Wonder how long it will last???
This is my 3rd laminated bow and my 4th bow overall. Specs are 65# @26 inches, 52 inches long nock to nock unstrung and 48 inches long nock to nock strung. Brace height is lower than I like but seems to shoot fine. Ive only got it to my full 26" draw a few times and frankly it scared the crap out of me. Most of the time I unintentionally short draw it and release around 23-24".
Why build it? Well it wasn't exactly by choice. I had some materials that had been in the garage and a friends storage shed for about 5 years "yes frozen over 5 winters". Finally decided to glue them up and see what they could do. The 72" lam broke 3/4 of the way down when I tried to straighten the circle that the wood had dried into. I ended up having to steam the lams to straighten them out. Then I had to trim a inch or so off of each end after glue up due to bad glue lines. I am completely amazed at just how much you can get away with and still have a shootable bow. The clear glass shows multiple spots on the belly and back of the bow that has crazy clue areas where it didn't contact and glue good enough. "Not sure if I starved it of glue or if its the bowgrip or clamping method?"
Specs: Cocobolla, Red oak and Paduk riser. Clear front and back glass with Paduk lams. A full length 72" parallel and some tapers. Glue is Bowgrip with the thickener you could buy for it years ago. All materials "except the red oak" were purchased from Bowstick Archery. Form was a 2x4 with a square face ripped on the table saw. Used 3 c-clamps per limb with a squeeze clamp in the middle to hold the riser. Then wrapped everything with surgical tubing to try and even out the pressure. Into the hot box overnight. Glue lines are horrible in the riser since this was my first multi lam riser.
When I was cutting the arrow shelf I got preoccupied and ended up cutting all the way through the back of the bow instead of the side "I know, pay attention!". I glued a filler piece into the kerf and then glued a extra piece of Paduk from when I trimmed the tapers and a extra piece of glass over the cut to strengthen it and add a accent piece. I spent about 3 hours on the belt sander and hand sanding today after work to shape and try and get the weight down. When I first strung it I could tell it was stiff and it sure was. Around 80# at 24 inches before I started sanding the belly and putting a angle on the sides of the belly glass. Ive got it about as low as it can go without removing the belly glass completely.
She seems to shoot really good and has some speed but the stack is horrible at full draw. Ive been wearing safety glasses when I shoot since I'm not sure how much she has in her. Shown below with my tiller bow string.
Shown here with no finish.
Topic: Experimental bow, 65# @26in, 52 nock to nock. (Read 241 times)
