Patients isn't my strong point and since I am waiting on my glue for a BBI bow I figured I start my first R/D glass bow. This will be following the great Kenny M design 62 tip to tip shooting for 50# at 28 inch draw....That's if I remember the taper correctly lol.
Well I got out of work at 0800 hours so I shot down to the next town and picked up a few odds and ends to help me square up the zebra riser. This is my first time trying all of this on my own so bare with my inexperience.
After two hours of work squaring up the riser block I traced out the bottom radius for the back of the riser. Cut it out on the band saw and went to work on making it light tight.... I figured I would stop before I was super tired and make a fatal mistake.
Here is where my riser is so far at the end of two hours.....
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0700.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0700.jpg.html)
Small gap in the lams and riser...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0701.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0701.jpg.html)
Try not to focus on the very bottom of the form. For some reason there is a small gap along the outer most edge so it looks like there is a void but trust me that there is not. Look at the pencil marks on the riser and you can see that arch. I used these three clamps which are just holding down everything with very light pressure because I couldn't hold the riser in place and take the picture. I can feel slight humps in the arch so I plan on trying to smooth them out to glass tomorrow morning after the midnight shift.
One question I have for you folks is the ends of the riser are lifted off of the form right now. I traced out the copy of kenny's design so I just want to make sure I am doing this correctly. Please don't take this as if I am questioning kenny's design at all... I am questioning myself if I am doing this correctly. Being a total newbie to glass and this being my first R/D bow ever I am just not used to it.
Here is a picture of what I am talking about...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0699.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0699.jpg.html)
Anyways it is time for bed... Please comments and tips are sought after!!! Hope you all enjoy my adventure as much as I am excited for the journey!
Justin
Those ends need to be flat to the form- can't have that gap. Do you have your glass and lams under the riser? I find if you run your tapers on the belly side and parallels on the face you can use the form as a template- if you run the tapers on the face (which is what I usually do) I put them on the form and fit my riser to them that way.
Like Trux said I also trace a line my riser block directly off of the form..I also have a riser template made off of the form. I am thinking once you sand down the fades they should be thin enough to bend down onto the shape of the form, much better to not have to force it down though... I like to make a long thin fade myself, no thicker than 1/8" 2 inches from end.. If you have a little light or small gap between the form and lams you can put a narrow piece of tape on top of the form to build it up..I always do a dry run and double check for any gaps or potential glue joint problems.
The geometry of d/r in the bow make the riser tips stay off the form for bout an inch. No probs if you get fades thin nuff.
U do need the.002 taper, a parallel, and the glass under it when fitting tho
OK Kenny... The glass, a set of taper zebra lams, and then the parallel boo core is under the riser in the pictures. That is why I have the clamps on the form to take the pictures. It is about only an inch off of the form at the ends of the riser. I found my template that fits the form perfect so I will try and trace the line tomorrow and get it fitting better.
This will be a slow going build but I am glad you all are amazing guys and will steer me in the right direction.
Mine isn't quite that much off form, but don't think you will have any prob after you grind fades. Do a dry run before mixing glue...
I usually use a swing jig at 27" R for the 62/64 , clean up on disc sander and its ready to go.
Ya I dunno why but my swing jig needs a tune up of some sort... I will get it all fitted tomorrow... Just may loose an 1/8 of an inch in height.
:thumbsup:
Good luck...looking forward to this
Thanks razorbak... I am waiting on glue, lams, overlays, and bamboo to come in so I can work on some bbo. We shall see where this glass bow takes me... People say that bbo are harder than glass but because of my lack of experience it feels like glass is harder.
Tuesday morning 90 minutes of work...
Today I continued to work on the riser of my bow. I was able to get the back of the radius looking much better and light tight. I then traced and cut out the belly side of the riser and got them shaped pretty well. Tomorrow I will get all my pieces together and do a dry run of the whole bow in the form and take pictures and adjust as necessary. Here are some pictures of today's work....
