A bow for me! (R/D longbow build along) (update 6/23 pg4)

[Bodork]

Looking good! Tomorrow can't get here soon enough!!

[bornofmud]

Thanks guys!  And I know it Kenny!!  A dust collection system is number 3 on my list, a new hotbox and a dehumidifier being 1 and 2 haha.  

Alright, did glue up today.  Not much to say here that hasn't been said before.  I use paste wax on the form to keep from anything sticking.  Then I lay down saran wrap and go about it like normal.  Here's everything layed out in order and ready for epoxy. I use 4.5-5 spoonfulls of each part of the epoxy.  I usually slightly favor the hardener.

 

And here's a shot after laying everything down and taping it in place.  I have center marked on all of my lams to make lining everything up and making sure it stays there easier.  

 

All that was left was to put the aluminum strip down, the hose, then clamp the top in place.  Pumped it up to 65 psi, making sure to give time between every 10 psi to let the epoxy move around without pulling my veneers apart. Everything looked good and lined up nicely, so I stuck it in the oven!

That's all for today!  Tomorrow will be cleaning it up, seeing how the joints came out, then marking out, cutting, and sanding the limbs to shape, and finally, get the belly riser overlays shaped and glued on!  Big day!

[Trux Turning]

That's going to be a cool looking bow- I like the profile in the form.

[bigbob2]

Waiting to see some more!

[critman]

I'm drooling again!  Looking good there bud.

[red hill]

Looks very good, Nick! Need more!

[bornofmud]

Alright!  Done for the day! This is gonna be a long one. Here we go...

So, I woke up to a freshly cooked bow...

   

I pulled it out of the form and started sanding it down.  Got it down so all the lams were lined up on both sides.  The fades came out great!  Stoked about that, was a bit nervous with the two .150 lams.  Lotta wood haha.

   

And a shot of the back veneers before I cover um up with tape.

   

Next I put tape across the back and set up the laser level.  My level automatically adjusts to true level, so I just clamp my by to the table and shim it till it checks out with a level over the entire length.  It's important to make sure it's level through the whole thing, otherwise your line won't come out truly straight.

   

I just draw my limb straight onto the tape with no template.  Also, I freehand the centerline.  Tried clamping a straight edge, but it never stayed straight and was a pain with the laser, was hard freehanding the first couple times, now it's quick and easy.   I start my taper at the end of my powerlam, which is 30" long.  I mark a line at 15" from center on both limbs.  This is to be a 64" bow ntn, so I measure out to 32" on both limbs and mark again.  Here I've also drawn the finished lines for the middle section.  I do this by using a ruler, lining a mark up with the centerline, then measuring out on each side.  This bow is 1 3/8 thick to powerlam end. Then I clamp the straightedge and draw the line.

   

Next I mark 3/8" at the nocks to be.  I then clamp the straightedge and connect the dots.  Make sure the straight edge is absolutely flat to the limb or your line will come out wonky!

   

And after doing that for all the parts, we have our limb template drawn on..

   

And cut out on the bandsaw..

   

Then sanded them to the line.

[bornofmud]

So unfortunately the glue up didn't go perfectly.  My belly veneer ripped when I was pulling the veneer off of my table.  I stuck it together on the limb as I had no real choice, and it has worked in the past.  Unfortunately the rip was up in the reflex part of the limb and separated because of the angle.  While this is purely cosmetic and the gap is completely filled with epoxy, it is a bummer none the less.  

     

Anyways, moving on, I sanded the belly side of the riser and fit our leftover piece from earlier to the belly.  This is the first part of the belly overlays.  This is a tricky fit to do, not nearly as fast and easy as getting the back to fit the form.

     

After getting it all shaped, I cut out pieces of glass and a stip of maple to use as highlights and for strength.  I also cut the final riser pieces to rough shape and the correct length. Also notice how I leave the top of them flat, that is so I can clamp it easier.  I just butt joint them as separate pieces, then sand all the way through the joint later. Don't forget to sand the finished sides of the glass or the epoxy won't stick very well! Here's a picture with everything ready for epoxy.

     

Finally, I mix up 2 spoonfulls of each part of epoxy, and glue everything up.  Had a bit too much glue left over, will use slightly less next time. This is a tricky glue up, everything wants to move around.  I've found it helps to use small shims to keep the riser from rocking, but not so long as to keep you from being able to use the spring clamps.  After this, I set a heat light up close and rotate it periodically.

     

And that's all for today!  Tomorrow is a pretty short day, as most of it will be spent waiting for epoxy to dry.  Tip overlays, the cut into the back, and back overlays tomorrow!

[Bodork]

Thanks for the build along! Always fun to watch others work and pictures say so much more than words. Bummer about the veneer. I had one that had a small crack I had noticed before glue up. I went ahead thinking the crack would disappear but I guess the pressure of the hose actually made it a lot worse. It filled with epoxy and shoots fine but it kinda looks like a worm tunnel in the wood.

[bornofmud]

I agree, the only reason I can build bows at all is because a bunch of other people did this same thing haha.  And yeah, it's a bummer.  I need to figure out a way to keep my lams from sticking to the table after coating one side of it with epoxy.  Maybe wax paper?  Oh well, now I have an authentic excuse for this to be my bow hahah.

[Trux Turning]

Bummer on the veneer crack but I'm enjoying the build along!

