New bow in the works, hickory backed IPE.

[DelawareDave]

Well here is my new project, its hickory backed IPE, small pyramid design.  Should end up 67" ntn, and hopefully 50 lbs @28" but im taking a shot in the dark with that    I put quit a bit of reflex in the bow so we will see how that works out tillering... also my glue ups are a little unorthodox, im the 1% that doesn't use smooth on, the epoxy is west system with some colloidal silica mixed in to make it a smooth on consistency.  On a side note I did a little test thinking the cs would make the epoxy brittle but it only reduced the flexibility of the epoxy by 1-2%, and so far its held on a few bows.

 

 

 

 

Also the riser is red oak, and a slat of red heart, one of my favorite woods, but smells like burning rubber when u cut it...

[takefive]

Love backing bows with hickory and redheart is such a pretty wood.  Keep us posted as you go along    

[DelawareDave]

I definitely will keep posting pic's as I go, but bare with me it takes a month or two for me to make a bow because of work     also some of u with more experience then me do u think I put to much reflex into the limbs?????  Thanks again!

[takefive]

Takes me a good month to make one, too, working on it a few hours here and there.  I really don't know how much reflex is too much.  I'm working on a hickory bow that I reflexed the tips just shy of 2 inches.  Doing the final tillering on it now and had no problems getting it strung and braced at 6".

[ordcorpdw]

What are the dimensions of your ipe? How thick? Just curious....thanks, Dave

[LittleBen]

Holy reflex batman! That should be a fast shooter if the hickory can hang on for the ride. Keep the pictures coming!

[DelawareDave]

Its a total length of 69", 1 3/16 wide tapering strait to 3/8" at the tips.  Hickory backing is just over 1/8" IPE is just under 1/2" and tapers to 1/4".  Riser is 12".  I took it of the mold this after noon and it sprung from 5" back to 3" of reflex.  Hind sight 20/20... 3" its probobly still more reflex then I want or need    ill post more pics this afternoon

[DelawareDave]

So to answer the $64 question, 3-4" of reflex is DEFINITELY to much.  Everything was fine and good with the long string but as soon as I tried for low brace it bow kept trying to flip on me so I made the string shorter... bad idead as the pictures show.

 

 

 

 I wish I had a picture on the tillering.... it looked really good even tiller, and it was pulling about 40lbs with the long string at 20"!!!    so for u experts out there is there anything u can do if a bow trys to flip on its self when strung????

[LittleBen]

whenever I'm doing a recurve or highly reflexed bow, I try and floor tiller as close as I can, and I try to go directly to a low brace height, I find it nearly impossible to get a highly reflexed bow not to twist on the tillerign stick with a long string.

Once braced they tend to stabilize ... theres probably a better way, but I've kinda just gotten used to that approach.

Looks liek your problem was one of grain runoff. Did you round the edges of teh hickory before tillering? A sharp edge can spell destruction.

I wouldn't expect it to just blowup like that with a fairly low draw weight. Did it flip then explode?

[DelawareDave]

Yes it exploded when it flipped around    I did round the edges but u are right it broke at the one spot I had any grain run off.  Oh well just means I get to start another one!    this time im going for 1.5" reflex....  

[LittleBen]

yeah, I think if it didn't flip you probably would have been ok.

I'll tell you a secret. Highly reflexed bows are cool, but a well made straight stave bow can be just as fast as a highly reflexed bow unless it is really expertly made. Any excess weight in the limbs and all that reflex just means you pull harder to draw and it won't get you anymore arrow speed.

1.5" is plenty, you'll end up probably 1/2" or so after tillering and it'll be fast and smooth assumign you do your part to keep tip weight LOW. with Ipe that means really narrow tips .... 1/4" tips with ipe is not at all too narrow ... if you can stomach it you can go a fraction smaller than that even and just have nock groove on the back side of the overlays and no grooves on the sides of the tip.

[Black Mockingbird]

Some constructive criticism for ya...

#1...fix your form...it has too much of an abrupt change from flat to reflex...you should have enough room to smooth it out and give it a better transition and shape...having a sharp reflexed area close to the fades like that creates a lot of instability,and that was part of your problem

#2...i suspect the way you had it set up on your tiller tree was inadequate for a higher reflexed bow...my tree has "ears" that hold the bow...they are U shaped to hold it in there...if the handle is narrower ill put shims in between the gaps to sturdy it,and it will keep it from wanting to flip if its wanting to flip on you....you can also clamp it down to acheive the same thing...and make sure from where your pulling is directly under center of the handle and not off to the side tourqing the bow...

And are you sure the blank was straight? Had an even side to side thickness? And if the string lined up dead center down the handle? If not,even a string that lies on the edge of the handle with a high reflexes bow will flip on you...you may get away with not perfect string tracking with a straight bow,but not a high reflexed one