Riser all cut out....
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0705.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0705.jpg.html)
My lil stand I taped together to hold the riser after it was cut out for sanding...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0702.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0702.jpg.html)
Ends are looking paper thin...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0703.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0703.jpg.html)
One end...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0708.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0708.jpg.html)
The other...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0709.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0709.jpg.html)
Just a picture of my corner work area. Not much to work with but it will certainly do...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0710.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0710.jpg.html)
Anyways, I got out of work later than I wanted to and it is so humid and hot today that 90 minutes is all I could take. Plus I am drained and need my sleep... Don't wanna wake up with white hair like some ol man I know... Not you though Roy ;)
Have a great day everyone and again comments are welcomed... Till tomorrow!
looking good...I like your radius on your riser, I cant even do that very well...looks like your on your way
Looking good! I'll be following along cuz I want to build one, too. I just made a hot box and picked up a sheet of plywood for the form. Soon as that's done, I'll be emailing Kenny. Best of luck on the rest of your build :thumbsup:
Looking good!
Yup looking good!
Right on track! Coming along nicely.
Bonner
Lookin good Justin. You are gonna do fine ,man!!
Thank you guys! Once I remembered I had a better fitting template to copy for the back radius it was much easier to make a better fit. My tips of my riser are still off of the lams by about an inch but its not by much and I was able to force them onto the lams with just my hand pressure. The fit was fine and I think that I will still be ok...
One question I had for you guys that I forgot to ask... Do I have to make grooves into the riser like I do when toothing a BBO bow? Or if I just sand with the 60 grit paper I have been using will that be enough?
Thanks for the kind words fellas... I eager to turn out the best bow I can for my first and make ya'll proud!!
40-60 grit is great, don't tooth yer fades!! :scared:
The riser tips will be off just a bit, they will lay right down at glueup.
I wanted the longer riser to get nice fades and have a good site window, and wanted the limbs to start reflexing soon too, you can't have it all sometimes!! LOL
LOL... Ok Kenny I wont tooth anything. I couldn't remember if I did if for my hill style bow or if I needed to on this one.
Dry run tomorrow so I will see how it all fits and adjust where needed.
Looking good plus this is a proven design.
Thanks Trux... I am always in aw in what you turn out for your glass bows!
Looking nice Justin.
Thanks Roy... Promise I'm not done with BBO. I think I am just loving laminated bows in general. I went to glue up a new BBO and noticed that I didn't shut my Unibond can tight enough... Well lets just say I ended up thowing out about $30 dollars worth of the stuff cuz it was solid as a rock.
Got some on order now just waiting for it to arrive here in NH.
Day 3...roughly 2 hours
Today I got all my pieces together to do a dry run of the bow in the form. My first dry run showed that the fades weren't quite perfect as you can see by the picture below...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0714.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0714.jpg.html)
Here is the trouble spot of the fades to limb....Don't mind the dark line, that is my pen mark not an actual gap. Look near the metal support...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0712.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0712.jpg.html)
Well after a little more sanding we are looking good!!! Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the fade again with a perfect fit. My lil beagle started howling and needed to do his thing, so I forgot to snap a picture.... But here is the form and bow all together in the form...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0716.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0716.jpg.html)
On thing I did notice is that my LVL form on the top had a very very very minut bow in it. Because I am a perfectionist and want to use this form many times over I went to the local metal shop and am having a metal cap made for the top and bottom which will keep the form dead straight. It will be attacted on both end with some heavy supports. I will post a picture once they are finished completing it hopefully within a day or two....
That's it for today... Comment and please add anything you see wrong or what I should do differently. Hopefully will have the bow in glue up and baking by Friday!!! Thanks guys for all the support! I can not experess my gratitude for all you who chime in with comments and tips... not a better group of guys around!!!
Looking good Cant wait to see how every thing turns out
Heck just slap some glue on it, that will fill them gaps:)
Question for you guys.... How much PSI do I put into the hose? I can't remember for the life of me. Is it somewhere between 40-60#
I use 60 PSI.
