Tip overlays

[Mad Max]

What can you use for tip overlays for Fast flight type strings??
I've had mixed information on fiberglass overlays.

[Pat B]

Antler, bone or hardwood. I even have a selfbow made by Art Butner(artcher1) with leather tip overlays saturated with superglue. I've used leather/superglue a few times on selfbows with good results.

[Kirkll]

Any type of linen phenolic works great, but micarta, g-10, and canvas phenolic works well too. The horn materials should hold up to fast flight string wear too, but I would avoid antler material.

 The antler material is strong enough, and wears like iron, but…. Trying to get it to stay on the tips without popping off is tough to do in my experience. The porous nature of the material makes it hard to glue even when sealing it good, and it doesn’t bend easily without heat. And….trying to shape it perfectly to fit your limb tip is tricky. I rarely use antler material any more after replacing too many tips.

Kirk

 

[Mad Max]

Any type of linen phenolic works great, but micarta, g-10, and canvas phenolic works well too. The horn materials should hold up to fast flight string wear too, but I would avoid antler material.

 The antler material is strong enough, and wears like iron, but…. Trying to get it to stay on the tips without popping off is tough to do in my experience. The porous nature of the material makes it hard to glue even when sealing it good, and it doesn’t bend easily without heat. And….trying to shape it perfectly to fit your limb tip is tricky. I rarely use antler material any more after replacing too many tips.

Kirk

I don’t like the layer lines in phenolic, is all of it like that? And I’ve never used macarta before, does it have the layer lines?

[Kirkll]

If you don’t like the layer lines, just use all the same color phenolic. I’ve used 1/4” thick black or brown linen and it flexes nicely clamped to the tip with super glue.

I personally like the different colored layers. It gives you a visual reference for centering and depth when shaping the overlays into a tear drop shape.

Look at all these different combos here. All of these have phenolic in them.

https://goo.gl/photos/pSoJGRPiqC5cW1h4A

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pBJyEE9X2Gi1P8ieA

[Pat B]

Kirk, FYI, with antler you have to fill the porous insides with super glue to seal the it first than smooth it before gluing to the tip.
 I don't use FF type strings so take what I say with a grain of salt. 

[Roy from Pa]

Buffalo horn all I use Mark.

[Longcruise]

I often use 2 - 4 layers of glass with no problems.

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

I got some phenolic (basically like micarta) from Binghams and it works great. The finer you sand it, the less visible any lines are and once coated, hardly visible at all.

[Kirkll]

Kirk, FYI, with antler you have to fill the porous insides with super glue to seal the it first than smooth it before gluing to the tip.
 I don't use FF type strings so take what I say with a grain of salt. 

Thanks bro.... i figured that out the hard way many moons ago. 

Actually i think using epoxy to fill the pores works better than super glue, but the thick super glue works ok....

But... i like the looks of water buffalo , cattle, or even sheep horn material better. and it is much more flexible... I did some overlays using antelope horn before, and it's also pretty flexible......

But on long bows where you have a flat area to mount your tip overlays, Deer or elk antler would work fine after filling the pores and hold up well to FF string. it's just trying to bend the stuff to fit a glass RC limb or even a hybrid limb tip that i don't like to mess with...    Kirk

[onetone]

I like to use a layer of G10 0.03-0.04 on top of the back fiberglass to take the shock and then overlay that with whatever ...

[Buggs]

Those look nice onetone

I don’t like the layer lines in phenolic, is all of it like that? And I’ve never used macarta before, does it have the layer lines?

Just about all phenolic and Micarta will have layer lines because they are made with paper or fabric. G-10 will be the best bet for a homogeneous material look. Also, there is more than one type of G-10. Some is made with finer fiberglass and is almost as smooth as the fiberglass in limb glass. A fella could make some Micarta with rice paper or fine silk fabric which would be near invisible.

[Crooked Stic]

Stabilized horn should work okay.
I use a couple of layers of glass under hardwood.

[Buemaker]

I have always called it Linen Micarta, maybe it is Linen Phenolic 

[Mad Max]

Thanks

[kennym]

I may be mistaken but I think Micarta is a brand name...

[Mad Max]

So will fiberglass overlays work also with fast flight strings?

[Buggs]

I've used FF strings on glass bows with no overlays or reinforcing wedges without issue, so my guess would be yes.
What had you heard or experienced that has you thinking it could be a problem?

[Mad Max]

I was told the string would cut the glass

[Buggs]

Here is a 50#'r that has gone thru two FF strings.

I ran a stylus over it and did not detect any defects. Nothing under magnification either.
I would guess whoever told you it could be a problem might be using very skinny strings, which could certainly cause damage. But then again with too skinny strings that problem would not be limited to FF material. There is a limit to how much force you can concentrate in one area.

The strings used on that bow are fat, equivalent to a 12 strand B50. I like the low stretch of FF and a fat string allows me to leave off the PomPoms. Fat strings weighs less than skinny strings with PomPoms, it's quiet, and has less wind resistance.


Went back and double checked the string. I was off on the fattness, it's eq. to a 14 strand B50