66" Hill Longbow - take down

[bjansen]

First time I have posted a bow in many, many years.  I glued this bow up at my first house in East Peoria, IL (probably around 2012). I moved the bow to 3 different houses (as we moved around a bit since then) and finally just finished it last night. 

It is a 66" hill longbow- full length lams - ash veneers, bamboo core with a strip of SpeedTuff (bearspaw stuff).  I have .030 red fiberglass as tip wedges and black and white glass overlays on the tips.  The riser is a scrap of ash and walnut with pierce points (its actually the scrap piece of another riser block I cut out, I just spliced the excess in half with a finger joint bit.  I had to significantly reduce weight to get it to 56# at 28" but I really like the super skinny limbs and it shoots very well for that reason as well.  After I got it completed, I took it over to the chop saw and cut that baby in half and installed an Ace Archery take down hinge.  I used black G-10 fiberglass as the butt caps. It is very solid and unnoticeable as a two piece when strung.

It has Big Jim's flat epoxy - sprayed on messy like Black Widow sprays bows. 

Here are a few pics along the way and when finished.

[bjansen]

[Wolftrail]

Sweet looking bow and a great job on the hinge connection.  I cant tell by the photo but will that bow fold once it breaks or the string snaps..?

[David Flanrey]

Way to stick with it Brad.  I have some unfinished bows that I have taken to new home locations as well.

[kennym]

Brad, good to see you back in action! As always the work is impeccable ! (or for Roy "inpeckable" )

[Roy from Pa]

Pretty cool, Brad.

[Jack Denbow]

Very nice Brad. It is good to see you back messing with bows.

[Flem]

Craftsmanship and engineering. And it's a ASL

[Buemaker]

Very nice.

[bjansen]

Sweet looking bow and a great job on the hinge connection.  I cant tell by the photo but will that bow fold once it breaks or the string snaps..?

I am not totally following your question Wolf    I think you are asking if it folds forward and comes apart.  Yes it does.

[Wolftrail]

Having said that will the bow fold during breakage, like will it snap against your fingers during breakage.  I was told on my previous post that some sort of latch mechanism should be installed to prevent this.  I built a folder as well.

[bjansen]

Yes it will fold if for some reason the string or bow breaks. 

[Flem]

Thats a lot of metal in the hand, do you wear a glove while shooting, or is it a non issue?

[bjansen]

I am not following that question either. I do not wear a glove.

[Flem]

I'll try to rephrase the question. You don't find grasping the angular metal while holding the bow to be distracting or uncomfortable?
I'm not trying to be a jerk, just curious as I have never held a bow with a hinge.

[Wolftrail]

Yes it will fold if for some reason the string or bow breaks.

My final question is would you not be concerned about broken fingers or such..?   I'm putting a lock on mine when I get around to it.   I had a couple wood bows break almost in my face, one broke and the limb hit my gut another one hit my fore arm and went flying down the hall 20'. Safety is paramount.  Anyway at the end of the day you built a gorgeous bow,  excellent craftsmanship.
 

[bjansen]

Wolf - totally understand now.  Honestly I am not worried much at all about that!

[Bvas]

Nice lookin stick!

I like the same, but different tips. Nice job of matching. I’m assuming rounded bottom for durability and pointed top for self defense?

And typical bowyer. Join two pieces of wood to make one. Then, turn around and cut them in two again. 

[bjansen]

Yes I agree. I like a rounded bottom tip to set on top my shoe/foot and a pointed top for good looks. Funny thing is that I only do this on hill style bows for no good reason other  than preference.

[KenH]

Brad -- where did you source that hinge??  I'm building a light draw folder myself, for my adopted daughter, and can't find anything that looks 'good enough'.