Cool thanks bassmatt
60 -65 PSI for me.
60-65 here too, like ol Roy said, that glue will fill up the gaps, once you get to grinding the buggers off the sides of those lambs when the glue is dried and you start to do what I call the "art work" cutting out the limbs and shaping the riser. You will get a good shooter. my 2 cents
looking good Justin. would like to know/see details of how you built the form.... did you use a router? got one more osage bow planned for immediate future (stay tuned) and then i think i will try my first glass bow. handled a Hill style for the first time this weekend and it spoke to me. and i said i'd never buy another bow... soooo.... guess i got to build one.
Heck yeah Justin that looks great so far. I like your from shape. I agree, smooth on will fill them gaps no problem. Look forward to seeing how she turns out.
Looking great so far! I am different. I use 100 lbs pressure in my hose. I have been doing it a long time and it works for me. I have a couple pretty curvey designs and it makes me feel better about how the lams and riser fit the form.
Bonner
Echatham if you do a search on here you will find how people built their hot box and forms. This form showed here is actually Kenny M design R/D and he sells everything you need for them and is a wealth of information. There are many great guys on here but IMO Kenny is at the top. I only buy my material from him. He has a wood template and now plans on making this style of bow and I would highly suggest being new like I am to purchase both.
I can certainly help with a Hill straight bow since I have one that just needs some finishing touches. If you look in my recent post I have a thread started on the bow in the works now. I go step by step through it on there. Will be finishing that one up soon when my riser overlays arrive so I can finish shaping, sand, and seal the whole thing.
Thank you all for the kind words... I hope this thing turns out just as well as you all think. I would hate to disappoint.
I use 60 to 65psi in my hose. I like to see no gaps between lams and riser myself... yes the smooth on will fill them but you will have ugly glue lines when you finish your bow. What helps me when shaping the riser is this..I use a 6 inch piece of 040 glass to check for valleys or high spots on riser, be careful at the end of fades where they are thin, I just check the thicker parts of riser. I mark any high or low spots with pencil.
Yeah I made sure that it is all level and smooth... My glue lines should look good with no gaps
It's coming along good Justin.
Those r/d bows are trickier than the Hill style, but it looks like you figured it out.
Now glue that sucker up!
70# for me, and a lil squirt after checkin the pressure, even tho I know the pressure will go up with heat. It just makes me feel better!! LOL
Lookin good Justin!! :thumbsup:
Thanks john and kenny! Just waiting for my metal to show up. I did grind off my tip overlays on my hill bow today because it looked like a kindergarten kid made them... It's in the hot box now and has another hour to go at 150. Gonna close the lid tight and let it cool slow over the night. Will shape them and the handle tomorrow. Pics of that bow will be up tomorrow.
About 1.5 hours-
So today I got the bow all glued up and in the oven. Hopefully everything will look good when I take it out in the morning... I will put some pictures up of the bow blank in the am.
Well the bow is off of the form and it doesn't look half bad. I am going to clean it up in the am and start laying everything out!
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0742.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0742.jpg.html)
nice curves Justin..gonna be a nice one
Day 5- Roughly 4 hours
So today I took the blank out to work once I woke up from a nap. I drew the profile out on the limbs according to plans that I received from Kenny. After everything was drawn out it was to the band saw, sander, and hand tools to get the taper smooth.
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0745.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0745.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0746.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0746.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0752.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0752.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0758.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0758.jpg.html)
Just look at that zebra under glass... Ow Ow!
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0750.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0750.jpg.html)
So one question and maybe fatal problem I noticed. I have no clue if it is my eyes staring down the roller coaster but it seems as though my tips may be off just slightly. When I placed a string between the tips after everything was all said and done, I noticed right at the middle of the handle the string is not in line with my black marker. I drew this line out before gluing it up so I know that its is dead straight.I even checked twice before the glue up. I had washers along the entire length of the form so everything stayed in place...It is off to one side of the line about 1/8 of an inch or so... What gives???
