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Author Topic: My board is starting to look like a bow  (Read 4832 times)

Offline Zradix

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My board is starting to look like a bow
« on: April 07, 2013, 10:26:00 PM »
Well started making my first cuts on my 1st bow today.

Here's the red oak I picked up yesterday..
       
       

Laid out some lines tonight...

Going to try 68" long, 2" wide, 8" handle, straight taper from ends of handle to 1/4" tips. ( wanted wider tips..see below)

         

Cut it to 68"

Ripped it to 2" width...
         

Then ran the piece I cut off the end when cutting the board to length through the saw to get it to the right width.
I plan on using that piece cut at 8" and glued on for the grip/riser.
         

Then started sanding the tapers...
         

After quite a long time of sanding I decided to try using the table saw to cut some of the excess wood off the tapers.

YIKES!!!          :scared:         Found out I'm just not familiar enough with the table saw for that. Scary as heck.. I accidentally cut what I thought was too deep on the bottom side of the cut. I was sweating.

Laid the bow outline out on the belly side of the bow and found I was just, I mean JUST barely OK....whew..
Just to be safe I decided to narrow my points down a bit to just over 1/4". Lets me miss my mistake rather than be right on it.

So I went back to sanding and the belt blew after a while.
..oh how sweet it would be to have a band saw....lol

Oh well, tomorrow I'll pick up a couple new belts.

Won't be physically working on the bow tomorrow as after work, oldest Daughter's 1st soccer practice, and Son's cub scouts, then I'll be putting brakes on my Wife's van.
...but I'm sure the bow will be on my mind.

Should be able to get some work done tues though.
Thanks to all for the help so far.

What did I learn tonight?
         :nono:          Don't use a table saw to taper your limbs unless you are 110% certain you know what you're doing.
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Zradix

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2013, 11:02:00 PM »
I do have a couple questions though..for now..lol

After I get the limbs tapered, the grip and backing glued on..

Do I need to round the edges a bit?..or just leave them square?
Also, should I thin the belly at all before tillering or just start out with parallel back and belly?

Thank you!
   :thumbsup:
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Grey Taylor

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #2 on: April 07, 2013, 11:38:00 PM »
With hand tools it can take us a little while to really screw things up.
Power tools enable us to ruin wood at a remarkable speed.
Round all the edges. Square edges give an area for splinters to lift.
You'll have to thin the belly before tillering. Look up "floor tiller" and do that.

Guy
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Offline Zradix

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2013, 12:36:00 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Grey Taylor:
....Power tools enable us to ruin wood at a remarkable speed.
....

Guy
That is the scary truth!

Thank you!
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline boznarras

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2013, 01:11:00 AM »
Any chance you have (or can borrow) a jig saw?
They are not so dear to buy as a band saw, and with a good new blade can make a very smooth cut. You could leave a little bit of excess, and sand to your line if you are nervous about it. They won't bind and be so dangerous as a table saw.

Look forward to seeing more, thanks for posting your project.
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Offline Zradix

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2013, 01:27:00 AM »
I do have a jig saw.
 I was just terribly worried about tear out.
At this point I feel comfortable using electricity for a sander and lights and that's about it..lol
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Echatham

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2013, 08:14:00 AM »
what i did a little bit... and i didn't talk about it in my build along... cause i didn't want to get scolded   :dunno:    :rolleyes:  .... but i ran the belly of my limbs down the belt sander a few times to get them bending. here is how i did it... and there is probably a better way. i turned the belt sander vertical so i was using the end to sand with.... then starting a couple  inches from the tips (not the same exact spot on every pass...so as not tro create a dip) i would apply moderate pressure and sand down the limb at a rate of maybe 8"/second... some passes would be 2/3 of the way down the limb... some would be 1/2... some would only be outer third.  i would count the passes and do the same thing on both limbs. for example... i would to a 2/3 pass, a 1/2 pass, and a 1/3 pass... 5 times on each limb... then check floor tiller. I only did this until i got a couple inches of bend... and i never went near the fades.
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Offline Echatham

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2013, 08:16:00 AM »
by the way the above method will create divots in the belly surface... if you hold it to the right light you can see all the dips. I used a palm sander with 80 grit and ran over the limbs just until i was back to a smooth flat surface. from there it was all scraping.... and very slow.
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Offline Zradix

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2013, 08:30:00 AM »
I was thinking of a similar process myself...
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Eric Krewson

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2013, 08:32:00 AM »
You could use a draw knife or even a hatchet to cut your tapers almost to the line and finish up on your belt sander.

I have a 36 grit belt on my belt sander and can remove wood really fast.
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Offline Zradix

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2013, 08:47:00 AM »
I wish I could find a belt that rough.
I've looked at local places, HD, Lowes, Menards...oh well.
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Buemaker

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2013, 08:58:00 AM »
At Klingspor you can get 24 and 36 grit.
 http://www.klingspor.com/
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Offline Zradix

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #12 on: April 08, 2013, 09:25:00 AM »
Thank you Oddbjorn.

My buddy came through for me this morn and brought me a 50 grit.

Between that and my surform I think I'll be set.
   :thumbsup:
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Zradix

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #13 on: April 08, 2013, 10:22:00 AM »
Just got my silk backing in the mail..
I'll be working on dyeing it soon..

 
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Mike Most

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #14 on: April 08, 2013, 10:24:00 AM »
Z.. if you havent done it yet look at Forest trekkers build along on this board bow, and look at the part where you scribe a line along the edge for thickness, I believe he quoted 15/32 to start and then he scraped from there.

that would be after you taper your limbs.Its too bad your so far away, as it were I have been blessed with two band saws and can only use one.
Good luck Mike
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Offline Zradix

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #15 on: April 08, 2013, 10:33:00 AM »
Thank you Mike.

John
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline Echatham

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #16 on: April 08, 2013, 10:50:00 AM »
haha Mike Most i bet your inbox just got flooded!
  :laughing:
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Offline Zradix

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #17 on: April 08, 2013, 12:33:00 PM »
no doubt..lol

Just found out a planer sander with the hood off is pretty bad donkey when working just one of the drums...lol

Got her taper sanded as far as I dare go with power.
Sorta tilted the board on all sides and got pretty close to the line.
Now I just need to basically sand down the crown + a touch more.

Then the belly taper.

Did a little stain test on my silk.
Glued it to an old 2x4 just to see how it goes with some TB3.
Seemed to work pretty well.
Happy to see what the unstained portion looked like too.
Don't know if I'll be using these colors exactly..this is a test..only a test...lol
 
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If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.~Aristotle

..there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.~ F.Bear

Offline razorback

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #18 on: April 08, 2013, 12:46:00 PM »
Z, that is a real good looking board. Take it real slow and you can make a great bow out of it. As mentioned above read 4est trekkers pyramid bow build. It is full of great info for a bow like this one. if I remember right his bow was wider than 2" so ou thickness wont be the same. Yours will be a little thicker. Ask lots of questions and post comments along the way.
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Offline Beanbag

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Re: My board is starting to look like a bow
« Reply #19 on: April 08, 2013, 08:31:00 PM »
I picked up some 36 grit ceramics at shopsmith,pretty good for using the end of the belt
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