Takedown Build Along...pic heavy!

[Japes4]

Hey all, been a long while since I did anything with bows and figured I needed to change that. I decided I wanted a two piece takedown for backpack hunting trips, and didn't have the cash to drop on one...next logical step was to build my own!  This is a two piece Hill style bow using a connexion hinge. I really liked the looks of a bow Jsweka did with grey glass, and followed one of his builds...hope you don't mind!  This is only my third glass bow, and my first build along, so please excuse any mistakes...

[Japes4]

First thing I did was get my riser glued up and cut out. I used Myrtle and Purple Heart. Riser is 16" long.
 

After cutting fades:
 

And after sanding the ends paper thin:

 

[Japes4]

Next, I got my lams situated and glued up. I used three prarallel 0.09" actionboo lams and one 0.110" lam with a taper or 0.002"...finally found a good use for my weights!
 

I will run on set of parallel lams up the belly side of riser.
 

[Japes4]

Since I don't make a lot of bows, I am using a diy form and rubber straps I made by cutting a tractor tire inner tube. I figure everyone knows how to spread epoxy, so I'll just show a pic of the form...
 

I use a pressure strip of 1.5" strip of metal I found at big box store and then put a piece of lattice on top of that to even out the pressure and not bow the lams. Also, forgot to mention that the glass thickness is 0.04". Not ideal, but couldn't find 0.05" grey glass.

[Japes4]

Got it out of hot box and off form...sanded off all the leftover epoxy and eagerly checked my glue lines. Not perfect, but definitely good enough to keep going forward!
 
Next, I taped it off and sanded out the profile. Bow is 1.2" wide from center out 17" on each side. From there, it tapers out to 3/8" tips
 

Once I was happy with the profile, I glued on some red phenolic tip overlays and cut out the sight window

 
 

[Japes4]

This was the easiest to tiller bow I have ever made...wood or glass. It took only a little sanding on the fades and it was good to go!  Now that I had it tillered, it's time for the part that made me want to throw up...sanding and cutting it in half!  I used the 3/4" spindle on my sander to make the groove that the Hinge will sit in.
 

Then I pre drilled the holes for the hinge screws and attached the hinge to the bow. I used Super Titanium screws and put a small amount of smooth on epoxy on each one.
 

From this point, it let it sit overnight to cure and then took it to table saw. Since I haven't shaped the riser yet, it was pretty easy to use a table saw sled and adjust the depth of cut just short of the hinge. I finished off the cut with a hand saw. I then used two piece is Walnut that I cut really thin to fill the saw kerf. I attached those to the bottom of each piece with Titebond III. From this point, it was all just shaping riser, final sanding with 220 grit, and spraying it down with 4 coats of Spar urethane.

[Japes4]

The ended up at 57# @ 27"...perfect fit for me!  Here it is all finished...well, almost. Still need a riser grip/wrap.
 
 
 

[Roy from Pa]

Very nice...

[Bvas]

Dang.......that was quick. 3.5hrs start to finish, your gonna have to learn to pace yourself    
Cool bow!!  I like that grey glass!!

[Mad Max]

Fine job there.
Are you going to cover that hinge with something?

[Japes4]

Thanks all!  Yes, I do plan on covering the hinge, just haven't decided what I'm going to use. I like the looks and idea of a leather grip, but don't know how practical that is to take on and off. I've also looked at the rubber grips that just roll over the riser...Shur Grip I think it was called.