Do I have to wait until I string up the bow the first time to see if it possibly is a slight prop twist in the limb.... How would one go about and check this? I am hoping I did not just ruin all of this work for nothing...
Tips and advice is needed please!!!!
how did you draw the center line? did you check the glass for straightness before glue up? Earlier this year I bought a stack of glass and had a couple of pieces of glass that were banana shaped and I could not use them. I always string check center before I sand limbs to shape, just in case I need to change something..on the last half dozen I have even drawn out the profile before the glue up..if everything checks out after glue up I can start sanding to shape limbs. I grid my glass every inch and number it from center out to tips. when sanding I check it with a compass, *example* line #12 on left limb should be same width on both sides of center as line #12 on right limb...I always get tiller to within 1/8" and work timing (if needed) from there. one day I may aquire some natural skills like some other guys have and be able to eye ball tiller.. (http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/Robertfishes/marchbowparts_zps045ca2fd.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/Robertfishes/media/marchbowparts_zps045ca2fd.jpg.html)
Hey Justin,
I have very little luck drawing bow centerline before glueup, I don't even do it anymore. Just glue it up and then mark center at both nocks and at center of bow and string it.
You will probably still be ok, go ahead and mark center at nocks and bow center and see if you can shift limbs to the side a bit, and gring to new profile on the wide side.. Looks like the tips are still fairly wide from here. And you should have a little weight to take off too.
Ok guys.... Your right Kenny they are still quite wide.. about 5/8 inch wide. I think that you are right that I will be able to shift the center square. I will take off the tape tonight and put new on. Put the string back on her and lay out a new line.
I did make the bow 62 inches tip to tip instead of 64 inches. So if I have to make it just shy of 1.5 inches wide I will and I think that I will still be ok.
Crooked stic uses a long sled and sands his bows square after glue up, then draws his center line. I don't have a drum sander like his. Kenny I have had good luck drawing lines, only had 2 I had to redo so far..I replaced my washers with wood wedges and they hold a lot better.. (http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/Robertfishes/bowform3.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/Robertfishes/media/bowform3.jpg.html)
I wish I lived next door to Kenny..He could show me a few tricks and I could knock 12-20 hours off of my build times!
That would be cool Robert, we could help each other with glue ups!!
Justin, piking 2" will add 6# so you should be in great shape!!
That bow is gonna be killer I believe!!
gonna be a real nice bow Justin
Ok so I worked out drawing the bow again. I am going to end up with 1 3/8 inch at the widest point going to a little over 3/8 inch tips. I think that this is going to be the best I could get it to make it work. As long as I am in the 47-58 pounds I will be happy as ever.
I will get the bow all cleaned up tomorrow and get the tip overlays glued on.
I think that will be it until sunday or monday when I can get back at it.
Hoping for the best with this thing... I am going to make a new form before I glue up the next one but going to get in touch with you kenny to order up two bow worth of material. I am already looking forward to starting another...
Here is a question for you Kenny... If I was to thin the limbs to 1 1/4 inch and then went to 1/2 tips and piked it to 60 ttt would that even it out even more... I just re drew the bow out again and even get a better setup with this kind of profile.
Those extra hands on glue ups sure would be handy....
Um, you are gonna lose a lot of reflex going to 60"ttt (or 58" ntn)
Maybe to the point extra #s won't increase the performance.
I'd leave the fades as wide as you can and get em even, then go to 1/2" on tips and see how she looks, if too whippy at tips, start narrowing the inner limbs then.
Ok Kenny I will do that tomorrow then.
So today I was able to square up the limbs to one another and got her bending after shaping some zebra tips. I really don't want to add anything but zebra and glass to this bow. Kinda keeping it simple this time for hunting season coming up. Anyway here are some pictures of today's progress so far. I would like to get the sight window cut and shaped along with roughing out the handle. I am going to study everyone's designs and come up with something. I think I am going to add the belly overlays to the grip area tonight as well. I am going to continue to hammer on the bow throughout the night.
