Bow Design Experimentation and Too Many Forms

[mmattockx]

How do you guys manage to experiment with different bow designs and not end up with $$$ worth of old forms that didn't work out? At the price of wood these days it is pretty prohibitive to just keep cranking out a new form for every design I want to try.

I designed my adjustable form to avoid some of this issue, but it is not going to work that well for R/D and recurve bows that have big hooks that need to be clamped to a solid curve for the glue up.


Mark

[Shredd]

  Make three piece bows...  The limb forms are half the size...  Make the form 3 to 4" deeper than needed...  That way when you want to trash that design just cut out a new design on the same form... When you find the limb design you like just transfer it to a form for a one piece bow if you like...

[Mad Max]

You have to be willing to spend some money
I have done it, and I have reused some forms, and burned some too.
All in fun

[Crooked Stic]

For TDs I get 24x48 handi panels at Menards. They are just a twig under advertised thickness so 2 3/4 s gets you good for 1.5. I have glued a piece of poster board between them before and been good. Two 3/4 & a 1/4 gets you for curves.

[KenH]

I build open top rubber-band forms from pressure treated 2x2, rather than air-hose two-piece forms.
 But then I usually build Asian style bows without massive ergonomic risers:

Or older style recurves.  This picture was the inspiration for my form:

 

[Shredd]

   Curious what your direction or goal is with making different designs??  Is it speed, ease of draw, looks, compact for hunting or some other goal??

[Flem]

Recycled wood. Start looking all the time, not just when you are in the mood.

Resourceful=cheap

[mmattockx]

   Curious what your direction or goal is with making different designs??  Is it speed, ease of draw, looks, compact for hunting or some other goal??

I am currently playing with wood lam bows and seeing what I can achieve by using Perry reflex to reduce belly stresses and increase performance. Because I am new to bow making in general I want to see how the various designs shoot/feel/perform while I figure out what designs I prefer. It is somewhat reinventing the wheel but everyone has to go through their own journey of discovery to find out where they want to be.

Recycled wood. Start looking all the time, not just when you are in the mood.

Resourceful=cheap

You bet, I am always on the lookout for used/recycled materials to keep the costs down.


Mark

[Mad Max]

A lot of talk about Perry flex but never see any good results.
Once one wood over powers the other wood you are back to square one.

[kennym]

Ol Forwardhandle did some of the Perry and I think he found it was a pain to glue bow up but didn't gain all that..

[mmattockx]

A lot of talk about Perry flex but never see any good results.

I think that is because:

1) The results are subtle and very dependent on the details of the glue up. The math says I can reduce belly stresses 10-15% pretty easily, which lets you either strain good wood more or use an inferior wood to the get the same performance.

2) There is so much variability in wood bows that other factors can overwhelm the PR gains if not carefully managed.

3) Not many people understand the fine points of PR and how it works, which results in lots of people saying they use it but they are often not doing it correctly.


Kenny, I agree with Forwardhandle that the glue up certainly is a PITA compared to regular flat bows or those with mild R/D geometry like Roy makes.


Mark