New Guy from St. Louis

[SwampEagle]

Hi there.

I was just referred to this site by a friend of mine.  I was a bow hunter a long time ago before I went away to the Air Force in 1987. Now, my twin 11 year old girls recently took an interest in archery and I have had them in a Junior Olympic Archery program here in town.  They have done really well shooting the rental gear and we just signed them up for another program starting in January.

I have been a woodworker and general shop tinkerer for quite a while now and I run a side business out of my shop cutting composites for multicopters (Google it).  Essentially running 2 CNC routers at a time and shipping out boxes of parts to my distributors.  

All that to say, this.  I have a lot of time while the machines are running jobs and rather than staring at them, I need to do something.  I think I can kill a few birds with one stone.  My girls really like recurves they have been shooting at the range.  I would love to have a go at making a bow for myself and then once I have done some learning, make them a couple of nice light bows.  

My plan is to use my CNC's where possible.  Things like form templates, riser templates, etc.  I might even have a go at designing up a some details in CAD and letting the machines have a go at some prototype handles.  Not really necessary, but I am like that.  I enjoy figuring things out, learning new things, and finding new ways to use my machines.

Sorry for me long-winded first post.  Also, if there is anyone in the area that wouldn't mind a little mentoring of a beginner, hanging out and making sawdust, visiting my little shop, or just drinking some beers, give me a shout.

Take care,
Matt

[Shaun]

Welcome Matt! There are some bow builders in the St L area and you will likely hear from some of them. Have fun building bows and keep posting and questioning on this forum.

[JamesV]

Welcome from the Mississippi Delta

[kennym]

Hi Matt, and welcome!!

Wish I was closer, I'd like to watch ya a bit with your CNC's!

[Dmaxshawn]

Welcome to the most addicting hobby on the web

[scottm]

Matt,welcome to tradgang.Where are you from in illinois.Im from Chester Illinois.about 60 miles south of ST.Louis Missouri

[rainman]

Towne Hall archery in Belleville has a lot of Trad shooters, and the St. Louis Bowhunters traditional league shoots every Monday night in St. Charles.  I can help you build wood bows but have no experience with fiberglass laminate bows.  I live by Lambert.

[SwampEagle]

I do a few thousand dollars worth of business with Town Hall Archery each month for my other business.  It sounds crazy but I use 1716 inserts and carbon arrow shafts in our multicopter designs.  When my online suppliers couldn't keep up, Monty and Roger really came through for me.  People look at me funny when I come in there and buy a case of arrows and 1000 inserts.  They look at me even more funny when I tell them I'm not in me archery business!  They would probably cry when they see what I do to the nice carbon arrows!  Haha

I have looked at the traditional bows they have while my daughters are shooting.  I see they also have a bunch of them there on consignment.  I have actually been studying them and snuck a few pictures.      

I will post pictures of my CNC's sometime.  My normal practice when cutting a prototype is to mill from a waste material.  For something like a thick riser, I will mount up a big hunk of 2 inch thick blue construction foam.  Virtually no strain on the machine and I can run the feeds around 100 inches per minute, for a very fast turnaround.  I know it's not traditional but I think I will, at the least, rough out the riser with the routers.  I can find tune it by hand, which is the case 99% of the time, with everything.  Anybody who thinks you insert a material, press a button, wait a few minutes, and remove a 100% finished product is severely misinformed.  There is much more to it and it can be much more challenging from a technical perspective.  

Anyone is more than welcome to visit my home/shop.  Maybe we can come up with something to make.  I think I could do the laminated tip parts (at least blanks for them) real easy.  I love wood, composites, phenolics, and mixtures of those materials.

Hey, I'm rambling.  Warning:  I do that a lot.

Thank you very much for the warm welcome.

Take care,
Matt

[Roy from Pa]

Matt ya got my attention with the beer, when can I stop over?

[SwampEagle]

Any time.   I will post a picture of the machines running tonight or tomorrow.  I wouldn't mind 'Tradin Parts' either.  I love some 'Horse Tradin'.