New recurve and build along

[rmorris]

Last time I attempted a recurve build it was not a success.

   http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=007882;p=1  

I plan on taking on this project again but I have a few questions .

1. What glass do you all recurve makers use? I was thinking 1-3/4" uls in .040. Shooting for a 50-60# takedown recurve.

2.  What kinds of total taper rates do you all use in recurves?

3. I was thinking a 62" recurve for my 30" draw with an 18" riser. Have a better suggestion?

I will also try to do a build along with this bow but at my current life pace it may take me a few months.

[ty_in_ND]

I can't speak for your first 2 questions, but for your 3rd, I have a 60" takedown recurve that has a 19" riser.  With my 30" draw, I can just start to feel it stack at 30" (I've pulled it past 30" and the stacking is quite noticeable), so I think you would be fine with your dimensions.

The more I think about it... I could take measurements of my recurve with the calipers (I have 50# limbs for it) and report back.  With your dimensions making for a bow with longer limbs, you'd have to increase the thickness of the stack slightly to get to your draw weight (unless you mean 50-60#@30", then you might be close to 50#), but at least it would be a start!

[rmorris]

Tyler , thanks for your help. I and hoping for the first bow to come out around 50-60#, the next bow after that should be easy to hit weight but it sure is nice to hit weight on the first try.

I am curious if you all are using .05 or .04 for recurves? Due the width difference between longbows and recurves I was thinking .04 glass.

[BrushWolf]

If it was me I'd use a. 002 taper rate with .040 glass. I am currently building 62" bows with an 18" riser. As far as width on glass it all depends how wide the limbs will be.   I like 1 3/4 but the bows end up at 1 /716 wide. If I was building an 1 3/4 limb bow I'd probably get 2" wide glass. I like to have enough for clean up. I've made bows with 15" to 19" risers. The 18" are my favorite.

[ty_in_ND]

I think the rule is to try to keep the fiberglass in the 20-25% range of the total stack. Since recurve limbs are wider and thinner than longbows, they would use .040 glass to try to maintain a good ratio of wood to glass.

I got too busy with life yesterday, so I'll try to measure my bow for sure tonight!

[Mad Max]

Originally posted by ty_in_ND:
I think the rule is to try to keep the fiberglass in the 20-25% range of the total stack. Since recurve limbs are wider and thinner than longbows, they would use .040 glass to try to maintain a good ratio of wood to glass.

yep

[Pago]

60" Recurve

1.5" wide

uls glass .040 x2
Actionboo taper .080 @.001 taper x2
Stabil-kore .015
50#

 

[rmorris]

Good looking bow! Thanks for the information .

[Mad Max]

Nice looking Recurve there, Pago

[Pago]

Your welcome and thanks. I built that one as a donation to a silent auction.  One lucky guy got that bow for $250.  The bought the supplies from Kenny.  I really hated to see this one go.

This is my man-child son shooting the bow.

 

[rmorris]

Alright I am going with 1-3/4” x .040 glass I think I am also going to try an 18” riser for this three piece take down bow. All of my old tools and jigs are back at the in laws house in New Mexico so I am going to do a little bit of a jig build along with this build. I am a little busy at work so don’t expect this to go fast.

[rmorris]

Here is a little how to on how I make limb wedges.

First off I like using a tablesaw with a nice solid square 3/4” miter slot.
     

I then cut a strip of corian to fit in my miter slot.
     
Corian is a great material that can be cut with woodworking tool and also tapped for screws. I then attach my miter strip to a larger piece and run it through the saw to square off the excess.
   

[rmorris]

I then square off a pice of wood and attach it at the angle I want for my limb wedge. In this case I am coping one I made on my old saw and jig that is 1-1/2” wide for a longbow.      
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[rmorris]

I then cut a piece of corian 1.775 thick ( the thickness of the limb wedge plus the thickness of some sticky back sanding disk) for the back support and a top lid attached with wing nuts. I also place the sand paper where the limb wedge will go during sawing.
     
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[rmorris]

I then cut a strip on the table saw 1-3/4” wide by about 3/8 thick and then chop them into 10” blocks. Each piece then gets tightened down and one pass on the table saw makes a near perfect limb wedge.

     
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[BenBow]

Cool jigs Ralph! Really shows your patience and attention to detail.

[Mad Max]

more than one way to skin a cat.
Looking good.

[rmorris]

Alright, I had some free time today so I started on the form for the limbs of this recurve. I am using LVL which I assumed was 1.75 “ but is actually 1.625”. I ended up rough cutting out the shape for my new form and then running each piece through the plainer down to 1.5” and then added a piece of 1/8” backer board to each side getting me back to 1.75”. Here are my steps on how I did it.

[rmorris]

Rough cut the form per this last recurve lime I attempted and failed on. This form will be opposite of every one I have ever done because I am going to try the reverse limb wedge.

     

I also cut the template for the flush/trim router bit and used my hone made sanding block to get it flat where I want it flat and round out the rest.

     

A good way to check your template for imperfections is to trace it out with a fine point sharpie.

[rmorris]

I went ahead and added a recessed extra layer to the template to ensure the router had a good bearing surface.

     

Attached the pattern to the form with double stick tape and made my first attempt....
     

Yah.... it was terrible but I just moved to template back and made a second attempt

     

Much better