Well I spent a long time with a scraper trying to decrown the belly side of the osage. I think the glue joint will be a lot stronger, and it will certainly look better, if both surfaces to be glued are flat. A test fit reveals that, as suspected, the roller coaster nature of the osage allows some light to get through:



But....a bit of clamp pressure gets rid of all that. the gap at the edges still needs a bit of work I think.

Nothing that Urac wouldn't fill.

Well, I got the backing thinned about as thin as I can. It's essentially one growth ring now lol. Then I got to thinking about handle wood. I'm thinking that the Ipe would look good sandwiched between an Osage back AND an Osage handle. I have a block that must have come from a limb, because its only about 1 1/2 inches square and the rings are almost completely visible.

Anyway, how should I orient the handle? Should the Ipe be above it in the pic so it's sitting on the "hump" of the rings? Or below it? I'm just trying to get the grain to look the best when I form the fades.

thats coming along great, remember to score the two surfaces with a toothing plane- or similar- if you are using Urac- thats what i would be using.
x2 DVS.
not sure about the block orientation, but maybe the other way up, so that it matches the backing.ie: both have their"backs" facing the same way. imho!

Anyway will look fine with the handle block..I've done it every which way....and edge grain would look cool too..up to you

Psych,
Very interesting, I'll be following your progress as well :-)

after all this effort, you had better have a primo piece of ipe!!
dont wanna see you sad!!!

LOL Fugi

I've broken plenty of bows. I've already learned enough about this one to call it a win. I'm actually more worried about the osage than the Ipe. Something about that wafer thin sliver of wood scares me. Then there is the unknown of this weldwood glue. Lots of room for explosions!    

I haven't done much on the bow today. Kids and wife are sick so I've been playing nurse. It isn't as fun as it sounds lol. Sadly I have to work 3 twelve hr days in a row now, so it may be Monday before I can do any more on it unless I develop insomnia, as I am wont to do when working nights.

I did do a test fit with my handle and that all looks good. Next up is getting that backing perfect for a good glue joint.

Well I was able to work on it a bit today. After clamping it to the Ipe, I marked all the spots where no light was visible between the two pieces. Those are the "high spots" where I need to remove A LITTLE BIT of wood in order to flatten it out and insure a good glue joint. I know that urac would fill these gaps and I COULD just apply a ton of clamp pressure to force them closed, but I'd rather start with a consistently flat piece of wood to eliminate variables.

It should be noted that I'm being picky here. The "gaps" I'm talking about are probably less than 1/32. Most of them are thinner than that, but that's after clamping them pretty tight.

Also to be noted: if I was better at reading wood, all my marks line up pretty well with those pretty little swirls in the grain. I could save a whole lot of time by being better at this. Oh well. That's how we learn I guess.

So here is a dry run on my new "form." It's just the Ipe because I was mostly checking on weather or not i like the profile and how this system works compared to clamps when it comes to bending in the R/D. Turns out its a lot like clamps lol. My middle "post" is 1 1/8" off the table, and the ones at mid limb are right at 1/2".  My end posts are 3".




Sorry if I'm rambling. Been awake for 30 hrs. I'm probably lucky I didn't break the dang thing.

Looking real good monkeyman, but take a brake. At this point you can only screw it up and I know i would be disappointed if that happened LOL. keep up the great work and get this thing glued, tomorrow  

Alright, so I got a little sleep and then proceeded to get her glued and all bolted down. I've used this method in the past with hickory backings and the wooden cross pieces stay nice and flat and level. With this self back (that's what I'm calling it lol) the humps and bumps make the brackets look like keys on a cartoon piano after it gets dropped on someone.    :eek:  

All I can do is hope and pray that I'm getting good even pressure. Now it's time to let her cure and plan my next move.

cant wait!!!!

Me either!

Well you guys are goning to have to wait! Lol. Mostly because there was apparently a mixture issue with the glue. Some how, even though I read the back of the tub, I used a completely different ratio of glue to water than was called for. I thought it seemed thin when I was spreading it, but I'd never used it, so I just figured it was supposed to be that way.

The good news is that I was able to separate the two pieces without damaging either of them and once I clean them up and pull my head from wherever it was, I should be able to glue it right back up with no problems.

Ugh. I really have to learn to slow down and pay attention. I'm in a pretty serious funk about this really. I hate making mistakes that were entirely my fault AND stupid AND preventable. At least it didn't cost me anything but time I guess.    

Yeah that was the first thing I checked when I got it. This was all just do to using about twice as much water as was called for. Also I may use warm water next time. It says the water can't be below 68 degrees and the water out of the basement faucet is pretty cold.

Hey monky bow (as the old fart calls ya) I had the exact same problem with that glue... Let me know how it turns out when you mix it thicker. I couldn't remove my pieces so you got lucky there... Keep us posted!!!