I have heard people say they have made their own tapered strips for lam bows but I have yet to find a good description of how to do it... I hear mention of a "sled" to achieve the taper...? Can someone describe the process and possbily post some pics of the tools/setup involved?
I have a bandsaw and a Ridgid oscillating drum/belt sander, is there anything else I need?
Thanks in advance!
1. Buy some tapered laminations.
2. Put one of the tapered laminations under the lamination you want to grind.
3. Feed your lamination through your lam grinder with the thin end of the tapered lam first.
That's it. That will cause your lamination to have the same taper as the one under it.
There's an illustration on this page:
http://www.poorfolkbows.com/glass3.htm
With a fence set-up your drum sander combination should work fine.
You can make your own taper board by using thick stock (no flex) and use a spacer on the end of your board. Calculate your desired taper and the length of your taper board to get the thickness of your spacer. Once you have your taper board you're good to go. ie: if your taper board is 40" long and your desired taper is .001/in you need a .040 spacer to make your taper board.
I use 5/4 oak for my taper boards and they don't flex and no worries of any twisting.