Here are the pictures....
Tips
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0764.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0764.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0763.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0763.jpg.html)
Brace
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0761.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0761.jpg.html)
On the tree at 23 inches
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/IMAG0760.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/IMAG0760.jpg.html)
Going off of what was told to me about the strength of glass bows I pulled her back to 28 inches and she is at 63# right now. I still have to round everything over and clean her up so I figure I will be right on "Q" when all is said and done!!!
I think that the left limb looks a little stiff mid limb so I will wait for you glass gods for comments on the tiller.
Time to go lay out the handle section and get to shaping soon!!!!
Comments please guys... and a HUGE THANK YOU!!!
Trying what I have seen Roy do to check the tiller. Does this help you guys to see how she is bending??
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/Bowwithcircle.png) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/Bowwithcircle.png.html)
Looks like it's bending nice-what is your distance from string to fades left to right?
On the left if I remember correctly we are at 6 3/8 inch... on the right right at 6.5 making it positive tiller of 1/8
I think you got it nailed buddy!!
Thanks kenny!!! No doubt because of your generosity in wisdom and in material... I surely owe you somehow!!!
pretty darn nice Justin...like the fluted style nocks
Looks good to me! Nice work!
QuoteOriginally posted by bowhntineverythingnh03743:
On the left if I remember correctly we are at 6 3/8 inch... on the right right at 6.5 making it positive tiller of 1/8
Thats great! Once you round everything over you'll drop a few lbs. Now you need to cut in the shelf so you can fling a few arrows... this is a nice shooting design.
Man you wood bow dudes sweat limb bending way too much! Make the limbs the same profile, put it on the tiller tree and draw the sucker to full draw. No big deal. Measure from the fades to the belly on both limbs and then grind on the one that is not where you want it till you have your tiller. It's no harder than that. You may want to make a template to help you draw and cut out your bows. Here's what you do. Get Kenny to sell you a couple sticks of .050 clear glass. Draw your profile on it with straight edges just like you want it. Make a line at the string grooves, shelf, center, and fades. Draw a good line down the center from end to end. Use your straight edges and a stout hunting knife to score the profile lines into the glass over and over until you can break the glass on the scored lines. Hand sand the splinters off and you should have a perfect template. The second stick of glass is in case you scew up the first one. Now you can forget drawing center stripes and all that stuff. Just square the blank up best you can after glue up, eyeball the center of each tip and mark it, lay your template on the back of the blank, trace it with a sharpie and cut it out. I do most of the cutting with a very thin 6.5" blade on my tablesaw but you can grind or use a bandsaw if you want. This whole process is very quick and painless and it will give you a straight bow. File your initial string grooves shallow so you can adjust string tracking if necessary. You are making this way too hard. It's supposed to be fun and easy. Save all the hard work for wood bows. The bow looks great BTW!
Bonner
Yep Dan that is about how I do it.
As far as squareing a blank if you get one side cleaned up pretty good you don't really need a sled to run it thru a drum sander. I have found you can hold it good enough to get it to whatever width you are wanting. Then put your template on it and mark the limb profile.
That is great work for your first glass bow! I'm hoping mine will turn out that nice when I finally get everything together and start the build. Thanks for sharing.
Can you guys show me different angles of your shaped handles with a mid wrist handle. I am only used to rounded straight handles but want to do somethin a lil tougher.
Another thing... Do you cut your shelf to center on these style bows or stop short?
