A discussion continuing over from what was started in the Trade Bow thread on the woes of using Ipe. Or the success stories, I'd sure like to hear some positive tales for a change.
Please feel free to post some pics of your bows and any advice, warnings, tips, tricks, or sob stories using Ipe in a bow.
:thumbsup:
:campfire:
Only problems I've had with ipe is with quarter sawn wood Chris. Small sections of the growth rings would hove/raise up. Plain sawn is the only cut I would use myself. Bais cut tends to twist somtimes.
What problems are you having? Art
i will tell you what Bert Frelink told me- and he has built a bunch of bows- i shot an elb BBI of his for quite a while- i loved it.
he said- to always make sure the the taper on the ipe is very consistant- other wise the ipe WILL chrysall/fail.
so i geuss if the backing is inconsistant( like boo is at the nodes) then that is where the ipe is going to want to be thinner i geuss- and prone to failure.
this is where i defer to greater experience- and hope that some others chime in here- particularly Big Bert.
i have built probably six ipe bows now, all of them have been HBI, and all have survived.
some have had up to 3" of reflex glued into them and a few were only 55" long( with a 24" draw though)
but i swear by the revered gizmo, and go by what pat says about preparing hickory backings.
i glue all up with urac, i prep all with acetone, i scour all surfaces with a sawzall blade- i find the hacksaw blade not aggressive enough.
i dont like to use clamps, as i feel that they create high pressure areas- that will glue starve.
not saying they dont work- just saying what i use, that has worked for me- but i am a far cry from being an expert- say you know the definition of an expert;
ex- is a has been
spert- is a drip under pressure.
i geuss an airhose, or inner tube wrap form will work well.
but this is what i use.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1308706912.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1308706912.jpg)
reflex on one side. D/R on the other. clamp holes for heating and bending staves, and the short dowel rods for the stationary quality extra thick rubber bands.
copied this over from the bow swap.
good idea semo.
i build them 1.25 at the fade up to 3/8" at the nock.
and i like them to bend thru the handle. flat bellies.
the one i shot of Big Berts had a well rounded belly- and shot very nicely.- very ELB style..
i try and use all the variables to keep the bow alive.
flat belly
bend thru the handle
as long as is feasible
very even and smooth/consistant taper(the GIZMO! :readit: ) - but i am sure by now everybody uses the gizmo, it has certianally saved this blind old fart from wrecking tooo many bows- i sure had a tough time getting an even tiller before i began using it!
QuoteOriginally posted by Art B:
Only problems I've had with ipe is with quarter sawn wood Chris. Small sections of the growth rings would hove/raise up. Plain sawn is the only cut I would use myself. Bais cut tends to twist somtimes.
What problems are you having? Art
I can't see any grain run off of any kind on the slats that I have, so I'm guessing it's sawn pretty close to right? It's really tough to see any grain at all cause it's so tight.
I started this new post because there seemed to be quite a few of us who had some mishaps with Ipe and the discussion started over in the Bow Swap thread, so I decided to move it to it's own thread so we wouldn't clutter up that one for Swap Bows.
I know what happened to mine and it wasn't the wood's fault it was me with my head up my arse and in too big of a hurry. I developed a barely noticeable hingy spot near the fade and rather than address it immediately I decided to exercise the limbs a little bit, then catch that spot on the next sanding session. Well, it pushed up a crack/splinter whatever you wanna call it on my boo backing right at the hingy spot. I actually think the Ipe was so strong trying to bend there that it put a tremendous amount of stress on the boo backing right at the hinge. I can't blame that on the wood, it's all on me.
At least I "Know" what I did wrong, so if there's a positive in all this I'm not left scratching my head about what went wrong.
