So I am building this bow for a friend at work. He wants a 65 to 70lb take down recurve. I said "what the hey!"
First, picking out the wood. I found this nice piece of Honduras Rosewood and some fiddle back maple:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120211095332.jpg)
I laminated the fiddle back by gluing three pieces together with smooth on:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120211100058.jpg)
Then cut up some of the Rosewood. A slice for the veneer and then pieces for the accents. I glue the accents onto the bottom of the maple with tightbond three... just little drops. This keeps it together while I cut my pattern.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120211095236.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120211095228.jpg)
Then I made up 1/4" thick piece of rosewood @ 2" and a 1/4" thick of maple @ 2".. glued them together with tightbond lightly and made my decoration cut for my veneers:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120211095505.jpg)
Added in some accent stripes and glued it all up firm. The drum sanded it all smooth and cut it into 2 pieces about 1/8" thick.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120211143724.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120211143739.jpg)
I have the first part of the handle in the oven. And am waiting for 80 grit paper for my drum sander so finish up the lams.
More to come this weekend!
Looks like a great start.
Here is the first part of the riser glue up. I took it out and and cleaned it up:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120211152901.jpg)
Then I cut the limb pad areas:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120211154328.jpg)
So now I am lightly gluing the other piece of rosewood onto the bottom of the riser.. then will cut my second accent piece.. will glue that up tomorrow.
Very sharp..
Looks awesome
Looking good
Looks great, nice choice of woods & design.
Great wood combo...and your details are spot on.
Man bradford I love your builds and bows. Where the heck have ya been?
Thanks guys... I am SOOOOOO excited about this bow. The really cool thing is I know the guy I am building this for is going to use the living >>>> out of it..LOL.
He hunts everything along with club shoots and such. This will be his first recurve.
Everything is really coming together good so far. This is the first bow I have built using my new (used) drum sander and oscillating spindle sander. What a difference those two tools make. So much more accurate.
Can't wait till tomorrow to do more.
Thanks again everyone!
Hey Kelly.. My damn Arthritis set in hard there for a few month... there fore depression sits in. Nothing worse than being 40 and not being able to do the things you love.
I snapped out of it and started building again. Also working on a guitar for the first time also. Wish we had a general wood building section on this site...hehehe.
I am also building another one piece recurve for another friends daughter of 14. Doing purple heart and zebra wood. Will post that one on a different thread in a couple of days.
Thanks for the kind words buddy and hope your daughter is still getting use out of her bow.
Thanks for doing the build a long Bradford. It looks great. All the buid a longs here are what got me started and keep me coming back. I really enjoy seeing all the talent here.
Alright.. got some more done today:
First cut the second half of the accent.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120212091750.jpg)
Then got it glued up
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120212141931.jpg)
Also took some time to make a new limb form. I have been meaning to do this for some time. Just a tad different angle and a bit more recurve at the tip
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120212141950.jpg)
Then glued up a couple of pieces of phelonic for the limb pad areas. Just a bit more insurance that this thing will handle the high poundage.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120212183410.jpg)
So tomorrow night will be general shaping of the riser.. really looking forward to it!
Wow-really looking good!!
Thank you all for the kind words.
Got a little more done tonight.. I am a man on a mission:
Got the general shape cut out and used the oscillating spindle sander to clean it up:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120213193354.jpg)
Then cut out the window and started to radii the shelf
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120213201309.jpg)
Using my trusty dremel tool.. started the "trench". I am getting excited.. it starting to look like a bow!
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120213200950.jpg)
I use a depth gauge so I know when to stop sanding out the trench.. now I gotta do the other side tomorrow night and start shaping the handle.
Cant wait to see it rounded up.Thats always my favorite part of the build.
Alrighty.. got some more sanding and shaping done... I am really diggin' this wood!
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120215202201.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120215202146.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120215202049.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120215202034.jpg)
coco is going to make that riser pop. Looking good.
All right. After a disagreement with my drum sander (the drum sander won by the way.. my finger and thumb are black and blue)
Got the lams prepped up and layed out and finished up the form:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120217153007.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120217153015.jpg)
Got it glued up and is sitting in the oven. Should be able to pull it out around 8pm pst.
I wanted to do so much more, but my hand is throbbing. I was making wedges using my drum sander and I think I put it in backwards.. it kicked it straight out and wacked my thumb and forefinger. I am so lucky not to have ended up with a broken thumb.
sweet riser. can't wait to see the finished project
This is looking good so far.
