Building a longer recurve...finished w/picts

[wookiewebster]

Because I will have to make my own riser block for a longer bow, I decided to use what I could find locally for my first bow.  I think it will be expensive to buy a 2x3x26" block of exotic wood. Plus, I have had a hard time finding a block that size. It seems that thinner wood is easier to find.

At a local place, I got a nice piece of walnut with some figure in it.  I think its beautiful.

 

 

I had a piece of maple that I decided to sandwich in the middle.

 

[wookiewebster]

I glued up the block with smooth-on, then trued it up and cut the initial shape.  

 

Then I added a couple strips of black phenolic with a thin piece of Bocote in the middle.

 

This is the riser shape I am thinking about doing.

 

[wookiewebster]

I finally got it in the press and into the oven.

I decided to go with black glass on the back and clear glass on the belly, with birdseye maple visible. All the rest of the core lams are hard maple. I just hope it comes out looking nice.

I want to throw out a "thank you" to KennyM for the lams and other info and also others for suggestions, info, and help on this project.  This forum has some very helpful people and I appreciate the kindness to a newcomer.

   


   

[DJP]

Keep it going, it looks like it is turning out great, i have been building 64" curvs lately and i really like the longer bows.

[JJB]

It's looking really nice. Your wood combo works well together, I'm looking forward to seeing that birdseye maple.
-Jay

[kennym]

With that big riser it should feel good in hand at shot!!

[wookiewebster]

OK,  good weather on the weekend, so I didn't get a lot done because I was working in the yard, etc.  But I did get some done in the evenings.

I put my "beater" blade on the bandsaw to cut the limbs and got them roughed out.  Bingham's says that a 4 TPI, skip toothed, neutral rake blade will last the longest, even though it will smoke and squeal a bit.  So I keep one blade just for this chore, which keeps my other blades sharper for wood.

   

I also got the front profile and grip area roughed out.

   


After smoothing out the front profile with a sanding drum, I glued on some maple and walnut detail strips.  This is where I learned just how thin wood needs to be to bend correctly. The phenolic strips, though thicker, bend easily compared to this wood.  But I wanted to try using wood accents this time, so I messed around until I got it right.

   

[wookiewebster]

Next, I took a piece that was cut from the front profile and glued it on to help build up the heel of the grip.

 

After some cleanup:

 

[wookiewebster]

I also cut out the sight window and did a bit of shaping on the drum sander.  I still need to take more wood/weight off, but it's starting to feel comfortable when gripped.  

 

 

 

[bbs383ci]

dude looks nice good job.

[Glunt]

Looking good!  Very classic.

[JJB]

Looking really nice!!
-Jay

[kennym]

Monte, that is gonna be cool! Let us know how she shoots!!

[Buemaker]

A real classic, lookin good. Bue--.

[VRB]

Love that old style recurve look. Nice Work

[wookiewebster]

Well, I guess it's finally time to put some finality to this build, eh?  I got a finish on it and took it out in the sun for some pictures.
 
 

 

 

 

[wookiewebster]

 

 

 

[wookiewebster]

       


Here are the stats for this bow:
- target stats: 64", 45# @ 28", 2" wide
- achieved stats: 65", 53# @ 28", (58# @30")  205fps with a 378gr arrow (at my 30" draw)
- .040"  ULS black glass for the back
- .043"  ULS clear glass for the belly
- .070"  hard maple parallel lam for back
- .100"  birdseye maple tapered lams for belly (taper: .001/1") (visible thru glass)
- riser: 2 x 3 x 26", walnut with maple i-beam
- stack height: .253"

This bow is fun to shoot.  I like the feel and dimensions of this bow a lot more than the 58"-60" bows of the same style.  This one draws and shoots very smoothly and it sure puts some speed on a shaft.  I still need to take it to the range and chrono the speed, so I will add that data when I get it.  I can tell that it will be over 200 pfs for sure. The riser is quite dead in the hand and comfortable to shoot.  I'm sure the heavier riser has something to do with that.  When I started shooting, it was grouping well after just a few shots, so it has a natural feel for me.

  I think I need to try another one that hits closer to my target stats of 45# or less, so I think I will try .010" less stack height next time and see how it comes out. One thing about this style of bow, compared to the r/d longbow that I built last, is that it takes longer to shape the large riser section to remove weight and slim it down for fit. It also takes more care to avoid and remove limb twist issues. Still, it is a great design to shoot, especially now that I have a longer version that fits me better.  I also like the wider limbs when showing fancy wood.                

I know there are some flaws from some mistakes that I made, so try to ignore those. I will do better from all the "learning" I did this time.  It was my first attempt at laminating a riser, using clear glass, etc. and I didn't think far enough ahead on a couple steps. Nothing to effect function, just looks.

All the pictures and write-up for this bow are in my    blog.

Happy Easter!

[rmorris]

Wow! what a great looking recurve. I hope she shoots as good as she looks.

[jess stuart]

Nice looking bow bet is very smooth judging from the string angle. Great job.