Canopy Boy and Tennbrook also had some run ins with Ipe so I'm sure they will also stop by and join in the group discussion about how the dark mistress Ipe dooped them. :campfire:
QuoteOriginally posted by fujimo:
copied this over from the bow swap.
good idea semo.
i build them 1.25 at the fade up to 3/8" at the nock.
and i like them to bend thru the handle. flat bellies.
the one i shot of Big Berts had a well rounded belly- and shot very nicely.- very ELB style..
i try and use all the variables to keep the bow alive.
flat belly
bend thru the handle
as long as is feasible
very even and smooth/consistant taper(the GIZMO! :readit: ) - but i am sure by now everybody uses the gizmo, it has certianally saved this blind old fart from wrecking tooo many bows- i sure had a tough time getting an even tiller before i began using it!
The gizmo is awesome and I use it on every flat profile bow I build. Even the one I'm doing now that's basically flat with the tips raised 3 1/2" but it's a BBO 64" tip to tip. It's already looking super sweet with about 8" of tip movement. Getting ready to make a short string for it and get a low brace.
Those flat profile longbows with some glued in reflex are really sweet, I just wished the gizmo would work on my R/D hybrid short bows. That's a whole different animal to try and tiller, you just have to feel it out cause the gizmo will only leave a solid line where the deflex drops in so you can't get an accurate reading.
The BBI that developed a hinge and cracked my boo was an R/D hybrid design and they will develop a hing in a heartbeat right past the fades.
What I gotta do is make a bunch of hackberry bows on the caul and practice tillering this R/D design, then if I ruin some wood it's not a big deal as if I just scrapped a Ipe blank and a boo backing. :knothead:
Then when I think I've got it figured out pretty good I'll go back to the Ipe.
Ok, just finished the glue-up of ipe/boo/taketwo. Everything went smoother this time, and I'm pretty happy. We'll see how it tillers out this time.
As for the gizmo, the last several bows I've built/tried to build have been r/d and I'm with SEMO here -- best I've been able to figure you just have to watch the bending and feel them out. Which is tough when you're still a newb.
I'll take a look at the grain orientation next time I'm down at the shop. I had one ipe deckboard, probably enough to make a 1/2 dozen bows total, but not enough to be picky about grain orientation. (I did check that it was straight.)
"Dark Mistress" -- I'll have to remember that. Not a fitting name for this trade bow, but maybe for the one I make myself. I was thinking we should start our own thread on this. Way to beat me to it.
-Dave
The one ipe r/d that I did I was told to wait until the last 4-5" of the tillering to get the tips to open up. The gizmo helped a ton in the tillering process. I got the glue up from David over at primal need archery and his sanding of the bamboo was extremely great around 1/8" at the edges with keeping the boo from overpowering the ipe. I used an old knife for the scraping knowing that a rasp isn't the best approach from what I heard. I have a large store of ipe sitting to the side of the shop and a few bamboo backings I'm looking to cut out and sand up soon. Curious to the benefits of using a specific sawed board or if it matters much as I have much to choose from.
Building the bamboo backed bow DVD by Torges did help a ton in understanding the glue up method for a bamboo bow. I know it's not ipe in the video (osage) but it does help quite a bit with understanding the properties of bamboo. Where to start the reflex/deflex and how much to induce can make a huge difference and whatnot.
(http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy316/goosegossett14/16906186.jpg)
(http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy316/goosegossett14/IMG_1096.jpg)
Biggest problem with ipe is being able to see those little bitty pin knots that it usually has.
Sharp looking bow Goose, you nailed that tiller perfect man!
Okie- I don't know how you all can see anything on Ipe? It's so dark chocolate brown that I can't even make out the grain until I hit it with a rasp or sandpaper, but then my eyes have been getting worse for seeing things close up. I finally got a pair of reading glasses for close up detail work. It sucks getting old.
Dark Mistress just sounded like it fit well because Ipe is dark and mysterious, yet seductive and sweet if you work it right. :saywhat:
i hear you guys on the R/D tillering- thats a tough one.
i like to use a spokeshave, for most of the work, then finishing with cabinet scrapers, but i will use both coarse and fine rasps for targeting specific stiff spots.
i find a nicely sharpened spokeshove , working the whole limb or part thereof in one stroke, really helps to keep the taper consistant, and for the most parts eliminates stiff spots.
that also keeps the dust down.
nice bow goose!!- those arrows have gotta spit outta there. ipe is notorious for producing some fast/hard shooting bows.
here is my new ipe bow i am working on. i had this blank already glued up,
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1308717843.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1308717843.jpg)
and after reading 4ests buildalong with his oak board bow, i figured i would try some flipped tips.