QuoteOriginally posted by Dan Bonner:
Man you wood bow dudes sweat limb bending way too much! Make the limbs the same profile, put it on the tiller tree and draw the sucker to full draw. No big deal. Bonner
HAHAHAHA
(http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/Robertfishes/bow18march2013_zpsb9832ff8.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/Robertfishes/media/bow18march2013_zpsb9832ff8.jpg.html) (http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/Robertfishes/bubingariser3-13_zpse451fdad.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/Robertfishes/media/bubingariser3-13_zpse451fdad.jpg.html) (http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/Robertfishes/66zebrariserpic.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/Robertfishes/media/66zebrariserpic.jpg.html) (http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/Robertfishes/marchLB_zps16fcb1ec.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/Robertfishes/media/marchLB_zps16fcb1ec.jpg.html) (http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/Robertfishes/marchLB_zps19c175e7.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/Robertfishes/media/marchLB_zps19c175e7.jpg.html)
Here's a few- mine are all cut to center:
(http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll259/truxturning/Elk%20Bow%202012/ElkBow2012004.jpg)
(http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll259/truxturning/RD%20Bow%202/RDBow2028.jpg)
(http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll259/truxturning/Green%20Bow/GreenMonster001.jpg)
(http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll259/truxturning/Maple%20RD%20bow/MapleRDbow043.jpg)
Ok thanks guys. I'm going to add a block to the bottom limb tomorrow. Should I use smooth on again? I just don't want to over cook this thing. Your pictures really help me get an idea of how to shape this handle.
Yea use smooth on- just let it cure for a day before you work it.
Ok I will do that... I assume I will copy the radius of the glass onto the piece of wood and then cut it out, sand to fit and then let it rest for the entire day/night and get back at it Tuesday. Thats to say if I was to get it all fitted tomorrow.
Lookin' real good Justin! You're becoming a glass bow machine ;)
You are right on track- I usually use a strip of inner tube as a clamp to hold that piece in place while its drying.
Sounds good Justin! No heat required on overlays. It will stay and if by chance it doesn't for whatever reason, not a structural prob.
Can't wait to see the finished product. You are doing a great job.
Bonner
Robert and Trux...those are awesome looking handles...exactly what I like to shoot...Justin, Im sure you can replicate those with ease since your getting real good on your builds
Day 7- 3 hours
Well today I got the handle roughly shaped. I dunno if I did it right or if it looks ok but I wanna say it's not bad for my first run at this kind of handle. Got a bit of shaping to do tomorrow and then sand everything down to get out all the gouge marks.
Here it is though...
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/null-1.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/null-1.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/null.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/null.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/null-2.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/null-2.jpg.html)
You can see I need to round over the belly side of the handle to be more uniform but it feels pretty darn good so far.
Comments welcomed guys!!
Justin
That looks great!!!! Did you put a radius on shelf at peak of grip. Hard to tell from my phone pics U putting finger grooves in the grip?
Looking at shelf head on. I would radius the right side some so when arrow passes it will have no feather contact. Just a 1/4" and round all edges to help strengthen the riser. Ur doing great bud and in the immortal words of the great Roy from Pa
" it looks OK".
Looks pretty good- I'd radius the shelf some.That zebra will really look nice with some finish on it
Nice! :thumbsup:
Yeah I plan on getting a radius on the shelf tomorrow. Just wanted to not take too much wood off at the beginning. If you guys think this is looking good and even then tomorrow I will go ahead and radius the shelf.
Yes that Zebra is gonna look great when you finish it! I need to add more radius to my shelves too...
Very nice, Justin.
Hey Justin, String it, put a square on the shelf, and try to get the high point over the grip for less torque shootin her...
Looks real good buddy!!
Ok Kenny I will do that this morning and put a radius on her so that the high point is the only part touching the arrow. When I strung her up and sighted down the string it tracks nicely in the center right to the corner of the shelf. Perfect cut to center shot if it finishes up nicely. I hope to have the grip fully shaped and then shoot it for the first time today!!!
As always thank you to the guys here on TG for all of the help and encouragement!!!
Respectfully,
Justin
Justin you are doing a great job carnt wait to see it all finished Thanks Shane
Day 8- 30 minutes 4x
Well boys this bow is finally drying with its final coat of clear. I signed the bow last night and put the last two coats of clear on her this morning. I will let the clear cure for the next 24 hours and then I will take the finished pictures.
