Bamboo Backed Ipe R/D Longbow [with Video]

[Zradix]

It may very well be fine the way it is.
I'm hoping better bowyers will chime in for you.

I don't think you should be shooting for a D profile.
The aim of course is to get all the limb (except for the last 8" or so) bending evenly.

If your bow was straight when unbraced then a D would be about right.
...your bow isn't straight..so there should be some reflex in the tips at full draw.

Again..it looks pretty good to me..but if I HAD to find something wrong..it would be the inner limbs seem to be bending more than any other part.

..those are my thoughts..ymmv..lol

[Roy from Pa]

I would remove some wood where I marked it. Leave the end 8 inches of the tips alone, that's how they should look. I don't see any hinges..

 

[Zradix]

ROY IS RIGHT....and a guy to listen too.
I shouldn't have said hinge...just some areas bending more than others.

[Roy from Pa]

Whew, I feel better now, John..    

[Zradix]

thought that was my line after seeing you agree with me in a kinda sideways type of way.

[bowhunter15]

Okay, I've removed some wood in suggested areas, removed the shadows from the wall, and have the ellipse centered in the center of the bow (bow is drawn to 28"). My thought based on looking at it is that it's still a little stiff in the region I highlighted in yellow. It starts to separate from the ellipse pretty close to the handle. Granted, maybe the ellipse shouldn't be centered to begin with. And I didn't take a TON of wood off, so maybe all of the same regions still need more work. What do you guys think?

   

[Zradix]

is it still following the line?
...looks like it is.

Looks better to me.

[bowhunter15]

Originally posted by Zradix:
is it still following the line?
...looks like it is.

Looks better to me.

It's very close to following the line. If anything it's moving a little to the right, which would be in agreement with taking a tiny amount off the lower limb. It's tough to say with 100% certainty because the pulleys are so close together, I'm not sure if the location that the string is tied off on has any say in the matter. It feels pretty decent when I draw back though. Still a tad heavy overall perhaps but nothing I wouldn't adjust to. Wouldn't mind if I needed to take off a bit more.

[TradBowyer]

nice looking bow man. Just a suggestion. Be leery of bow shops when looking for arrows for a trad bow. I've seen first hand a guy walk in with a 45# trad bow and the people behind the counter love arrow charts which don't give an accurate description for trad bow. They set the poor guy up with some 2217s and there is no way those arrows will work. Of all the bows I've built over the years, most of the aluminums are going to fall around the 2016-2018 mark. some of the heavier glass bows will hit 2020. If you are shooting aluminums, start with 2016 full length and tune from there. If you find you have to cut the shaft too short, then bump up to a 2018

[bowhunter15]

Originally posted by TradBowyer:
nice looking bow man. Just a suggestion. Be leery of bow shops when looking for arrows for a trad bow. I've seen first hand a guy walk in with a 45# trad bow and the people behind the counter love arrow charts which don't give an accurate description for trad bow. They set the poor guy up with some 2217s and there is no way those arrows will work. Of all the bows I've built over the years, most of the aluminums are going to fall around the 2016-2018 mark. some of the heavier glass bows will hit 2020. If you are shooting aluminums, start with 2016 full length and tune from there. If you find you have to cut the shaft too short, then bump up to a 2018

Yea I tend to be a little skeptical everytime I walk into an archery shop because I'm not sure if they're going to do something the way I've researched and want it done lol. The big thing I've seen with trad bows is how far from centershot your arrow is. The charts don't account for that. I used OnTarget2 software for putting together my compound arrows and the Stu Miller spine calculator thus for for this bow. Even then I know they won't be 100% accurate but usually give a good enough estimate to start and fine tune afterwards.

[Roy from Pa]

Looks great, I would give it a final sanding, seal it and call it a bow.. Good job..  ^5

[bowhunter15]

Cool. Question on the string. Right now I have the B-50 dacron 64" string. It initially stretched a couple inches, and I had to put about 100 twists in it to get it to brace again. A few more twists and it would be rolling into knots. The string is rated for 70lbs, which this bow is close to. I'd like to get a better performance string, not for added speed, but extra strength and lower stretch. I've read horror stories about FF with bows that weren't designed for it, but have been thinking about D97 as well. My other option would be I guess to buy a 62" or 63" B-50 string and have less twists once it stretches out.

