Leather wrap on a pyramid

[McCool]

I will post pics of my first build soon!  I have two pieces of thin leather that were samples for another project they are both too small to wrap around, only about 4" square.  It occurred to me that I could cut a spiral pattern on these and wrap them as straps.  Does this sound like a good idea?

I've also been discouraged from backing my new bow with fiberglass/epoxy.  I plan to burnish the back and was starting to wonder if just a coat of epoxy along the back would work to keep any grain from separating once the bow starts getting used.  I intend to use a natural poly finish (no staining) anyway for the whole bow.  

Brian

[mwosborn]

Brian - what kind of bow is it?

[McCool]

I'm following the pyramid bow build along, board bow.  It's red oak with a walnut riser and tips.

[McCool]

Well, it might all be academic anyway now, stupid struck.  I was about to cut the back side of the tip overlays on the bandsaw when an idea for solving a problem at work popped into my head.  I was in total autopilot mode on the bandsaw for about 2-3 inches before I realized that I was on the wrong side of the line!

I managed to resist the urge to throw the bow across the shop.  I cut a piece of walnut 1/32 thick on the bandsaw and it fits snug in the mistake I made.  I shaved a bit more off and now have it all gluing up.

I'm going to keep going forward with this anyway.  I can still learn some stuff and who knows, maybe the bow will be ok...

[mwosborn]

Been then and done that - sorry man.  It doesn't take long to turn a lot of work into firewood with a bandsaw.  Can't lose focus when on the bandsaw.  Hopefully the glue fix works for you.

On your question with backing - I have not made any board bows - have only used staves.  If I need to back, I have used rawhide.  There are other options and the board bow experts will likely chime in.

[4est trekker]

Spiral cutting has been around for centuries.  Great way to use small scraps. It can be tricky to get them to come out even.  I find that stretching them around a fixed object such as a dowel held upright in a vise works out the kinks.

Epoxy backing will do you very little good.  It needs another surface to work with.  Brown paper backing is a great option.  It's easy to do, is solid and effective, and can look great.  You can use the long rolls of shipping paper found at most stores.  There are lots of how-to's on this site and others on how to go about it.  I may have even done one at some point.  I'll have to look it up.  Here's a fuzzy picture of one I did years ago to give you an idea:

 

[fujimo]

those are all really neat handles, and i have also seen where a skived strip is wrapped in a spiral- kinda like hockey tape!
with a floppy rest they sure look sharp- thats my next foray into the "unknown"- for a couple-a new bows i am working on .

[McCool]

I have two sample pieces that are slightly different colors; maybe I can intertwine them down the handle for a decent effect.

The patch job I made on the recurve tip came out good; you really have to get up close to see it and it's probably stronger than the other side now.  Maybe I should go make the same mistake on the other side.

I got the bow up on the most ugly tiller tree ever made.  I got the limbs stretched almost 3 inches from horizontal and am registering 20 pounds already.  Took some pictures to study to start figuring out where to start removing wood.
 

The bow weighs as much as a full bottle of Shiner Bock with the cap off and 3/4 of the top label removed.  Don't know exactly how much that really is, but it feels pretty natural to me....

[McCool]

The limbs are still at 1/2" thick.  I've blown this image up in Microsoft Paint and set gridlines on.  The bottom looks like it's about a 1/4" tighter than the top.  I probably should try a better background to take pictures against.

The bow came back to perfectly flat on its back after this stretch.  My shop is currently at a chilly 55 degrees, don't know if I should move the bow and the next stage to a warmer room...

[macbow]

Any string follow will probably not show up till later.
Since it is starting to bend, sorta floor tillered, next,would be to put a long string on it. Just to get about a 1 inch brace height.

A really helpful set up,is a,tillering tree with a vertical fixed tree a and a rope and pulley where you stand back and watch as you bend and exercise the wood.

[fujimo]

this is my experience- and may not be everybody elses, but just a warning for tillering sticks- i am wary about pulling a wood bow far and hooking it on the tillering stick, while one spins it around and studies it.
 those extended periods under close to full draw kinda strains, are not good for a bow, a good friend of mine broke 3 board bows in a row- until i figured out what he was doing, since using the tillering tree- with a pulley and only holding at the longer draws for a few seconds, he hasnt broken a bow since.
the wood he was using- maybe!!
the extended periods of high strain, probably!!
but i dont like to ruin a bow i have put a ton of work into, on the home straight!!
this is just my experience

[McCool]

Thanks for the advice Macbo and Fujimo!  I think what I'm going to try is the pulley method with my camera on a tripod so I can snap a quick picture.  I really stink at judging symetry in a few seconds and need the photos.  I am trying a few tricks with computer software to help me figure out how the symetry is looking.

The only thing that I have right now for a string is one that is used to help put a string on the bow.  Is it ok to shorten this to get the 1 inch brace or should I buy/make something else?

[psychmonky]

Originally posted by McCool:
The only thing that I have right now for a string is one that is used to help put a string on the bow.  Is it ok to shorten this to get the 1 inch brace or should I buy/make something else?

Well yeah you should make something else...you can't shoot it with the stringer anyway lol.

I would make a tillering string with a Flemish loop on one end and nothing on the other so u can tie a timber hitch wherever you need it. That way you can use the same string for everything.