Double build with Bearpaw Glass & Stabil-core

[C. Johnson]

I have them nearly done.  I'm in the process of filling the grain with superglue before I spray the finish.  It's a slow and tedious process, but the smooth finish will be worth the effort.  Hopefully, I'll shoot clear coat after work on Tuesday.

[arachnid]

Can you explain a bit about that "filling the grain with super glue"? First time I'm hearing about that.

[C. Johnson]

Can you explain a bit about that "filling the grain with super glue"? First time I'm hearing about that.

Sure.  As you know, some species of wood have an open grain structure.  Some examples of this are Wenge, walnut, oak, ash, and Beli.  If a guy doesn't fill the grain with something, the open pockets in the grain will show up as dimples or "pockmarks" in the finish after spraying.

Think of it as spackling any nail holes in a wall before it is painted so that a guy gets a smooth paint job.

I use superglue because it dries very fast, is crystal clear, and has the added advantage of being able to seal oily tropical woods which may prevent adhesion of the finish. (such as rosewood or cocobolo)

What I do is blow off the wood with an airhose, wipe down with acetone, and then simply rub superglue, a few drops at a time, into the wood.  Let it dry completely, and sand smooth with 220 grit.  Repeat as necessary until I can't see any pores in the wood.  I just use my fingertip to apply the glue.  I just have to stay in motion to prevent gluing my finger to the wood.    Also, don't use acetone between coats, only to wipe down the bare wood. (acetone will melt the superglue)

There are a lot of guys who use this method.  I'm sure a guy could find a video on YouTube as well.  I know my description isn't the best.

[Bvas]

I use superglue as well.  Love the fact that you can apply and sand in the same day(usually just an hour or two).

I will add that I also use my finger, but wear a rubber glove.  Like Craig stated, as long as you keep moving it wont stick.

Also, make sure you do it in a well ventilated area.  The fumes are terrible!!  I do mine outside with a nice breeze.

[Bvas]

Oh yeah....bows look sweet Craig

[C. Johnson]

Thanks Bvas!

[kennym]

Great looking bows!!

On my trade bow, I filled the wenge with ea 40 and acetone mixed 50/50 . It worked great. I try different stuff on trade bows that I think will work because I can get feedback from somebody else that way along with my own.

You will have to ask Dannon if the finish fell off later...

[C. Johnson]

Ok, a little back story on these two bows.....

In my non-bow building life, I am the foreman of the plumbing shop for one of the larger public school districts in southern Colorado.  I'm very fortunate to have some rock solid, good, dependable guys working for me.  While I love virtually everything about working in the public sector, it does have a couple of draw backs.

First off, even with the recent pay raise we received, the salary isn't exactly competitive.  Second, there is absolutely no mechanism for merit based rewards.  In other words, I can't give a raise to a guy who's busting his ass and doing an amazing good job.

Lately, there's been a lot of ass busting going on.  I've asked my guys to do more and more without adequate labor and resources to meet the demands of the job.  These things are beyond my control.  We have a bunch of MBA's and engineers upstairs now, but I digress....

What I do have control of is doing something on my own to recognize and reward these guys for their hard work and dedication.  These two guys in particular have really stepped up.  One is a compound shooter who finally agreed, performance aside, a trad bow is a living, breathing thing with a soul.  The other used to shoot with his dad when he was a kid and would like to get back into it.  How convenient. 

Anyway, I built these two longbows for them.

I'm going to give each one of these guys a bow, a dozen of my laminated arrows, and some basic tackle to get them addicted, er, I mean started. 

Don't worry, I'm doing this privately so as to not stir up trouble.

Anyway, I just wanted to let all of you know these bows are going to a couple of terrific guys.

[C. Johnson]

This isn't the best pic, but I hoped to illustrate what I mean about filling the pores in the grain of the wood with superglue.  This is sanded smooth, but still needing a couple three more coats before finishing.

[C. Johnson]

Hopefully I can shoot clear coat tomorrow after work!  This just came a couple of days ago. 

[C. Johnson]

Great looking bows!!

On my trade bow, I filled the wenge with ea 40 and acetone mixed 50/50 . It worked great. I try different stuff on trade bows that I think will work because I can get feedback from somebody else that way along with my own.

You will have to ask Dannon if the finish fell off later...

I love wenge, it is one of my favorite woods.  I would use it more frequently if it wasn't such a pain to finish.

I think I've tried just about everything at one time or another.  I haven't tried thinned out EA40 though.  It's certainly worth a shot!

[mwosborn]

Sounds like a couple of guys who deserve a bow!  Well done!  And the bows look great.

I have used super glue in the past also.  Then I switched to using tru oil, no fumes, but it does take longer.  My last 2 bows I used thunderbird and filled the grain using just the thunderbird finish - worked well.

[C. Johnson]

Got 'em done.  Now, I just have to finish the arrows.  I swear, building arrows from scratch is 10 times as much work as building bows, but that's a topic for a different thread.

[C. Johnson]

[C. Johnson]

[C. Johnson]

[C. Johnson]

[C. Johnson]

[C. Johnson]

[C. Johnson]

In conclusion, I'm very happy with the quality and especially the clarity of the Bear paw glass.  I will most definitely be using more of it in the future and I will definitely order it from Kenny.

My next double build is going to be a pair of my small pattern, Recurve #3.  I think this will provide a better evaluation of the Stabil-core.

I'll keep you posted.  Thanks for looking!