Thanks boys... Cant wait to see this thing with some clear coat on it!
Got the first limb out of the oven and cleaned up a bit..
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120217204307.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120217204320.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120217204346.jpg)
Very nice build. I'm impressed by the skills!
Thanks Wookie!
I got the other limb done today.. set it up against the riser:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120219151759.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120219151810.jpg)
Got the inserts installed and the pins
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120219151833.jpg)
Then bolted it all together and drew out my lines.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120219172150.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120219172158.jpg)
So tomorrow night after work start shaping the limbs and maybe get a string on it to see about where it is for weight
looks great keep it coming long.
Shawn
Awsum!
Okay.. got the limbs sanded into shape Monday night.. then took into work to let the guy pull on it a bit.. it is a bit heavy, so I sanded down some black glass on the belly and narrowed them up a bit..
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120222203110.jpg)
Then I shaped the riser a bit more.. how do you like my pad end shape?
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120222203144.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120222203159.jpg)
So tomorrow I will have my buddy string it up for me again and do a little bit more testing.. if all is well, then it is to the final sanding and general fit and finish! Yeah!
Being pulled back some:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/tn.jpg)
So I did some more work on her.. but now I am getting severe twist in the top limb.. I think I went to narrow.
I am currently cutting new lams for a new set of limbs.. I will take what I learned and hopefully get closer to the weight I want so I don't have to do so much work.
Here is a pic with the current limbs
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/20120226160149.jpg)
I would rather get this right than to just try to do a quick fix... so back to the "limb" board. I hate wasting about 55 bucks in materials.. but what do you do??????
I will go for the tip wedges, but I am going to leave out the power lams. I will shoot for .270 again, but with only 3 lams.
these other limbs where .320 with the power lam.. I sanded down the glass to get .300 at the fade and narrowed the limbs "alot" to get it to the 70# it is now.. but now it is twisting.
So the saga continues......
Just to give my 2 cents... if it were me, I'd go with the power lams and leave out the tip wedges... when you try to static a recurve with tip wedges, then you run a greater risk of limb twist from loss of stability... especially if you do a straight taper of the limb.
If it were me, and I were set on some stiffer tips, then I'd do the lay up with no tip wedge, see how it draws and then try a belly overlay, which will give some stiffening to the tips plus look really nice.
Dave
Did I understand you to say you were going to leave the stack the same and drop the powerlam? Unless your powerlam is fairly long I would not expect to much of a drop in draw weight. Assuming the the first set of limbs were what you wanted as far as profile etc but, to heavy. Couldn't you just figure the amount you would need to reduce your stack and get closer to the desired draw weight? New designs usually take a couple of trys to hit within the desired weight range. Good luck and keep us posted. It is going to make a great looking bow love the lams.
I am with Jess on this one too. You'll prolly drop 5 lb or less I would imagine by dropping the PL.
Thanks guys for jumping in.
My power lam was 6" past the fade. So measuring the end of fade is .300. Then 4" up is .290.. another 4" up is .265. My taper lam was .002.
That is why I was thinking just a straight .270.. by 8" up I would only be at around .235 or so.
And thanks for the tip wedge tip...(pun?).. I was trying to just stiffen it a bit since it was such High poundage.. but I like the idea of the overlay if it is needed.
I will work on the actual math of it tomorrow at work.. but any more ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks for the compliment Jess.. the new veneer is going to be a bit different, but I think they will look just a great. Can't wait to get this one done. My forte' is 35 to 50lbs... But a good learning experience. And I have created some great forms, patterns and techniques thru this build.
Here is some visual aid to hopefully help. I am running the math and I am coming up with .280??? The only number that is a bit of a mystery to me is the .006 thickness per 5#.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/limbsideview.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/limbtopview.jpg)
With those measurements I am at 75# @ 30". There is only about 5" between power lam and tip wedge. So it is almost a full lam at that point.
Take a look guys and see what you think
Thanks
I have something just like that going on. My stats and limb profile nearly mirror yours. Problems are nearly the same.
Not certain but I am thinking it is a combination of too narrow limbs, too heavy limbs and long recurve ears.
My son is downstairs now cutting off the nocks and shortening the recurves, if for no other reason than for practice, and to see if it corrects anything. I asked him to do that incrementally down to almost flatbow shape.
We already spent the money for the supplies. Maybe we can learn something from this.
BTW, nice job. Looks nice
ChuckC
There you go Chuck... post back here if it works..