Here is a teaser to tied you over till tomorrow!!!
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/92e530fb-b67e-4d2d-aec8-3b6802baa181.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/92e530fb-b67e-4d2d-aec8-3b6802baa181.jpg.html)
This bow finished 1 pound over my goal and I could not be more pleased with how she shoots and feel. I can't wait to show you guys the finished bow tomorrow because I am extremely proud of her.
Thank you all for the kinds words and advice along the way. I am now chatting with Kenny about two more bows and will hopefully continue on this path to refine my new passion for the fiberglass bow and challenge myself along the way.
Next I must find a design of takedown longbow and try one of them. One of these bows will be with me in the woods and I hope to take my first deer with traditional gear... From these two hands to boot!!!
Anyways until tomorrow!!!
Thanks boys!
Your bud,
Justin
Wow what a tease. LOL. Looking forward to see what you concocted Justin. From what I have seen it all looks bad azzz
Nice Bow, LMAO
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f165/ROY-CHRIS/justin.jpg) (http://s47.photobucket.com/user/ROY-CHRIS/media/justin.jpg.html)
Is that you and your Prom date Mr Roy?... :smileystooges:
Oh Robert, never thought I'd haf to add your name to dah thumpen list. LOL That's Justins date:)
Hey you boys leave April put of dis or I'm gonna bring down the hammer on ya!! Lmao
Hey Guys-
So I was at home last night during dinner and shot the bow in the garage. Seems to be shooting nice but wanted to take another picture of the tiller. After taking the picture and playing with it in paint it seems that my top limb is bending more. I did set the bow on the tree in the way that I would be shooting it and everything. I did a measurement and I still have a 3/16 positive tiller. Does this picture seem right? Is the top limb bending differently because of the above center drawing position?
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/untitled.png) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/untitled.png.html)
Guess I would just like some verification on if this thing still looks good before my shoot on Sunday. I would rather fix it now then get out there and shoot a ton with it.
Thanks Guys!!!!
Justin
Justin take a picture of yourself drawing the bow and see what it looks like- probably will be different then this picture.
oh ok trux
How is it shooting? Are you having a problem with hand shock? If it feels good at the shot..then I think your fine
It feels great with no shock at all... May just be the way it is sitting on the tree too.
QuoteOriginally posted by bowhntineverythingnh03743:
It feels great with no shock at all... May just be the way it is sitting on the tree too.
That's what I'd say- if your limbs were that far off you'd feel it.
If it feels good the tiller is fine. Sure is a nice bow.
Bonner
sounds like you have a shooter! how about some pics of that zebrawood riser?..
Well finally had a good day to take pictures. I think she is all finished unless you see something wrong with the tiller. Spits an arrow straight and true so I am pleased!
Thanks to all who chimed in and gave advice or commented!!
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/null-9.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/null-9.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/null-10.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/null-10.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/null-12.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/null-12.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/92e530fb-b67e-4d2d-aec8-3b6802baa181.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/92e530fb-b67e-4d2d-aec8-3b6802baa181.jpg.html)
(http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x344/bowhntineverythingnh03743/c2cbc6d3-3847-4b9b-a85a-8332af584551.jpg) (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/bowhntineverythingnh03743/media/c2cbc6d3-3847-4b9b-a85a-8332af584551.jpg.html)
Awesome, I love it!
Awesome!! Everything looks good. :thumbsup:
Wow, that looks great! Nice work!
Justin - That's a great looking bow and tiller. I sure don't have any suggestions for improvement. Leave it as is and enjoy!
Justin..that is a great looking bow ...wheres mine LOL :) no buddy that is amazing, you done extremely well on that beauty
Thanks guys!!! Got to get me some better arrows for this thing and hopefully will make meat this fall with her or another one lol!
Very nice dude.. I love those designer jeans too:)
Good lookin bow!
Well Done! Great looking bow!