D/R Bow build

[Trenton G.]

Hi everyone.
I'm starting to build a D/R bow from the 64" plans that Kenny was generous enough to share. He's been very helpful in helping me thus far in building the form, etc. Anyways, I'm getting closer to actually building the bow, so I figured that I would start a topic. I'm bound to do something wrong at some point, so hopefully you guys can catch some of the mistakes for me. LOL
Here is my riser, pretty boring, but I lack the skill for a more intricate riser as of right now. I know in the plans that it says the tips will be slightly off of the form. I was just wondering if these are to far off. I followed the templates and all and this is what came out. Thanks for your help guys!
   

[BenBow]

Well Trenton you've got a good start because you are correctly calling it a D/R instead of incorrectly calling it a R/D. Looks good

[bowhntineverythingnh03743]

Your riser looks great! Don't worry about your fades being off the form that is normal. You may have to touch up your back radius because you don't have your laminations under it and it will have a small gap between your lams and riser. It won't be bad though... great start so far!

[jess stuart]

Looking good. That will be a very pretty riser, I like riser that aren't to busy and gaudy.

[kennym]

Yep, be sure to dry run it(no glue) to check for gaps anywhere.

Looks like you have marks at 1 and 2 " from end. The pic looks like the 2" may be a bit thick, but not sure. I make mine a little over 1/8" (.140")there and 1/16" at one inch from end.

That riser will surprise you when you shoot finish on it!

[Mad Max]

Be real careful with the fades, you can break those off real easy.

[Major Boothroyd]

Looks nice, Trenton!  You are off to a good start!

[Trenton G.]

Thanks guys.
Kenny, yeah, I think that they are a bit thick. I'm a little gun shy about thinning the tips down so much since in the last bow I some how got the riser really unsquare. I'm just afraid of doing it again. I'll thin them down some more though.

I was told to use epoxy to put my Formica strip on the bottom of the form. I've heard that reheating epoxy is bad, so how will this hold up once I put it all in the oven? I guess it wouldn't be a big deal if it came off after the bow was cured, but just curious.

[BenBow]

Trento I used smoothon to glue an aluminum strip to my form and it holds well just to be on the safe side let the form and bow cool down before letting off the pressure.

[kennym]

I've used EA-40 to glue glass to the form, never a prob. Guess the bow is holding it til it cools anyway!

A trick on the fades with a spindle sander if keep flipping the riser over so if the drum is off slightly, you end up with equal sides, then a curved sanding block and a few strokes(carefully) to work the center down a bit.

[Mad Max]

x3

[monterey]

I have always used contact cement to attach Formica and glass to forms with no problems.  Once you coat both surfaces and let it set for 30 minutes it goes on and stays on with no pressure needed while it cures.

Last time I ordered a Formica strip from Bingham I also ordered 4 strips of clear glass.  When the order arrived, no Formica!  But, there were 5 strips of clear glass.   :confused:     called Bingham and they said that one of those strips was Formica.  Told them they were all definitely clear glass.  Oh no they says, look at them and you will see that one of them has a sticker on it that says "Formica".  Sure enough the sticker was there.  

[Trenton G.]

The same thing happened to me. I couldn't figure out why I had three strips of clear glass until I noticed the sticker. It was nice of them to send clear, it shows the plywood underneath very nicely LOL

I am only able to work on this bow during the week, and only about 45 minutes a day, which really slows down the process, but I will work on thinning everything up tomorrow.

[bowhntineverythingnh03743]

I have used contact cement on all my forms and everything is still holding strong after 20 trips through the oven.

You can see in my riser below how think the fades get. If you hold them up to the light even with dark wood you should be able to see through them. I made a cradle (sort of speak) out of cut offs and scrap wood which helps with sanding everything by hand for touch ups. Get your bottom radius perfect and then thin everything out on the belly side of the fades. That's what I would do at least.

 

As a rule of thumb, there should be about 1/16" thickness 1" from end of the fade... looks good but I like having a solid piece of wood in the fade area... It makes sanding consistency easier and that is a high stress area where I prefer a solid piece of wood... Just like in pic before my post...

[Robertfishes]

Like others said you will have to thin your riser fades, long and thin.. They will need to bend down to the form with out breaking. You might need to add a 040 parallel ( tapered at each end) running about 1 1/2 inch past the end of each fade, kind of like a powerlam..that will help take some pressure off the end of your riser

[Robertfishes]

I have only used "3M High Strength 90" spray adhesive to glue fiberglass botuff strips and reverse tapers (if needed) to my form tops. It has worked very well, is high heat rated and sets up fast... it's about $13 for a spray can so it's not cheap..

[Trenton G.]

Thanks for the help guys, I got the riser tips thinned up quite a bit now. I'm going to try and do a dry run either today or tomorrow, so I'm getting everything ready. If I'm using the 62/64 inch bow form, how long should I cut the pieces of fiberglass that are going on top?

[Robertfishes]

I don't know..I always cut pieces long..for a 64" KennyM longbow I would cut the back glass and spliced tapers 68"..you can cut the belly glass and belly lams 34" ..then when you do the dry run you can mark the side of the stack. Then cut all pieces at the marks..record the lengths for your next build.

[Robertfishes]

One reason I like to cut pieces long is this,.. I like to mark the very ends of the pieces with a pencil R for right side lams and L for left side lams, R1 for first lam, R2 for second lam, etc, you can mark them in the same spot,then when you glue up the R or L should be visable..if not it's either backwards or upside down.. , you grind away the corners when you shape the limbs so why not..I know of a very experienced bowyer who just flipped a taper backwards in a limb..so it can happen to anyone.