[fujimo]

next step is to start building your own strings   :D    :D  .
what I used to do with B50 is, pre stretch the the strands, then make up the string- no problems after that-
I now use fast flight plus on all my bows- WITH padded loops - and I believe that is the key- pad the loops, I do mine with about 8 extra strands of B50 in the loops over and above the fast flight.- that seems to make it about the same thickness as a 12 strand B50 string.

[bowhunter15]

These are 16 strand flemish twist D97. Think I would still need any padding in the loops?

 http://www.3riversarchery.com/product.asp?i=4510X

[Roy from Pa]

Heck no....

Fujio-boy can't even count that high so he never made a 16 strander...    LMAO

[TradBowyer]

is the string 64" long or did you buy a string that says 64" on the packet? Reason I ask is that most string manufacturer's record the length of the string as the length required that will give you close to the brace height of the bow. Example: my longbows require a string that is 3" shorter than the length of the bow to get the bow at a good brace height so if I have a 66" string, my actual string length would be 63" from loop to loop but it would still be for a 66" bow and labeled as such..forgive me if you already know this...dont' want to offend..bottom line is you don't want to put that many twists in the string...its bad for the string plus will rob you of performance. When I build my strings out of B50..i actually build in a small 'stretch' factor so that I have room to twist a small amount as the string stretches.

[fujimo]

always wear me slippers-so cant see the tootsies. so gotta use me 10 digits and the two fellas- that gives me the 12 ah need  

[fujimo]

but to answer your question, i dont know!!      i have never used D97 and i build endless loop strings- not smart enuf to do the twist!!

[bowhunter15]

Today I sanded the entire thing smoother than a baby's behind. Started with 60grit and worked down to 220. Smooth fillets on all corners. I bought leather, artificial sinew, and adhesive for the grip. They were out of dark brown leather dye at the hobby store so I'll pick some up at a different location tomorrow. Bought OOOO steel wool. Gonna stain the bamboo because even though I think the light bamboo looks great, I'd like it a bit darker for carrying around in the woods. I also picked up some Tru Oil from Birchwood Casey to apply finishing layers. It's coming together.

Side note, I bought a 2117 arrow because I couldn't wait to put some more arrows through it, and put a 300 grain field point on it. Being much closer to the right spine, the bow shot much smoother, quieter, and with less hand shock.    

My arrows came in yesterday, but they were the WRONG ARROWS! I ordered the Victory Vforce HV 350s. They shipped the reguar Vforce (not HV). So I sent them back and the correct batch is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I have the 100 grain brass inserts. My Bohning fletching jig came today, as did the 100 white LW feathers. I practiced a four fletch 90-90 on the cheap aluminum. Looks nice! I will start shooting it more once everything is all said and done. But I'm assuming I should not do any serious tuning  until the new string comes in. I'd hate to start trimming shafts and then realize they need to be longer with the new string!

I've taken good video of everything so far. I'm hoping it will be a good educational resource for others and hopefully drive some more people to find out what a great resource this site is.

[bowhunter15]

I dyed the bamboo and lightened it up between the nodes with steel wool. It dried in a neat vertical grain pattern. Kind of reminds me of a rustic, weathered shack. The leather handle was simple enough to glue and tie with artificial sinew. The Osage does look a little out of place being so yellow. I think a lighter wood like spalted maple might have made a little better match for the handle wood. Oh well.

I think I may have picked some of the hardest arrows to find in stock. Ordered on Amazon and got the regular Vforce (not the HV versions I wanted). They overnighted the replacement shipment and sent the wrong arrows again. I told them the probably had them labeled wrong in inventory, and they gave me a $10 credit on top of the second return. Called every archery shop within 40 miles. Two said they had them but actually didn't when I showed up. The others didn't stock them "but could order them in 1-2 weeks". Finally tonight I found a half dozen shafts on **** for $32+ shipping. They'll come next Wednesday. At least the new string, otter fur silencers and arrows should all arrive around the same time next week.