Baby steps.....another Kenny D/R begins

[Dazzad]

own form.JPG
Hi guys, well here comes another one:)!
This may be one of the slower builds here - I printed KennyM's plan months ago, and have since purchased, glued and screwed my plywood. Then came the torture of having to wait while I saved up to buy the router to cut my form - it's been slow motion torture:) !!
Anyhow - perhaps that's the slow part done with! I'm going to install dowels and a central channel in the form so as to use a combo of bands and clamps.
This is the 62-64"form but for the first build I'm going to try a 66", and maybe around 55lb @28". My Straight-laid longbows are all 68" so I'm a bit of a fan of those shooting characteristics.
Unless some maple finds it's way into the stack I'm going to use all Australian native timbers.

Hopefully now we can get motoring and make a bow!!

[Dazzad]

http://own  form.JPG

[Dazzad]

right well that's a little frustrating....I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that I've built a form....really!

[arachnid]

Check out the recent "inner tube clamping method" thread. It has very good info. I used it on my last bow and it worked very well.

When I built my form, I made Kenny`s 64" form and after cutting it I used an edge belt sander to smooth it out. After that, I paid a bit for a carpenter to cover it with formica. I use this form for bows 60", 62" and 64" long. I think I can even make a 66" long bow with it.

[Dazzad]

https://www.facebook.com/hammerblowbows/photos/a.660901507583279.1073741828.633336037006493/880744558932305/?type=3

so my images can't come straight from me...interesting.....here's the link to the image (?)

What kind of woods are you gonna be using???  I have Australian Pine (you may call it something different there) growing here in Florida and I love the stuff...  Use it in most of my risers...  As soon as I dry out some long pieces I will try it in the limbs...

[Dazzad]

G'day Shredd, firstly can I say I hope you are safe and well in Florida right now.
I have pretty decent access to a couple of Tasmanian hardwoods, namely Tasmanian Myrtle and Tasmanian Blackwood. I've attached a link to a longbow I've made from these timbers.
Unlike a bunch of you guys, I don't really have the skills or workshop setup for a bunch of fancy joinery and exotic timbers...As such my timber combos thus far have been pretty simple.
I have however found an interesting way of involving my silversmithing skills in my riser designs, so I guess that is what gives my work it's own character. Feel free to have a look at my fb page 'Hammerblow Bows'.
I did a quick google regarding Australian Pine - we call this tree a 'Casuarina' or 'Sheoak'. I'm pretty certain it's a eucalypt and I've read that it's a very handy bow-wood.  https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16865018_663809607292469_5043084422801968656_n.jpg?oh=1b2e6f51e624c2dd4cb61ba1fbe6ae23&oe=5A4B754E

[bigbob2]

It is actually a different genus of the allocasuarina family, of which 'hairy oak, bull oak, she oak , lacey oak' are some members.I am not familiar with any timber called 'Australian pine' though. We do have a number of very desirable lesser known timbers here, which are not commercially available.

Lol...  I figured it would not be called Aus. pine there...  Yes it is the Sheoak variety with long shaggy needles and it is slightly heavier than our maple...  It can have some very interesting and beautiful grain depending how you orientate it... I here that Bull Oak is a very hard dense wood... It may be good for risers...

   As far as Irma goes I am fine and most of my friends are fine and made it through with little damage... Feeling very Thankful...  That bitch was a beast and did a pretty good job in screwing up Fla...  My friend has a fish camp in the Keys...  Irma went right over top of it...  It probably had 5-6 feet of surge going through it...  I am guessing that pool table that kept me occupied on dull nights is long gone...

[Dazzad]

Glad you are well mate, it sounds and looks pretty hectic over there right now....
Long, shaggy needles hey?? It's funny, I live in an area with a lot of native flora, and one street over from my house is a street called Sheoak Road.....there also happens to be a piece of public land nearby that's heavily wooded with what I've just thought of as 'pine trees' - ones with long shaggy needles actually! This could be a flimsy trail of 'logic', but also perhaps one worth investigating further!!
Keep safe Shredd, thanks for the chat..

They are not true pines or pine needles...  When you look close at the needles they will be in little sections...  Get yourself a couple of logs 25-26" and slice them up 2" wide...  Don't forget to seal the ends...

[Dazzad]

they also grow and then drop a quite distinctive seed pod...I've seen them around quite a lot actually. I could well be surrounded by this stuff!

[monterey]

Nothing plain about your bow, Dazz.  The silver set's it off and the riser wood has nice character without too much drama.

[kennym]

Darren, go about 6-8# heavy on the 64" chart for a 66" and you should come in close......