I know this guy is going to shoot this bow like there is no other bow on the market, and he knows ALOT of people.. so I want to be perfect.
So after a long rest this week.. went back out and worked on it today.
Had the limbs and wedges ready.. got ready for glue up:
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-03_11-30-21_783.jpg)
One limb out of the oven
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-03_17-50-00_612.jpg)
The second limb is in the oven now! I had time to work on the handle a bit more as well...
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-03_17-50-41_778.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-03_17-50-14_667.jpg)
Will pull the second limb out and sand it tonight around 9pm or so. Then tomorrow will get in lined up and start shaping.
After doing more math on another bow, my mistake and where I wanted to be... I did the stack at .255... The limbs will be wider through out the limb.. will start to narrow down about 1/3 down from the tip instead of 1/2 way down.
I feel good about this one.. will keep you all posted
Got the other limb squared up.. then installed the pins, phelonic tips and bolt pads..
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-04_17-45-55_268.jpg)
Then on to laser lighting and string back up... I do both.. don't need any mistakes
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-04_14-19-32_323.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-04_14-19-57_342.jpg)
Everything looks good so far.
So tomorrow night will be trimming the limbs and cutting in the nocs.
Words fail to describe the bows that you churn out. Keep it up!
Thanks John! I appreciate the kind words.. and I do enjoy building these.
So tonight I got the limbs shaped up and some nocs filed in...
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-05_21-10-45_389.jpg)
Got it strung up!
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-05_21-08-52_163.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-05_21-09-07_711.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-05_21-09-29_353.jpg)
Things lined up really well.. just a tad more sanding and noc filing and she will be straight as an arrow!
I was able to sit down with my feet and pull on it.. sooooo much smoother and even. I was able to pull it back 26" with the scale and it hit 55#. So I will be well into the 60's when at 30". I am stoked!
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-05_21-10-57_396.jpg)
So more finishing work to do tomorrow night.
Amazing amount of work. How much time does a lam-bow take?
All depends on your skill set and tools. I have done a one piece recurve in about 10 hours.. this one is taking me ALOT longer..hehe.. but it is a new design from limbs to riser.. so lot's of figuring stuff out along the way
I know exactly what your talking about. Some bows only take afew evening work. Others can take weeks to get things right.
Troy
did a quick tiller.. looks pretty good overall.. just a bit of sanding here and there, but nothing major!
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-06_10-48-29_647.jpg)
Got one limb done up pretty.. got it to the point where now all it needs is a final sand with 240 and 320
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-06_22-50-03_572.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-06_22-49-54_255.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-06_22-49-45_957.jpg)
Tomorrow night we shall do the other limb
Got the other limb tip - top
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-07_23-02-55_158.jpg)
So time to wrap up the riser!
Beautiful work Bradford!
Even though you had to make new limbs, that is going to be one sweet looking puppy!!!
Troy
Thanks guys.. yeah that was a bummer, but no biggie now that we are getting down to it.
I would rather have everything 100% than to half-a$$ it!
keep it up i love this build a long
All right... I had to make a way for me to pull this bow back 30" to see what the poundage was. This was my answer.. U-bolts! I u-bolted it down to my bench with a yard stick so I could use all my body weight to pull it back. It hits 64lbs @ 30".. Yeah baby.. hit my goal.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-10_12-43-55_171.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-10_12-44-03_677.jpg)
Then all the final sanding and 3 coats of tung oil.. used a 0000 wire pad and scuffed it up.. then buffed it out.. then sprayed it down with Deft satin finish..
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-12_22-52-37_106.jpg)
Here are some pics of it put together.. will do all the goodies tomorrow night!
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-12_23-03-31_484.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-12_23-03-19_276.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-12_23-04-45_724.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-12_23-03-09_678.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/2012-03-12_23-02-29_316.jpg)
Very nice!
Nice Bradford!! What are the specs on this one?
That turned out really nice. Good job!
Looks great!
Thanks guys.. will have more pics of it tonight when all the goodies are on it.
It is 62" AMO... 64lbs @ 30". I am just so pleased on how it turned out. That Honduras Rosewood just looks awesome.. expensive wood but well worth it.
That turned out great! Your riser and limbs compliment each other very well.
-Jay
Looks great very nice job.
Thanks for the compliments everyone!
Here is a few more pics after all the goodies where put on. It goes to its new home tomorrow!
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/100_2491.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/100_2501.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/100_2494.jpg)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo273/timberwolf177/Bow%2020/100_2490.jpg)