Author Topic: 54” Longbow Build (Read 8181 times)

Noah70 · « **Reply #40 on:** March 18, 2024, 01:05:08 PM »

WOW - I am absolutely in awe of that whole process and the craftsmanship !!

Just one question - do you use the same shop cleaning service as Beu?

Mad Max · « **Reply #41 on:** March 18, 2024, 01:50:21 PM »

Before I build a bow.

After building a bow

JGR1269 · « **Reply #42 on:** March 18, 2024, 03:01:22 PM »

Both takedowns I have done are 40-45 pound bows so I guess socket thickness would depend on poundage. I’d like to know how much more I could take off but I really don’t want to risk breaking it to find out.
As far as a clean shop, if there’s an upside to a small workspace it’s how easy it is to keep it clean.

JGR1269 · « **Reply #43 on:** March 19, 2024, 03:19:52 PM »

I glued on tip overlays to dry overnight. This morning I rough them in and strung it up. Tiller is right where I want it and some minor block sanding trued up the limbs. I finished out my overlays and got the sand scratches smoothed out. I mixed up some clear epoxy and brushed on a coat to dry. Probably will need another coat or two on the grip to fill in any voids.

Kirkll · « **Reply #44 on:** March 20, 2024, 01:18:58 PM »

Well…. It looks like it came apart ok… hopefully it holds up well…

I hate building two piece bows myself, and never have tried that fiberglass wrapped style of doing it…I’ve always used the brass and steel sleeves myself.

good luck on longevity my friend. Looking good so far.

Kirk

JGR1269 · « **Reply #45 on:** March 20, 2024, 08:27:52 PM »

Thanks Kirk.

Susquehannariverarcher · « **Reply #46 on:** March 21, 2024, 07:00:19 PM »

Is the clear epoxy just because its a take down? Or is this something to be done to all risers? Thanks.

JGR1269 · « **Reply #47 on:** March 21, 2024, 07:54:41 PM »

I do it on all of my risers to fill in the grain. I end up sanding most of it back off but the amount that soaks in makes the finishing portion of the build go quicker. There are a lot of pinholes and voids on the fiberglass socket so the epoxy takes care of them.

Susquehannariverarcher · « **Reply #48 on:** March 21, 2024, 08:04:32 PM »

Ok that makes sense. Any particular epoxy you use?

JGR1269 · « **Reply #49 on:** March 21, 2024, 08:33:07 PM »

I use (Hysol) Loctite 0151 clear epoxy. It’s similar to Smooth-On only slightly thinner viscosity. I worked for Loctite and manufactured the stuff many years ago. I’ve used Smooth-On but you need to thin it down to put a thin coat on.

JGR1269 · « **Reply #50 on:** March 23, 2024, 01:31:09 PM »

I sprayed a couple coats of finish on and put the bow in my heat cabinet to dry. I’ll wet sand and continue the process until I feel it’s ready for a final coat of matte finish. Once that has cured I’ll mask off and apply the final black finish on the grip.

kennym · « **Reply #51 on:** March 23, 2024, 07:44:04 PM »

Sweet!!

I sprayed some texture paint on my current hunting bow(only bow I shoot) then black. Thought about some spray bedliner just to try it...

Kirkll · « **Reply #52 on:** March 23, 2024, 07:55:50 PM »

I like the way that looks with the green glass….

Nice work!

JGR1269 · « **Reply #53 on:** March 24, 2024, 03:30:16 PM »

I applied another coat of sealer and wet sanded with 400 grit. I didn’t get too carried away with the grip finish on this one so I masked the outline and sprayed on a final coat of black. When that was dry I unmasked and gave it a final inspection. Everything looked good so I sprayed on a couple coats of matte clear over the whole bow and hung it in the heat box to dry.

JGR1269 · « **Reply #54 on:** March 24, 2024, 06:47:38 PM »

Pretty much a wrap on this build. I’ll post a picture of it strung after the finish cures for a while.

dbeaver · « **Reply #55 on:** March 24, 2024, 06:55:16 PM »

Damn this was fun to watch. This bow is exactly how i like a bow to look excited to see strung photos and where it starts to stack

JGR1269 · « **Reply #56 on:** March 24, 2024, 07:47:12 PM »

It’s funny you mention this. I just built two identical bows spec wise. The first is an Osage riser with bamboo cores, .040 black glass, and a 4 3/4” tip wedge. This bow has black walnut cores with a strip of Core-Flex, .040 green glass and a 4 3/4” tip wedge. The Osage bow was .265 (46@28) and the green bow has .263 (40@28) The Osage bow starts stacking hard between 27-28” but the other draws smoothly out past 28”. I purposely reduced the stack slightly because of the Core-Flex and the extra glue line. I was shooting for 43-45@28 but it’s off more than I expected and the only thing I can figure is the difference between core woods.

kennym · « **Reply #57 on:** March 24, 2024, 08:01:41 PM »

Walnut seems to come in lighter than actionboo by 3ish lbs for me, but the stacking thing , no idea...

kennym · « **Reply #58 on:** March 24, 2024, 08:05:24 PM »

Surprised I even found this thread about some testing...

https://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/index.php?topic=143549.msg2519680#msg2519680

JGR1269 · « **Reply #59 on:** March 24, 2024, 08:16:31 PM »

I was hoping you’d chime in Kenny. I figured you’d have some explanation.

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Author Topic: 54” Longbow Build (Read 8181 times)

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