clear glass ----- help

[bahainfo]

kind new to bow making having trouble with my clear glass having bubble under it or bad spots

any tips on making come out right
useing smooth on glue

have brushed the glass and tried wiping it down with acceton

any help would be great
thanks

[Bowjunkie]

Make sure you give any solvent adequate time to evaporate.

Question; When you apply your glue, are you applying it to both mating surfaces? Both pieces should be wet before you put them together... wet everywhere... not a single speck of dry wood or glass left anywhere.

What are you using to apply the glue? I like to use a 6" cutoff piece of fiberglass for an applicator. Clean it with acetone when you're done and it will last for many bows.

Also, when you apply the glue, don't push down so hard that you can feel the applicator scraping the glass or wood lam.... rather, leave enough glue there that the applicator floats/glides on a film of glue just above the lam. Push with enough pressure that you can feel it, the back off a little bit. You'll get the feel for it.

Also, running the applicator one way to coat with glue, then running it the opposite way doesn't hurt either.

[Al Dean]

From the moment you get your glass and lams make every effort to not get them contaminated in any way.  I also wear a sweat band as I found I was getting drops of sweat on my work.

[jsweka]

Good advice right there from Bowjunkie.

I use lots of smooth on and yes it squeezes out all over the place when I put the air to the hose and makes one heck of a mess, but I have never had an issue with voids under my clear glass.

[MoeM]

It seems to be very helpfull to apply the glue "pyramidal" -higest spots in the middle so the out squeezed glue will push the air out of the glue joint rather than closing it in!

[Crooked Stic]

Some woods such as walnut will soak up more glue-- so give it a little time before laying pieces together.

[Robertfishes]

Outside of the Bingham's DVD and internet  build a longs I am self taught, so I do things that I think are best for me and my abilities. Am I the only guy who uses Bondo squeegees to apply smooth on? I buy them in bulk packs of 12-20 from Harbor Freight..I can cut them in half with my shop scissors and use one half for mixing and the other half for applying the glue. The plastic is flexible but still stiff..I use them to push the glue into the laminations and hopefully filling any voids in the wood or Glass, i go over the lams several times..the last 2 I don't put pressure on the squeegee, I just  glide it over the lams applying glue, but not a bunch of glue on the lams I go over the lams at least 4 times..like Crooked Stic said it seems like some woods really soak in the glue. I have never used a solvent to wipe down my glass or lams, I have a stiff plastic bristle brush I use on the lams just before glue up..that's what Bingham's suggests on their DVDs. I mix my smooth on epoxy on plastic dinner plates..some use tuna cans.. the tuna I buy is packed in oil, plus fish has oils and fats in it.. I have seen the streaks in clear glass in my bows too,before building my own bows I had $1000 custom bows with the same streaks in the clear glass

[canopyboy]

I use new plastic (not wax) dixie-type cups to mix the smoothon. But I really like a trick I learned from one of Mr. Lamb's build-alongs: I now use a thin/flexible putty knife that I've filed little grooves in the end with a triangular file.  I fully coat both surfaces as mentioned, and I don't worry as much about accidently wiping the glue too thin.  Lots of squeeze out as also mentioned, but I think that's a good thing.

I thought streaks in the glass was a glass flaw, not a glue procedure problem?  I know I bought some at a discount from Kenny because he identified it prior to selling it.  I never saw it until the bow was glued up, but since I  knew it was coming I wasn't worried.

[Robertfishes]

Yes,The streaks are "in" the glass from the factory. I have been using the galvanized metal pressure strips that Bingham's sells, they seem to work but I have wondered if there is something better.. I typically slowly inflate my hose to 55 or 60psi with a bike pump,then add 5 more psi with my air compressor..so far I haven't had a problem with bubbles under the glass or glue issues.

[bahainfo]

thanks for the info everybody