Hi everyone.
had an order for a takedown longbow that will be shipped to the state of Washington that will hopefully be the tool that will put a Pope and Young Rosevelt elk on the ground :archer: The gentleman asked if i could take pics along the way (kinda like a bow sonogram :biglaugh: ) so i thought why not do a little build a long..so here we go...The bow is a 3 pc t/d longbow. east indian rosewood and zebrawood footed riser with flat grain zebrawood lams from Kenny...
first, a pic of the bow components...
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/2012-04-21183557.jpg
the limb wedge is of east indian rosewood so here it is laid out ready to saw...
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/cuttingwedge.jpg)
cut and ready for the sander to feather the end.
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/sandingwedge.jpg)
and the finished wedge..
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/finishedwedge.jpg)
now for the limb components...flat zebrawood
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/limbcomponents.jpg)
i apply blue painters tape to the back of the limbs to protect them during the glueup..
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/glasstaped.jpg)
no to get the form ready, I use wax as a first layer to help the lims come off the form easier when cured.
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/waxingform.jpg)
next i add a layer of plastic wrap
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/formwithsaranwrap.jpg)
now to glue the limb components
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/lamsglued.jpg)
and taped to the form.
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/tapedtoform.jpg)
add the pressure hose (i pump to about 70 psi),
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/readyforoven.jpg)
and put in the oven for about 5-6 hrs.
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/timduvall/inoven.jpg)
the other limb is done the same way. both limbs are finished so stay tuned for the riser...
I recently glued up a bow using the air hose method for the first time. It was from a form a friend of mine gave me. Before putting the bow in it, I had no trouble line up all the holes when I put the top part of the form on. But when I put the bow and the firehose in there, I really had to wrestle with it to get all the holes to line up. It must've taken me 20 minutes, and i played around with the metal things, loosening the top bolts, etc., to finally get some bolts through the bottom. Is it supposed to be that hard? Is there a trick to it? I thought the firehose method would be easier, but it turned out to be a lot harder than the clamp method, which I usually do.
did you make sure the hose had absolutely no air inside, as even a bit can make the hose and bow a tight fit on the form. I have 1 1/4''inch gap between both surfaces of form and doesnt take much to make a tight fit. Having a large clamp at hand is a good idea as well. Get a bolt in one end and use the clamp on the other to pull down enough to get the other bolts in.
Bob is right,first thing I thought was," still had a bit of air in the hose" Just a breath will cause anguish. The clamp is a good idea as well.
after a few you will be rolling like it was nothing,the first few can make you say bad words.
just don't rush it,you have plenty of time.
DRY RUNS are always a good idea for new forms as well.
Nice looking set up Bob,I like the Zebrano,
CTT
Yeah, I still had a little air in the hose. I know that because I was letting some out as I was pushing the form down. I had to use bar clamps to put it together. Maybe I'll give it another try.
Sam, next time roll the hose up and let air out as you roll.. You can get the hose flat that way. I still have to use a bar clamp to get holes to line up most of the time