(and i have read on this forum that the ipe does not like to steam well)- so i glued on some new hickory tips ala-4est,with some tb3- gave a nice invisible glue line between the two hickories. (http://images.imagelinky.com/1308717887.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1308717887.jpg)
just got it bending, and will continue to tiller as soon as i have mailed my swap bow in the next few days.
Took the 2nd attempt out of the oven this morning (timer turned off the heat around 2am). Looks good.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1308752388.JPG)
One thing I've noticed about using smooth-on and curing at 180deg for 4+ hours is what it does to the wood. The oven cycle seems to bend your wood somewhat like steaming would. I know on the first bow, I cut a strip off the side to bring it to width and that 1/8" strip had no boo on it. But the ipe kept the shape of the form to this day. And this glue up I used backing strips when clamping out of the left over bamboo thickness I resawed off. And those strips kept the shape when unclamped and tossed to the side.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1308752484.JPG)
I know that smooth-on works at room temp if you leave it long enough, but these results have me sold on the oven concept.
As was mentioned, a nice consistant pre-tapered blank to start with and a flat belly in the working area. It's rather easy to get a nice taper on a board to start with, which will evenly stress the entire limb from the get go. Never found a need for a gizmo myself using this method.
You touched on a very important subject there Art and I wish I could figure out how to do that on my belt sander.........even taper from center handle area to the tip. I'm not talking about side taper, I'm talking about thickness taper.
If I could start out thicker in the center of my Ipe blank and taper from there all the way down to the tips it would make tillering the R/D hybrid design much, much easier I think.
I have yet to be able to do a decent job of that with just my belt sander and I don't want to screw up a bunch of material trying to figure that out.
I added some pics to the previous post this morning.
As for the thickness taper on the ipe, I used the tablesaw with a 30 second taper jig out of scrap. Worked great. I think if a guy had his bandsaw set up for good, straight cuts with a fence, that would work just as well.
That belt sander is your problem Chris. Try using just hand tools on your next one.
Funny thing about really hard woods like ipe, harder they are, the easier they work with hand tools. Ipe will eat up a circular saw blade but seems to be as soft as walnut when using a farrier's rasp and scraper on it........Art
I've had the same woes as Art B stated in his first post. I was working on a BBI, but had problems on the belly with the grain raising out. So, I've thinned it down and am in the process of adding an osage belly. We'll see how that turns out...
QuoteOriginally posted by 4est trekker:
I've had the same woes as Art B stated in his first post. I was working on a BBI, but had problems on the belly with the grain raising out. So, I've thinned it down and am in the process of adding an osage belly. We'll see how that turns out...
I'm so glad you jumped in here and told us that 4est, because I'm getting ready to do the exact same thing on the one I'm working on. I need to add a lam under the area where the boo cracked and stiffen up my fades so I was thinking an osage lam also. Maybe we can help each other through it? I might need to get your thoughts on how long I should go with the lam.
At first I thought about from the fades to about mid limb, because now that I had to take more Ipe off to straighten out that hingy area I'm under weight as well with this bow.
So should I put an osage lam the entire length of the limb or would from the fade to mid limb do the job I'm looking for?
At least I know I was thinking along the right lines with using an osage lam on the belly. That makes me feel better about it.
Hey Semo...I know this thread was supposed to help BUT it sure hasn't made my confidence level jump too high :biglaugh:
I might have to wait a bit longer on this build to get a few more bows under my bet before I ruin a good boo plank and a nice piece of Ipe. I was wanting to toss this build on the R/D Caul but the more I look at the piece of Ipe the more concerned I am about trying to get that piece of wood to bend to those radical curves. Maybe I should rip it into two thinner lams...it would certainly bend easier if they were thinner.
how radical is your form- a pic will help.
the trick with ipe- just keep the taper consistant!!!.
sure need big bad bert to add in here, as to how best to deal wth the ipe at the bamboo nodes.
that is surely why i like the hickory backings.save the boo for some osage.
it works with well with boo, but just reduces the risk with hickory-IMHO!!also very easy to monitor the taper when the backing is perfectly consistant.
and dont panic lee. i have built 6 outta 6 ipe bows. just try it, and go slow.
