air hose bow form without a top

[Forwardhandle]

Got a couple hours after work to work on this form I drilled the centers at 2 in. at Monterey's sugestion looks like it should work well ,I didnt have a decent 7/16 '' drill bit so I went with 1/2 '' dowels , Im going to try to get it finished up tomorrow !

Done

[C. Johnson]

Wow!  That bow is going to have some crazy sexy curves!  I like it!

[Forwardhandle]

I got a chance to try my form out Saturday , just a couple issues I had ,I broke a hard wood dowel durning one of the dry runs & 3 more during glue up but wraped around the form to save it no issue glue up turned out fine ,but Im going to replace them with metal dowels ,I also left the zip ties in place over the metal pressure strips tell cure with no problems ,I used the 5/8 mule tape that has zero flex , but over all this system is quick I like it !

[onemississipp]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[C. Johnson]

Looks great!

[Shredd]

Looking Good Brudda...

[Shredd]

I got an idea for you guys that want to go topless...  On a 1 1/2" wide form, why don't you cut a piece of wood 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" to conform to the top shape of your form and round off the top of it...  You will need way less wraps and you will have a more even pressure on the lams being glued...   I might even try this myself...

[onemississipp]

I got an idea for you guys that want to go topless...  On a 1 1/2" wide form, why don't you cut a piece of wood 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" to conform to the top shape of your form and round off the top of it...  You will need way less wraps and you will have a more even pressure on the lams being glued...   I might even try this myself...

I see what you mean about creating a top piece to apply a more even pressure, however I believe the idea was to not have to make a top piece that conforms to the fades and riser area.

This hose wrapping technique gives the freedom of not having to make the top and allows for different riser designs without having to change a thing.

It is also less to store and mess with during glue up.

The hose will apply equal pressure as long as it is wrapped appropriately.

I see it as an improvement to the old band method.

I am going to give it a try on the HH I have neglected to build over the last 5 years. Building the form was one of the major reasons I just never got motivated to do it, this changes that for me.

[Forwardhandle]

I like the simplicity of this form 5-6 hrs you have a form the wraps work great however with a curvy form like mine the pegs are taking compound stresses as they broke at different angles so the only mod Im making is re doing the pegs with metal ones the wraps as is keep every thing even pressure wise & its totally versital as far as riser design ! I like it just working out the bugs.

[monterey]

I'm going to get some mule tape to replace the Paracord.

Thanks for a good follow up.  How much pressure were you using when the dowels broke?

[Forwardhandle]

I was using 70 psi that curvy form really puts presure on them in a lot of different directions but Im going to get some axle stock and some exact fit washers and glue them as guides over the holes that way I can take the pegs in and out as needed !

[monterey]

Good idea.  I have been getting by with no breaks running 60#.  If I start having trouble I'll do as you are describing.

[Forwardhandle]

If there is no issue Mike then I wouldn't worry about it but I will say this the mule tape is like cloth cable it doesent stretch at all so I used the bike pump to air up slow not to put to much stress on the pegs , but one thing I really like is being able to leave the zip ties over the presure strips ,I tested it a bunch before doing it those metal strips are thick enough to not let the zip tie dimple the glass and every thing is locked in solid the center line stayed put with no slippage , you where the pioneer, I'm just exploring deeper in the forest...lol

[mwosborn]

I too gave "topless" a try on my last bow.  Any new forms I build I will go this route.  Rather than wood dowels, I just used some 5" 1/2" bolts.  They worked fine.

I like the profile of that bow Ritchie.  How far in front of the riser are those tips going to end up?

[Forwardhandle]

Im glad it worked out for you Mitch , I dont know on the reflex yet, I left the lams full length to see what the longest realistic bow out of the form I could get, but this one is Im shooting for 64 '' so Im guessing 2 1/2 '' to 3'' at the knocks its going to have some awsome early draw weight if it flys ,This one I might leave full width for stability !

[mwosborn]

Wide might be a good idea, but if it lines up straight I bet you will be alright - looking forward to seeing it at brace and full draw.

[kennym]

When dealing with an unknown test bow, I start wide and narrow as needed depending on strung profile..

[Forwardhandle]

The 60 in. one I side tillered pretty narrow below 1 3/8 '' this one Im leaving at 1 1/2 and extending the center farther out before width taper that should give at least 1/8 '' more on the whole working limb to start , I will discuss it with the designer before doing any thing....lol  I went to great pains to make sure every thing is symetrical and the pic is deceptive that bow blank is setting at 70'' for now , Kenny didnt carry stable core at the time I got my lams the next one will defiantly have it and get more radical ! A 66-68 '' would have crazy reflex !

[Tim Y]

Hey folks,
    I'm hoping that my brother can give me the Mule Tape that I will need for this project, he's an Electrician. Can someone tell me how many feet of Mule Tape to ask for. I'm building a 64" D/R bow. I don't want to end up short and I don't expect my brother to hand over 300', well we're not that close.
   Thanks
   

[Forwardhandle]

Every form is different and in my case I back wraped the whole form and made extra lengths for the riser and back up pieces but I would say I probably used 140-150 ft. Better to have to many lengths during glueing up then to little ! There are different widths mule tape mine was 5/8 ''