Update: Tillered my first BBI today - Finished

[CardboardDuck]

It is going to be 64" and I am shooting for somewhere around #50-55 @ 28".

The bamboo backing is very thin... I think I got carried away with my belt sander. It is a little less than 1/8" in the middle and tapers to razor thin edges and about 1/16" and the tips and tapers to razor thin edges. The ipe is 1" wide and 3/4" thick in the middle and tapers to 1/2" wide and 7/16" thick. I used smooth-on and toothed the ipe and bamboo with a hacksaw.

...But I think I messed up and started the taper directly from the center in both the width and the thickness, after I cut the rough shape I started thinking maybe I should have left a 4" handle area the full 1" x 3/4"??? So if anyone can chime in on this I would appreciate it.

   

   

   

[Roy from Pa]

Yes you should have left the handle area alone, but I doubt it will really hurt anything. I taper my BBO bows from the flares to the tips. Well actually I hold my flare width the same out to 6 inches past the flares, then taper the sides of the bow from that 6 inch mark to 1/2 at the tips, and taper the belly to the tips from that 6 inch mark out past the flares, if that make sense to ya. It looks like you glued that bow up flat. I induce a reflex at glue up. As far as the boo taper, it sounds ok and a razor edge is good in my opinion.

[CardboardDuck]

I actually glued in about 1 1/2" of reflex, it's hard to see in the pictures. This is going to be a bend through the handle bow, I hope, it might just be a bend in half bow    

[macbow]

Sounds interesting, if you wanted the handle to bend then the way you've started the glue up could work,best I'd think.

Will be,following

[Roy from Pa]

Ok on the reflex, I could not tell and you did good if it's a bend in the handle bow, I didn't know that either. Smooth On will cure at 70 degrees in 24 hours. How hot did you make your heat box? Bamboo dries out quickly and could become brittle if you get it too hot for too long. Being the way you clamped it up, don't expect much reflex, if hardly any. To get reflex you would need a clamp at midlimb. Below is how I induce reflex. Notice the clamps at midlimb and then the higher end limb posts. It's all fun and a learning thing. You will learn more with every bow you build. Your bow will turn out fine, it will most likely have some set after tillered. Nothing wrong with that, it will be a smooth quiet shooting bow. Enjoy the journey:)
 

[CardboardDuck]

My hotbox gets to about 185 or so... it has been in for about 2 1/2 hours, should I shut it off?

edit: I went and shut it off, now I'm worried. Learn something new everyday  

[Roy from Pa]

Oh My God, yes shut it off. Bamboo will re hydrate over time. 2.5 hours shouldn't hurt too much, over night would have killed it.

[CardboardDuck]

Originally posted by Roy from Pa:
Oh My God, yes shut it off.

...Great, I'm used to glass bows in my hot box, which I cook for four hours @ 185. Think the boo is going to be too brittle? It was wrapped in syran wrap, if that helps?

Thanks for all of the advice, it's been a lifesaver a few times  

[Roy from Pa]

I think it will be fine, but I would let it sit for a couple days to re hydrate. It's  pretty moist in Florida. Only time I use heat for a BBO is in the winter and I only have my heat box at 90 degrees over night, like 12 hours. But I use urac 185. Smooth on I would go for 24 hours.

[CardboardDuck]

Got it out of the form and clean it up a little. I'm not going to put it on the tree until the bamboo has some time to rehydrate.

A couple of pics-

 

 
(please dont mind the mess    )

 

 
Decent glue lines, I was surprised on how well the rubber bands worked.

[Sharpend60]

I dont see any mess...

Id like to get to a BB-somthing one of these days.

[Roy from Pa]

Another thing I do is leave the belly slat wider than the boo when I glue them together. Then when I cut it out, I cut right along the edge of the boo. Then clean the sides up with a belt sander. I also string the boo end to end to get it straight and then wrap it with tape to hold it in place while gluing up. Your bow does look straight though.

[CardboardDuck]

I guess I did the exact opposite, I cut the ipe to almost exact shape and left the boo a little bigger and just sanded the boo to the ipe. I also got the ipe bending nicely before gluing up.

Well, being an impatient guy and actually having a free day to work on whatever I wanted to, I started to tiller it instead of waiting...

It's not perfect, but I'm happy
   

6.5" brace
   

First two arrows      
   

It had a almost perfectly straight profile after shooting.
It is right at #55 at 28" which is amazing considering how scrawny this thing is... I think it's about 1/2" thick in the center tapering to about 5/16" thick at the tips. It shoots pretty good, but has some hand shock. I'll post some pics after I shoot a few more arrows through it and finish it.

[vanillabear?]

[CardboardDuck]

I sprayed a few coats of semi-gloss Deft on it today. After final sanding it ended up pulling #53 @ 28".

Here are a couple more pics, I can never seem to take decent pictures...

 

 

 

It initially had some reflex, now it's about straight
 

[wood carver 2]

Nice work. Gluelines are right on.    
Dave.

[razorback]

I think that may have the simplest and cleanest lines on a bow I have seen in a long time, nice work. You may even get an "its alright" from Roy.

[Roy from Pa]

Ya I guess it's ok:)

[SportHunter]

Great job on the bow. I have a BB IPE blank I've been meaning to take a crack at. You make it look easy.

[CardboardDuck]

Thanks guys. I have an osage stave roughed out to 68" that I might hack down to around 60" make another bendy handle bow, I really like how these look/feel.