QuoteOriginally posted by Lee Slikkers:
Hey Semo...I know this thread was supposed to help BUT it sure hasn't made my confidence level jump too high :biglaugh:
I might have to wait a bit longer on this build to get a few more bows under my bet before I ruin a good boo plank and a nice piece of Ipe. I was wanting to toss this build on the R/D Caul but the more I look at the piece of Ipe the more concerned I am about trying to get that piece of wood to bend to those radical curves. Maybe I should rip it into two thinner lams...it would certainly bend easier if they were thinner.
Yes, yes, and yes. Wait on it till you get more experience building bows in general. Definitely wait to glue it up with R/D on the caul and practice on some other 1 piece construction bows without the backing first cause it's a real B***H to tiller! I've decided to make several hackberry bows on mine until I can tiller this design in my sleep before attempting another BBI on it. I've got a crap load of Hackberry and if I screw one of those up it's not a big deal, I'll just grab another one. It's a good teacher for heating shape into because it responds nicely to heat, so get yourself some hackberry to practice on. It's easy to split, works like butter with a draw knife and the wood is beautiful creamy white when you hit it with some sandpaper.
At least that's my plan, and I know you have hackberry around there where you live, it's everywhere.
I build with Ipe all the time. I really don't have any troubles with it I have used it on at least a dozen bows and love the strength of it. Working it is a different thing a good strong rasp and a lot of muscle.lol
Hey StoneAK, I hoped you would jump in here (got my boo and Ipe from him)
I was wondering if I should rip it length wise and if that would make it easier to make the R/D shape since I read the Ipe doesn't like Steam? Maybe 2 thinner slats of the Ipe would make the bending transition a bit better?
I ripped one of mine and it turned out good I took about a 1/4" off the belly side. most of the time I just plane it down to where I can bend it for the caul. Get the boo nice and flat on a belt sander and so it is nice and flexable. if you are shooting for 50# @28 inches don't rip your ipe any thinner than 1/2".
Here are a few of my Ipe boo combos some finished some not
(//%5Burl=http://images.imagelinky.com/1308877553.JPG%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://images.imagelinky.com/1308877553.JPG)[/url] [/IMG] (//%5Burl=http://images.imagelinky.com/1308877642.jpg%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://images.imagelinky.com/1308877642.jpg)[/url] [/IMG] (//%5Burl=http://images.imagelinky.com/1308877692.jpg%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://images.imagelinky.com/1308877692.jpg)[/url] [/IMG] (//%5Burl=http://images.imagelinky.com/1308877783.jpg%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://images.imagelinky.com/1308877783.jpg)[/url] [/IMG]
The third bow down isn't finished yet
Canopyboy, I see that the Bamboo is facing down on your bowform. Do you use a kind of soft spacer between the form and bamboo to even out the nodes ? Bue--.
Bue,
Yes, put a few layers of neoprene foam rubber. It gives me a fairly even pressure on the bamboo side. When it comes out of the oven, the rubber is permanently deformed, so I think I need to find a better way as this only allows me to use once. This last time I also smoothed the nodes out just slightly before glueup to make it a bit easier to accommodate. So far my glue lines have been great.
i use a 1" thick piece of the hard styro foam insulation board( blue or pink- either /or). it flexes well to the form.
i presand a concave down the length to match the boo radius- takes a minute by hand.
and i pre press in indentations with the boo for where the nodes are going to fit in, and for the whole radius when i do my dry run- then that ensures even pressure all around.
I use a strip of rubber that's about 1/8" thick on my caul to cushion the nodes of the boo, and I also pre sand the nodes a bit before putting the boo down on the rubber. My glue lines have been real good so far, that's the least of my problems. It's just about everything else that comes afterwards that's been giving me fits lately. :knothead: :biglaugh:
I switched to using rubber on my caul as well for boo it has been working really well.
