Epoxy

[No beard]

Good morning Everyone,

It's been a while since I've been on and hope everyone has been doing well and had a great Thanksgiving.

I've been thinking of trying out making my own laminated bow. Before I go all out and by all the fun tools, etc I had some questions about epoxy.

Is there an epoxy out there that doesn't require a hot box? I wanted to try to keep my first few as simple as I can to get a feel for it. I'm likely going to try for a 68" around 30 lbs (if that helps). I saw a bow build- a- long a few years ago that the gentlemen used West System and said he had luck with it.

Anyways, if anyone has some advice or could point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
Matt

[Mark R]

Smooth On is what Bowyers use, thats what it is meant for. Its a 2 part epoxy 1 to 1 ratio and will cure at room temp.Some may use a little more resin than hardener but I never have and have not had any problems what so ever with the product. Curing time can vary, but to be sure let cure at room temp a couple days and should be fine, plenty of info on the product.

[No beard]

Thanks Mark.

-Matt

[mikkekeswick]

I agree with Mark but if you want to know for sure about other glues - every glue has a datasheet produced by the manufacture. This will have all the info you need on it. Get one from Smooth On for EA40 and then compare others to that. The reality is that lots of epoxies will work just fine but it is a bit of a risk if you don't do your homework first.

[No beard]

Thanks .... i found some other posts about 'G2' ... i''ll have a look at the data sheets and see what would be better.

[macbow]

I've used the west system for boat repair.
I would stick with the EA 40 for the set up time.
The west epoxy set up quickly.
The EA 40 smooth on has a,long set up time giving you time to get it in the form.

These epoxys need room temp. Above 70 degrees to cure properly.
A simple heat source could be covering the form with a,sleeping bag and add a 100 watt light bulb inside.

Another cheaper heat box is using the blue insulation board from home supply store. Add a,couple of light bulbs.

[Wolftrail]

Currently using Weldwood Plastic Resin. No need for a hot box.  I still use TB3 for other things like gluing on tip over lays and never had one come off due to bad glue joint or otherwise.

I have never used smooth on, used G-2 though. Weldwood Plastic Resin is some tough glue....    

In Canada we are limited to certain things and stuff........   :(