Or ya already done and out shootin it?    :D

[Dazzad]

Hey Monterey, thanks for the comment! Some go for it and some don't...It's what i can do and a bit unique - and so I do it:) The inlays are recessed, epoxied and 'tapped' into their snug-carved settings. They don't interfere with the function of the bow, and as they weather and develop their own patina over time, will look more and more like a homogenous'part' of the riser. I've done copper inlays on a few darker wood risers which look good too.

Kenny - thanks for the tip on adapting the 64" stack chart to 66"ntn. Based on the chart and your advice, I'm guessing that a stack of.385" with a thickness taper of .003, laid out as a 66" bow could result in 52-54-ish pounds @ 28"?

Mate like i said earlier, this build is so slow-motion it's killing me! Just ain't got access to basic equipment (and if you check the attached image of the completed form, you'll see another significant distraction in the background!!   . I can and do order my riser block,glass and lams pre-ground from a local source, but am now focussing on an affordable oscillating spindle sander that will allow me to  
grind my fades and riser to fit perfectly into the form. We'll get there mate. My progress may be glacial, but my resolve is also!! :)https://www.facebook.com/hammerblowbows/photos/pcb.883442691995825/883442678662493/?type=3

Shredd and Bob - got a positive ID on some Sheoak growing one street over from my house today (see attached image). Long, segmented needles and the seed-pod is unmistakable. No bloody big branches lying broken off on the ground though, and the significant branches begin kinda high up, makes 'midnight aquisition' unrealistic......I jest of course;) Knowing I'm surrounded by the stuff now I just have to work out how to lawfully acquire a piece! As you say, Bob, it's not exactly easy to source comercially. And Shredd, I know you said you may try some as laminations, but I've read on a couple of forums that it's a great candidate for self-bows too..interesting hey??

[Dazzad]

https://www.facebook.com/hammerblowbows/photos/pcb.883442691995825/883442678662493/?type=3

Sorry you blokes - here's the image, I'll get a handle on this eventually...

[kennym]

I'd say you are right on target with .385 total stack! With .040 glass that is, might want to reduce some stack if using
.050

[Dazzad]

Well - the world's slowest D/R buildalong received a critical shot in the arm today!

 I went out shooting with my only Trad archery companion, and over beers after, mentioned that my next generation of builds was being held up for the lack of some equipment, (namely a spindle sander for the grinding of my riser fades).

 Said friend, on hearing the fairly modest outlay promptly says "I'll buy you one." I say "I'll accept if you'll accept one of the first two new bows off the form - what draw weight do you want?" He says "Sold. 55lbs thanks"!

 Takes $300 out of his wallet right there and hands it over. Ordering sander and two riser blocks on Tuesday. Thankyou Archery Gods of Providence - onwards and upwards!!!    

Good story, Bro...  Have fun on the build...

[Dazzad]

G'day guys,
well, the 'glacier' of my D/R build grinds onwards  :D

I remembered a 3/4" Spotted Gum (Australian eucalypt variety) floorboard I had partly used at another time on a selfbow - I epoxied two pieces together to make up the 1 1/2" block. Spotted gum is dense, hard and heavy, so perfect as a riser material.
 
I rigged up a little saw table with some scrap lumber, an electric jigsaw and some skateboard bearings. In combination with my new bobbin sander (love it!!),it's been pretty easy to cut, grind, and sand my riser pieces and fades to snugly sit into the form. I clamped a strip of pine the same thickness as my back-side stack into the form first, to simulate glue-up.

I've also made some tri/coloured strips of  linen micarta to use for riser and tip overlays.

So - some inner tubes, my laminates and glass...and we'll actually get to build this bow!! :D  :D  I had to laugh yesterday - saw a buildalong on the other big forum for a D/R, the guy started his form about a week ago. He now has his first bow completed and is shooting it!! Oh for a workshop and some time to spend in it??!! We'll get there though - more to come      
Darren
 https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22449598_896433434030084_8635395337973974544_n.jpg?oh=34d4987d8908dc20d618ec5555986551&oe=5A719583
 https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22406192_896433447363416_2492781320924200732_n.jpg?oh=6ec591ad6ab757613da8482a3456003c&oe=5A8624CD
 https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22448115_896433450696749_4892018727588449352_n.jpg?oh=449da720bc0c965156d8b0d527673d5d&oe=5A846CCB
 https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22449722_896433470696747_8293132480941391685_n.jpg?oh=7b7ab472d36879ba8b6ef0f02a16f66e&oe=5A798C0D