Would make in a reverse caul work. I mean on that bends from the belly instead of the back. You would only have the handle to deal with, but if you cut a space for it, then used shims under it that would work I think. Just brain storming on that one.
QuoteOriginally posted by KellyG:
Would make in a reverse caul work. I mean on that bends from the belly instead of the back. You would only have the handle to deal with, but if you cut a space for it, then used shims under it that would work I think. Just brain storming on that one.
That's not a bad idea Kelly, your thinking in the right direction. I've kinda thought along those lines myself when I did a BBO on a flat 2x4 with the handle section clamped down, then put 3 1/2" blocks under the tips to raise them and add reflex.
I was wondering the same thing you just mentioned, but that's as far as it ever went.
The glue up did go alot simpler that way with the boo on top and the osage or Ipe on the bottom, and then the clamps just on the wood itself with the limb tips suspended up on the blocks.
It took way less time to clamp and not near as much pressure as doing it in the caul.
I guess a guy could take the same pattern and just invert it to make a reverse caul design? Don't see why not? Only thing I could see that wouldn't change much is the amount of clamp pressure it takes to get the Ipe and boo to form to the shape of the caul. Ipe especially because you can't pre-bend it to the shape of the caul with heat like I do with osage.
I may have to go to the garage and whittle one out just to see if it would be any better that way. :rolleyes:
I thought about a backwards caul for use with boo. But I thought about it after I made this one. It'd be great for a r/d bow. The thickness of your riser would be your d, then block up the tips for the r. Clamp in between to pull it down, and for the transition areas you just use spring clamps.
QuoteOriginally posted by canopyboy:
I thought about a backwards caul for use with boo. But I thought about it after I made this one. It'd be great for a r/d bow. The thickness of your riser would be your d, then block up the tips for the r. Clamp in between to pull it down, and for the transition areas you just use spring clamps.
Yep, I also thought about that too CB but then your back to just about the same amount of clamping work as the caul. I saw that method over on poor folks website.
Don't get me wrong, I like my caul just fine for heat treating, straightening, and I love the R/D shape of it, and even the glue ups in it which really isn't what it was meant for. The glue ups should be done in a form with an air hose, but I figure that if I can get it to pull double duty then why not? I got out cheap.
So this is where I ended last night. Just got home tonight and can only spare a little time so we'll see how far she gets.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1308959727.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1308959792.JPG)
I agree with SEMO, it is tough for me to tiller this shape. And if I wasn't against a deadline I'd practice on a piece of hickory or something that's plentiful and doesn't require the prep and glueup.
The tips are already flexing quite a bit due to pre-tapered thickness (I took off about 3/16 between the riser and tip). But you can definitely see the effect (at least in person) where the nodes are in the bamboo. I want to maintain the constant ipe taper, at least in thickness. So I'm thinking I can work those node areas by shaving the sides a bit. Anybody have thoughts?
:dunno:
I think I would keep working the mid limb area evenly, either by taking some width off the edges or sanding the belly.
But then what do I know? I need practice tillering these myself! :knothead:
We need an "Expert" opinion here.
Thanks, good idea. Bue--.
I did work the mid limbs a bit more. Put it on the short string and bam! Already slightly under. Well, the form/caul was really too long for the draw length I was aiming for, so I shortened it up. Bow seems better now, although we're getting to where there is more deflex than reflex. Lower limb still too stiff, but has what I think is a perfect tiller. Upper limb looks ugly, but is already too weak. Well, not that bad I guess. I'll play with it a bit more. I only have about an inch or so of draw length left to play with. It might be a little under weight. I think I want to do a straight glueup next time!
That's exactly what can happen with this design, the mid limb won't bend and won't bend, then just goes all at once. It's very touchy about that.
If your bottom limb is the stiff one you can pike it a bit by nipping an inch off the top, if you have that much to play with?
