I've been really looking forward to building a bow for RC! I am building this one with an osage and zebra riser, bamboo cores, and red elm limb faces. He wants something in the 52-53@27 range. I'm building this one 66" NTN, but he will be real happy if it comes in shorter at 64". I cut the riser one inch shorter, hoping I have to pike it to 64" to make weight. I will know tomorrow, if all goes well.
Here is the riser block, the finished riser, and all my lams layed out. I sand the two lams together to create a matching bevel on the ends for gluing them together. Here the three full length ones are glued and being held down by two riser blocks.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/RCsbuild-1.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/RCsbuild-2.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/RCsbuild-3.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/RCsbuild-4.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/RCsbuild-5.jpg)
:thumbsup: Love your builds Marty!!
Nice fades Marty!. Just put osage and zebra overlays on a bow. Great combo.
Looks Great Apex...that riser is nice...is this going to be a straight longbow
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Yep! This is another straight one. I am building 8 straight ones to every curvy one.
Alright folks, here's the next installment!
Tonight I cleaned up the lams. The glued joints needed sanding, and the splinters on the edges needed taking care of. If you get a splinter under your glass during lay-up you will invent new words. Something like "horse feathers", or worse!
After the lam edges are sanded and dusted real well, I like to tape the smooth side of the glass to keep off unwanted epoxy boogers during glue up. Then I lay all the parts in the proper order on the form, clamp the riser down with a c-clamp, and put my pressure strips on top.
This is one of the most important steps, so pay attention! This is the time to pick the prettiest sides of your lams that are gonna show under the glass. Also look really close at your glass. Clear glass is really bad now a days. If you find a streak or worse, lay it up where it will be cut out from your final bow profile. When my pressure strips are layed on top, I put pressure on the fades to see how they press the lams into the fades. If they aren't applying quite the perfect pressure, now is the time to tweak the bend so that it applies the pressure just right. My pressure 1 1/2" strips are made of 1/16" aluminum with rubber on the contact surface. I also have glued a 1 1/4" pvc lattice to the top to avoid the center raising after applying pressure to the edges. I keep the whole pressure strip wrapped in plastic wrap to keep glue off of it. You want no gap here at all! I then wrap it with two rubber strips for each limb. If all looks good then I am ready for glue-up prep!
Here is the whole works with two rubber clamping strips on each limb.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/Dryrun-1.jpg)
Here is are two close-ups of the riser fades and what your should have on the dry run.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/Dryrun-2.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/Dryrun-3.jpg)
This is one of my most used tools in the shop. You need to check every lam for actual vs. ordered specification. Record all your lam thicknesses in your bow building log book. That way you will know what thickness to order the next ones.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/Dryrun-4.jpg)
I was planning to glue this one up in the a.m. before work, but discovered that I was short a couple of rubber strip clamps. I had to throw a couple away last time. If you keep the epoxy off of them, they last a long time. I will have to stop off by the bike shop tomorrow and pick up a couple of inner tubes. I will share how I make my clamping strips then.
The second to last photo shows the very end of the fadeout. The line marks the end of the riser. This is where you should have no gaps at all.
:) :cool: :)
Marty,
Thanks for the build along.
I suspect you already have your riser glued up as tight as it looks in the dry run. Is that correct?
The two wood riser is glued up, but the rest is not.
Yesterday I picked up some more bike inner-tubes. Last night I cut them into clamping strips. The first one was rather fat, and made three strips. Here are a few photos of the tube, before and after.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/Stripclamp-1.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/Stripclamp-2.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/Stripclamp-3.jpg)
Here are my lams all cleaned with acetone and laid out in order.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-19-09-5.jpg)
Here is my form with plastic wrap over the top in four layers. I rotate my alignment washers so that they are just above the surface of the form here. I will spread the smooth-on with the lam right on the form to the second side of the lam. I apply it with my little ipe stirring stick, and spread it out with a 1" wall paper seam roller. Works really well for me.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-19-09-6.jpg)
I measure smooth-on in two separate cups in equal amounts. There is about 4 oz of each part.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-19-09-7.jpg)
I then lay everything up, being careful to make sure no debris make it into the epoxy as I go along. After the whole stack is in place, I rotate the washers into the highest position and fold the plastic wrap over the whole bow. I am careful to leave it a little loose around the edges to catch the squeezed out epoxy. If it's too tight, the squeeze out will rupture and leak epoxy all over your rubber strips and form. It will happen occasionally anyway, but didn't this time. You can see a lot of rubber here. There are 6 strips on each limb, and twice as many on the fades as anywhere else.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-19-09-9.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-19-09-10.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-19-09-11.jpg)
Next step is to tuck everything in for the night! This thermometer is the reading after about one hour. It normally takes about 1.5 hours to get up to the final temp, which is around 170 degrees.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-19-09-12.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-19-09-13.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-19-09-14.jpg)
This morning I was like a little kid at Christmas! Here you can see the glue boogers that make the plastic wrap bulge out around the form. Without the plastic wrap, it can take hours to separate the bow from the form. With this set-up it takes me just a few minutes. Yeah, I can hear many asking if I need to use so much epoxy! It let's me sleep better at night knowing I have enough! I use this tool quite often, and is perfect for knocking off a few glue boogers. It's ½" X 18" belt sander that I bought at Big Lots for $30!
