First off the journey to build this style longbow started about 2 years ago. Lots of info on here and help from the guys especially Kenny thanks. Let's begin.
My form, was made out of 1.75 thick Puma ply.
Let me get all the spec info out of the way first.
62" 50lbs @ 28"
16" long riser with green future wood
.320 total stack
1 .001 taper lam .073 @ butt end maple
2 parallel lams .073 @ butt end maple
2 .050 black glass
7.5" long tip wedge
Theses are all the supplies I had at hand, next one will have .040 glass.
The handle
The fades
All the supplies
The glue up , the first glue up on a new design is always tense. I did do a dry run and all looked well.
Fresh off the form
My concerns with this style bow are
#1 that I'd have to have a 8 plus inch brace height
#2 that the string would touch the limbs
I dont think you will have a issue at 62" & 7" brace I have made kenny's bow out to 64" with 7 1/4 " brace with out touching limbs & with FF string no slap , that is with his super lam in the stack , but I would bet your good with your wedges !
Can't wait to see it strung up and what the weight ends up!! :thumbsup:
Limb tips are 1.5" ahead of the back of bow riser.
Edges all cleaned up on the blue beast.
Centerline marked with a laser line
I used a laser a couple times but thought on a curvy bow if all wasn't level just right it might be off...
Limbs drawn out and sanded to lines.
The profile
First string up and it looks very good, string is off limbs and BH is low.
Looks good. I will be following for sure. I have had the template to make the form forever but haven't got around to doing anything with it until today. I glued some MDF together for a form so hopefully will get to try one before to long. Have only heard great things about Kennys design.
I knew that Kenny's design was already proven, was going to order his template but went out on a limb and made my own. The geometry on this one is darn near perfect, went with his 16" riser suggestion.
Looks good :thumbsup: it will be interesting to see the Full Draw profile with out the super lam or power lam the brace looks different then Kenny's , nice looking bow !
Thats coming along nice. Can't wait to see it finished. Nice work.
Looks great!!
Another view
All the handle and overlay fixings
All glued on
Rough shaping the handle
More work
And some more work, I do most all my handle work with a #49 rasp, slow and easy is my motto.
Looking good! That laser line is brilliant! I can't wait to give that a go next time my drawn lines are rendered useless.
What wood did you use for your handle?
Grip is looking good.
Ready for the spray booth
Flem I used Future wood that I bought off of Predator archery.
It's resin impregnated maple same stuff Bear uses in there handles
Getting her sealed up
Another view
And another
Not sure why all my pics are sideways, that's not how they were taken on my phone. Sorry!!
I spray with Thunderbird , I've used others but nothing is as durable and as clear. There is no yellowing over time, the whites are still white even after several years.
Looks good with some finish on it :thumbsup:
Never hear any complaints about the Thunderbird. I don't use myself, only because I like to watch the finish dry. Just don't have that much time for the T-bird
Very nice.
Had a chance to run about 20 arrows through it today outside at 18 yards , first observations are that it's feels very smooth in the draw, also pretty quiet upon release, very happy with the results so far. More pics tomorrow
Looks great. Nice job!
Do you have any full draw pic?
After 3 days and multiple coats she's all done.
More
Final specs
More
Some more
The 7.5" tip wedge, it kinda is a poor mans "Super lam"
The tips
What I call my bow making
What I put on all the upper limbs of the bows I make , it's Latin for
" swift , silent, and deadly "
Also I'm calling this model the Hornet.
Unstrung profile
String view
Another
I'm going to get some full draw pics later
Some outdoor shots
Another
Full draw pics
That's a full 28" draw
I'm getting a kink in my neck :goldtooth:
Nice job all around !!!
Again sorry about the pics being flipped
Kenny you were the one who gave me stack info and it was spot on. There is always a roll of the dice with a new model but now I have a baseline.
And my poor mans super lam well I am impressed with how it works in a limb.
This will be my turkey, elk, and deer bow this year.
Already planning on making another one only this time a bit more fancy
Nice work man :thumbsup:
Great Build Along. Really nice bow, I like the way it turned out.
Love this thread. That one turned out nice. And its got some draw left in it to. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Looks Great :thumbsup:
Nice job :thumbsup: Did you rub out the finish, or do you have to wait with the T-Bird?
Great build! I appreciate all the pics.
I like your design. Really graceful, and looks like plenty of power too
Flem I just waited til it was fully cured , they suggest 7 days
Tools that I used, my 6x80" edge sander is a game changer for me.
Some final thoughts, it so neat to be able to make your own bows. I've always liked the Shrew, Javaman style longbows and have held a few and really looked them over.
This one is longer than most Shrews at 62" but I'm not a super short bow fan, I have it braced between 7 5/8"- 7 3/4" and like the way it feels and seems very smooth in the draw. I will be shooting through a chrony on Sat and will let you know the results.
Thanks again for all the kind comments.
If you have any additional questions I'd be glad to answer them.
Nice tools there.
Nice arsenal of tools. Looks like your ready to start a business :saywhat:
I do custom woodworking as my day job, so I do own some equipment. I'd like to sell a few bows a year to maybe fund family vacation or a hunt now and then.
Yes !! I wanna buy one of these!!! :clapper:
Mission accomplished :thumbsup:
Nice build and nice bow... You got her done quick too... You gonna tweak anything on the next one?? Hope you get good #'s on the chrony... Don't forget to list all the details... Speed means nothing without the details...
Ok men I was able to get some arrows through a chrony yesterday and here are the results.
550 grain arrow 3 shot average 172
480 grain arrow 3 shot average 183
Again the bow is 50# @ 28"
Here is what I call my stuff
I like it !
Great looking logo.
Thats a great graphic :thumbsup: You design that?
I'm kind of surprised they let you post it.
I would say that is about 179 @10gpp...That is a decent speed, especially for the first bow off the form... A little tweaking may put you in the mid 180's... Well done, Bro...