You will lose about half of the reflex when it's tillered. The trick that I've found to combat this (in my limited experience) is to leave the tips a bit stiff.
On the caul design I usually leave the tips a little stiff for that same reason Semo.
Yep, caul design had stiff tips, but when I screwed this one up, I had to shorten her up to the point where I lost most of that benefit. Oh well, she shoots fast. And smooth too. Time to get some finish on and move to the next bow.
Until I can get some more experience tillering the R/D design that the caul puts into the bow, I'm doing my next glue up exactly like I did my trade bow. Straight profile with the tips raised 3 1/2" with blocks under the tips. It tillered just like a regular longbow and I used the gizmo the whole way.
The BBO I just made is a screamer and accurate too, so I can only imagine what it would be like with Ipe on the belly. That's gonna be my next project along with practicing on some Hackberry out of my caul.
I got 1 last piece of boo left and I'm not taking any chances with it cause I need a back up bow for fall and if it turns out the way I hope it will then it may be my first choice?
Chris,
I use a planer and cut down the ipe a little then it bends nicely on the caul. It is a very fast bow off of that design.
Thought I was a couple more coats away from being ready to ship:
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1309352228.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1309352251.JPG)
*^$%!&^ :mad: :mad: :mad: &^%@$%#IPE!!!!
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1309351578.JPG)
I put it up to check weight one more time before inscribing. And there it was. The bow had more than 50 arrows through it already, but seemed destined to fail before long.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1309351642.JPG)
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1309351665.JPG)
Today I'm going to salvage the bamboo off the first one since it was too thick anyhow. I'll grind this one down a bit and put a boo belly on it too -- I don't trust that plug all by itself. Besides, the bow was a couple pounds light and I keep thinking a boo-ipe-boo was going to be my next bow anyhow.
I'm a little nervous, as I think I need to have the tiller pretty close before the lamination. I don't know that I want to scrape the boo belly too much to get it right. Might be caliper time. Not to mention the deadline is breathing down my neck now.
I'm also going to check the ipe board I have. This chrysal was pretty much exactly where the other one was. Could be I'm screwing up the same way, but it also looks like there is something funny with the grain there. I want to see if I can find it in the board.
How wide is your limb? and how thick was the Ipe?
I will be measuring, and can post the dimensions at the location of failure. But this bow was about 1-1/8 at the fades, 7/16 at the tips, and the ipe was about 3/8 at the chrysal although it tapered pretty evenly. The first bow had the same problem, same place, but was 1-3/8 and the ipe was a lot thinner (and boo thicker).
Oh well....
VINDICATION!!! :wavey:
This is the off the same board. I didn't see it at first, but I laid the ipe blank up next to the bow and .... nothing. Swapped it end for end, and BOOM -- there it was. Lined right up. Filed and scraped it a bit to make sure it was really there.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1309355217.JPG)
So the whole board has it, all the way through the thickness. It's not a knot of any kind. It's almost like it had a fret from when the tree was felled, or at least before it was milled (why else would it go all the way through the thickness?)
I can't believe it. Just my luck. I was so careful the second time too. Oh well, I think my boo belly idea will still work nicely.
man i am so sorry for you chap!!
but nice neat save- and should work out just pretty.
when you are dealing with this many crazy problems- people will sure be understanding- dont give up!!
well done
As I was reading down through the posts before I saw the pic of your board I was going to suggest that maybe you got a bad batch of Ipe, but you already figured that one out on your own.
Man, that's pretty crappy and I hate it for ya. You work your tail off to do everything right and the fault is all on the wood and not the bowyer........that really sucks!
I hope you can save it.
Canopy: you don't want to sand the boo to drop the weight or adjust the tiller. On boo bellied bows, you use a combination of removing side material, trapping, and knee tillering (which is a scary technique of gently, but purposely inducing set in localized areas of the limb in order to achieve even tiller). I came across this technique while doing some work for James Parker of Huntworthy Productions. James makes some of the best boo and composite bows I've ever seen.
And yes, you certainly want to pretiller all lams, particularly the boo, in order to get in the ballpark right off the bat. Hope this helps.