[kennym]

Originally posted by bornofmud:
I agree, the only reason I can build bows at all is because a bunch of other people did this same thing haha.  And yeah, it's a bummer.  I need to figure out a way to keep my lams from sticking to the table after coating one side of it with epoxy.  Maybe wax paper?  Oh well, now I have an authentic excuse for this to be my bow hahah.

Bad deal on the veneer bud!

Not sure I understand on sticking to the table.
I never put the glued side to table. I build the stack and keep putting glued sides on the stack.

I may misunderstand how you did it tho.  

[bornofmud]

Do you only coat one side Kenny?  I always have coated both sides, but if that is unnecessary, I'd save a lot of glue and frustration haha.  Or do you coat one side, put it on the form, then coat the other side?  Seems like stuff would move around a lot doing it that way.

I do it by coating one side, flipping it over (so now the side I just put glue on is on the table)then coating the other side, then put it on the form, then repeat, so that all surfaces have epoxy on um.

[Trux Turning]

Nick you'll have better luck especially with veneers if you put glue on your glass then one side of the veneer and put those two sides together and then do the other side of the veneer. I do the rest of the lams this way and add them to the stack- then move whole stack to the form.

[bigbob2]

I coat one side on bench over paper, then move each lam to the form and then coat second side. Make sure all are lined up and true and use a temporary cable tie in four places to hold until airhose is inflated to about 15 - 20#. The cable ties can then be withdrawn and hose inflated in stages.

[kennym]

Glue on all surfaces(cept the outside of glass)

I do it like David,

Glue on glass and one side of lam, then flip lam over on glass and do other side.

On TDs you can do the whole limb on the bench, but on my D/Rs with the riser in the mix, I do all the full length lams for bow back, then lay that on form. Then do a short stack for both ends on the belly and making sure which end is to center, lay it on the riser and proceed as usual.

I always lay all the parts out and mark on tape, CENTER on the short stacks!! I would hate to tiller one with a taper turned the wrong way on one end!!    

[bornofmud]

Ahhh, I get it, that is a much better way to do that and would definitely make it easier to keep the delicate pieces together.  Thanks Kenny!  Will be doing that next time.  

Almost done for today, will have some pics up shortly!

[kennym]

In fact, on thin veneers, I flip the glass over on top of veneer and that way don't have to pick the glued veneer up at all.

I also glue 2 at a time side by side when the thickness is similar. Like .040 glass and .030 to .050 lam....

[bornofmud]

Thanks for the tips guys!  I'm sure it'll help others out there like me that missed that one.  Or maybe it's obvious for everyone else and I'm just a bit slow haha!  

On with the build!

So after gluing on the belly overlays, I sanded everything flush on one side.  

   

I then used this side on my edge sander to keep everything square for the cut into the back.  I measured out 4" from center in each direction, made a mark, and used the rubber rolling pin on my edge sander to sand down to the riser wood, from there I just followed the arc of the riser and sanded off all the layers of lams.  Here's what I got:

   

I wanted to do an antler overlay on top of clear glass for this bow.  So I cut out the straightest and widest part of the antler I could, filled it with thin CA glue, then sanded it to fit the arch of the back.  

   

I used two pieces of .030 ULS glass for the glass overlay.  In order to get the glass to fit the curve, I had to taper the ends.  I did this by taking a spare piece of wood, and pushing against the sander and the piece of glass, doing half of the glass at a time. I bent the glass so that my hand wasn't right next to the running sander.

   

Finally, I traced the arch of the cut onto little chunks of wood and made some clamping cauls. Mixed up some epoxy and glued everything up.

   

I made some antler tips earlier and used them for the tip overlays, along with some black glass.  I still haven't decided if I'm going to leave them full like they are now or sand them down.  I kind of like them like this, but it makes stringing it a bit more difficult and increases the chance of them breaking off from an impact or something.  

   

And after drying!  I did the same thing to dry these, took a little heat lamp and rotated it around for about 8 hours, then let it dry over night.

   

[bornofmud]

After that, I cut out the sight window on my bandsaw.  I start the cut 4" above center, and cut to 1" above center.  I cut to the center of the bow, and usually after shaping everything, am about 1/16" past center.  After cutting the window, the fun begins!  Here's a picture after sanding for a bit.

   

And the tips after a bit of shaping but with no nocks yet.

   

Next I cut the arrow shelf.  I just do two cuts with a handsaw so that it makes a point, then will later go back over it with a dremel to make it nice.  I also go over the corner with a round file and round it out.  Here's a shot after doing the rough cuts.

   

Next, I cut the nocks.  I do this the same way as most.  I mark where they need to be, mark a line with the 45* on my combination square, go over it with a triangle file, then carve the nocks with a round file.  Here's a shot at too high of a brace height

   

And a full draw shot!  I'll get a proper braced shot when I fix the brace height.  I'm about 1" shy of my full draw, probably pulling to 28" with too high of a brace here (figure that close to balances out haha).  This thing is heeeeaavy.  I was aiming for 55#, feels more like 65+#.  I think I over compensated my stack thickness for the extra length I added.  That's ok, I'm young, I'll build up to it haha.  Just going to be tinkering and refining from here.  Will add more as it continues!

   

Also, have about 3/16" negative tiller right now, will weaken the top limb till I get 1/8" - 3/16" positive. Have a couple more overlays to do as well. Trying to decide if I'm going to have any antler in them or just macassar and black glass.