock tapers? I made a jig for my belt sander. Jawge
 http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/simplearrow.html

[perry f.]

Thanks, but I'm referring to lam tapers

[Dick in Seattle]

Getting the aluminum sled set from Kirk is the A1 approach, but practical only if you're building quite a bit.   A2 would be get a taper from Kenny.  For that matter, Kenny will make you a sled.  Somewhere around level B2, but perfectly workable, is make your own.   BKK (before I got a taper from Kenny and then the sleds from Kirk) I made my first taper sled by using the drum sander to true up two nice maple boards, then running them through a few more times with a wedge between them so the top one was slanted.  Measured carefully after each pass and quit when I had a nice .0015  taper.   I built a lot of bows with that sled, and it's still hanging on my shop wall.

When I got my aluminums from Kirk, i made up new wood sleds so I wouldn't damage the alums.  I covered that in a set of shop pix that are on my site under the link:  "How It Goes":

 http://www.dickwightman.com/archeryactivity/bowbuilding/howitgoes/howitgoes.html

[Jason Scott]

You'll just have to break down and buy a taper or sled.

[wildcat hunter]

I made my own, I screwed a 1X1" on a 6" board 4' long at the angle I wanted. Now I hold the bow ( 5/8" thick ) on the board edgewise and rip a taper. Now I am talking about a 5/8" board not a thin lam!

[Bowjunkie]

Here is how I make tapers, or parallels, or whatever, when I 'don't have one'.

This jig is hinged on the backside, and when the two halves are layed flat together, it is used to grind parallel lams. To grind a pair of tapers, I simply add shims at the end as needed. More shims equals more degree of taper.

It's precise, fast and easy to use and adjust, and VERY versatile as only one jig is needed for ANY degree of taper.

[JamesV]

That is a very nice taper jig, did you build it yourself?

[Bowjunkie]

I had a local machinist do the machine work. The top piece is hollowed out underneith, though not all the way through, to help keep weight down.

Since that picture was taken, I added two adjustable keeper/support plates to each side to eliminate any chance of deflexion as it's run through the sander.

[dmikeyj]

Hey Jeff, did you have mechanical drawings that you gave the machinist to follow?  If so, do you have a copy to give?  I'd be real interested in having a nice template to build my own.
Also, what thickness shims do you use, and did you make those out of something else?

Mike

[Bowjunkie]

Sorry, no drawings, just gave him the pieces and told him what I needed done. He made the two plates and the close-tollerance hinge and I took it from there.

The shims are stock B shims, cut off short and drilled to accept the 1/4 pins. If you stack a bunch of them up, clamp them, and drill them all at once, then you can bolt them tightly together with 1/4" bolts and cut them all at once with a band saw or cutoff disc. I prepared a multitude of shims of various thicknesses so that the degree of taper was widely and finely adjustable. With it, I can grind lams with .001 taper, or less, OR grind a 1/2" thick belly core for a bamboo backed bow at 1/8 or 3/16 taper, etc. All one jig, and it takes just seconds to make any adjustments.

The shim pins are 1/4" stainless bolts with the heads cut off and threaded into the base plate. The top plate has holes drilled in it, underneith, to receive the pins as the two pieces come together.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I have bamboo taper sleds that i make for guys all the time. Unfortunately the aluminum ones are no longer available. Check out my bowyer's supply page.

 kirk

  http://www.bigfootbows.com/

[StoneAK]

I just got a taper sled from Kenny tonight will keep you all posted on the progress. Also just got my Grizzly drum sander in today it is Awesome