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-20-09-1.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-20-09-3.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-20-09-2.jpg)
After getting her out of the form, I use my band-saw to cut off most of the epoxy on the edge. Then I take it to my 6X48 belt sander for the rest. After the sides are fairly straight and true, I run it through my table saw with carbide blade. I will run the straightest side through against the fence, and just rotate sides until I get the whole blank down to my desired width. In this case, one and one quarter inch. Now it's time to pull the tape. It's starting to look like a bow now! That red elm is classy looking, and goes really well with the osage and zebra.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-20-09-4.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-20-09-6.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-20-09-5.jpg)
Man that bow looks sharp...excellent build along Apex...Thos epics sure would have answered alot of my building questions when I first started. Looks great! I am going to have to try the innertubes. Thanks!!!!!
Excellent build along Marty! I like watching your creations!!
Apex, I should come down to Bwk. and let you show me how you do it, I used to live down there. My mom and some of the family still do.
TF
You've become a fine craftsman on those bows, Marty.
:thumbsup:
Last night I built some overlays. I epoxied them together with smooth-on and cooked them last night for three hours at 170 deg. I decided to go with black linen phenolic and osage. I think it will look great with the osage and black accent line in the riser.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-21-09-2.jpg)
This morning before work I cut the shelf and shaped the riser. Just before I had to get ready for work, I laminated them on the bow and put the heat lamps to them. Timer set for three hours at around 140 deg.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-21-09-1.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-21-09-3.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-21-09-5.jpg)
This one is cut 1/8" from center.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-21-09-4.jpg)
Really great stuff Marty! Thanks for sharing. :notworthy:
Marty, This is another great build along. I wish you were around with this when I tried to build a glass bow. Never got it strung!
For some reason I can't see your latest pics.
Thats gonna make a fine lookin rig Marty , and I will bet a shooter. Great combo of wood choices. Back in 95 and 96 I was usin the rubber band technique (as a matter of fact my original press still has the holes for the pegs and I still build bows on that press). As I started building more and more bows I found the rubber band deal a little time comsuming and went to the firehose. Mucho faster and supper even pressure. Have you considered this?
I may make that move soon Bob.
Last night I worked a short time on the tips, and spent some time with Lynn and the kids.
This morning before church I hit it again. I finished the tips and got the weight down by rounding the corners and trapping the belly towards the tips. Right now it's gonna finish around 54@27 and be 64" NTN.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-22-09-1.jpg)
Notice how I relieve the bottom of the tips past the string groove. This will enable the string to slide out of the groove when coming to full draw.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-22-09-2.jpg)
Here is a photo showing the trapping. I cut at about a 45 degree angle. This is the last 14" of the limbs. It takes off 1-2 pounds and cuts weight on the tips.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-22-09-3.jpg)
Then I taped on a strike plate and took her to the range! My favorite part. She is a great shooter!
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Bow%20Building/3-22-09-4.jpg)
I'm getting to the finishing stage now and the photos will slow down until the finished bow shots. I hope to spray the grain filling coats today. Stay tuned!
Great work Marty. The bow is looking great
This one is taking a while to seal the pores on. I forgot how porous zebra is! I did take a break Sun evening to go to the woods though. :) I should have some completed photos soon.
I finished RC's bow this morning! She has an osage and zebra riser, bamboo cores, and red elm limbs. She is 64" NTN and draws 54@27. She is a great shooter, and doesn't look half bad either!
I think it will look even better with a little hog blood on it!
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Apex%20bows/01609-RC-1.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Apex%20bows/01609-RC-2.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Apex%20bows/01609-RC-3.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Apex%20bows/01609-RC-5.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Apex%20bows/01609-RC-6.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Apex%20bows/01609-RC-7.jpg)
Apex when you laminate your riser do you use smooth-on and heat to put it together?
Yes Steve, I use smooth-on and bake in my house oven on warm, which is usually right at 180 deg. If your riser wood is not dry, it will check! I then bake the bow in my laminating oven at 160-170. Lastly, my overlays get the heat lamp treatment at around 130-140.
Looks amazing Apex!...I really like how you work your tip overlays and your frosted finish is excellent.
Awesome, once again!! I'm sure Robert can't hardly wait. :thumbsup:
Apex what do you mean by check? I will be starting on a recurve Kit and I am earger for as much info as I can find. I like your work.
A check is a crack caused by improper drying of bow wood. If it's not stabilized in it's moisture content, it will crack when subjected to heat while curing a laminated joint. I have trouble down here in the southeast, because the relative humidity is high. Even though it is as dry as it's gonna get around here, when subjected to 180 degrees for hours will check some woods. I need to build a mini kiln to gradually dry my riser woods out more before laminating the risers.
Marty, as always you make an awesome looking looking bow. Great wood combination. :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Really good job.
Marty...you make some of the world's most beautiful bows ...but we need an UPDATE......
Tom i.
Nice build Apex, I always enjoy them. Red Elm is one of my favorite woods too.
pete
Really nice! Love the combo!
Well guys, my next project is my first hybrid. It is taking some extra planning. I almost got burned out with the last two, which I finished in two weeks. My full time job, and getting in a hog hunt here and there has taken all my time. I will post some on my new project this week.
Thanks again for all the kind words.
Have you looked at KennyM's design? I'm building one soon. I really love the flow of the limbs.
Has anyone ever calculated the performance differences between a straight and a R/D longbow?