4est-
Did my best to pretiller. We'll see how it works (everything is another experiment with me) in a couple more hours when she comes out of the oven and cools off.
vanilla-
The reason I noticed was that after flexing the bow with the first few coats of finish on, you could see the cracked finish. Flex it a little more and you could watch the movement at the crack. In hindsight, since I was going to grind it down and add a belly lam anyway I probably would have been fine to leave it.
well now what to do with that board. And I am just brain storming on this. If it is not long enough to just cut that end off; you could make billets, or heck even cut it down and use it like horn. Say make you a hackberry, hickory or other bow and put the Ipe on the belly. I have a hickory I am going to try that with Osage on back and belly. It was my first try at a bow and did not end well. But the back split off so I think Osage belly and back might save that one. Who knows just brainstorming.
I figured it would get used billet style. Actually, the board is long enough that I could get the defect under the handle and it would be fine. I'll figure it out when my wife lets me start another bow... :nono:
Well, the bow is cured, cooled, and I took it off the form just now and cleaned it up a little. The boo-ipe-boo looks good, although the glue lines as I tried to get it to bend up the fades were less than great. But I think is good enough for far enough to get the job done, and the rest can be rasped off. I tried pre-bending the boo with dry heat which seemed to work. But I guess my clamps in that area just weren't good enough. I guess that's why the glass guys like air hoses.
I couldn't resist putting it up on the board and pulling on it at least a little. Braced tiller looks good, I pulled it to twenty inches and 47#. Lower limb needs bend a little more mid limb, but not too much. And I'll need to drop some weight. Although not too much really, actually it might be only a about 5-8lbs over at final draw and weight as it currently sits. Just enough to do what I need to do and get it sanded smooth.
I don't know how much time I'll have tomorrow on it, but I have all day Friday and Monday.
Sounds like you got a good fix going on there can't wait to see it
awesome save!!!
Thanks, I'll consider it saved when it's all finished and in a shipping tube.
I'll try and post some pictures tomorrow.
-Dave
Ok, pictures to come with more detail, but you can find one on the swap thread.
This "fixed" bow flat out seems to shoot. It was quiet at release, loud at impact. I walked back to 35 yards and the drop wasn't much different than my Hoyt recurve.
How can I give it away now? Mistress indeed. I think I'm in love.
Of course if ipe is the mistress, bamboo might be my new wife.
Well I am glad it came together.
That's great CB, I'm glad you were able to save it. I know how disheartening it is to work so hard and long on a bow to just have one thing ruin it all. I haven't given up on my BBI yet, I put Urac over and down into the crack on the boo side and then I'm going to put an osage lam on the belly side like 4est did. With your success with boo and his success with osage on the belly of Ipe, it sound very encouraging and maybe there's some hope yet for my BBI.
I'll check in here when I get around to finishing the repair job on it.
I know on the other post with CB, discussing Ipe, i came to the defense but on tab 3 of this thread ya'll were mentioning how Ipe seems to have no effect from wood removal, and then bam all of the sudden you took too much off...my first 3 HBI and BBI all ended up too light. In fact I thought I would never get a 50+ lb bow, cause bam, another 40 pounder. But I kept reading on here about patience (and not using power tools, like a belt sander to tiller) and instead of just 30 pulls to exercise between wood removal, I would exercise it like crazy, then recheck....Anyways, i know its a day late and dollar short, cause ya'll have moved on on the bows since that far back in the thread, but since i am off training for Afghanistan, I don't get to log on all the time.
Loren, I think that had more to do with the R/D hybrid design than the Ipe did, or at least in my case? I've had the same problem with osage on the belly with the same R/D design. Mid limb just won't move for the longest time and then it goes all at once. That's why it's so important to make small adjustments and shooting it a bit in between tillering sessions probably wouldn't be a bad idea? I've read that alot of others will shoot a few shots in between sanding/filing sessions. I guess I'm just scared to after what happened the last time I did that, had a hinge that didn't show up real bad till I shot it and by then it was too late for the boo backing.