Hi everyone..
this is my first time bow build along, after 3 months preparing material and simple tools to make it..

I have 2 weeks to build this, before back to work for a month  :D

I decide to R/D, cause i think looks simple, sorry for my English and measurements standard, in my country we use meter,centimeter, and milimeter

So here it is..


 Part 1 : Preparing The laminations

Okay, first i bought some hard mahogani for about 2.5 meters long, 1.5 cm thick and 4 cm width, this woods is scrap from wooden doors and windows maker,so i get it very cheap  :D



i prepare 4 mm on my table saw to cut it,cause i will get for 3 mm or 2mm thick on my drum sander
( i don't have bandsaw, its very expensive here, about $ 500 in USD )




Okay, first i cut and try with low quality wood at the same thickness




everything is okay, and count my finger still 5..lol

Next, i cut with good quality wood with the same way, and the result like this



not too straight cut, but i'll fix it on my drum sander

My drum sander, i made from 1/2 hp old waterpump with a little modification
Here it is :






and the result is something like this



For comparison :
- Both upper and bottom woodstrip is 4 mm thick
- Center part is 2 mm thick

I cut the woodstrip for 85cm long, and also cut a pair of bamboo for backed ( not symetrical node  :(  )

Nice! I love these build alongs!

Edge sanding for joining



Is DONE..for preparing the laminations  


 Part 2 : Riser Making  

Okay, for the riser i using one of Indonesian hardwood,, Kempas wood ( Koompassia Mallacensis ).. I cut for 40 cm to prevent failure at fade out making, in fact i want it for 35 cm long



Top is durian wood, bottom is kempas wood,i draw the pattern based from the web..




the size is too far from the pattern huh..??
i will add some wood strip to fix the size later..

after that, i use simple tools to make this shape...guess what??an AXE  :D


rough shape cutting outside the line



Very very ugly shape:(



Now, lets the drum sander do the miracle..

 



did you see that? still not symetrical..



after a lot of work..i get this paper thin shape..yes!!! perfecto..!!!  :D

Wow, that's impressive! I can't wait for more.

I can hardly make a riser with a bandsaw let alone an axe!

Simple tools plus talent - amazing. I look forward to more.
Nice work Adrian

Wow that is impressive

great lot of ingenuity there. You're not too far from my country either, few thousand K's to the north.I will be watching this with great interest  to follow the outcome.

For fit the size of riser..i cut some pieces of Meranti + Mahogani wood and gluing with titebond



and let cure over night





cut with my hacksaw



Sanding the fade





DONE....!!

Part 3 Gluing

First, so hard to find clear glass or Bo tuff here, even in Jakarta..we must buy online from US and pay more for customs tax and shipping ( hopeless )

So, i research alternative material to replace it..I found this grey stuff



Guess what..?? this is   PVC SHEET 2 mm thick  :D

I bought it from local supplier for $ 15 with 2 meters x 1 meter size.. if works i have so many PVC lam..



I cut same size with my cutter knife



Scratch the inside to maximum glue joining

PVC lams.....
I'm interested to see how this turns out!

Scratch bamboo strip too..


Preparing the glue..
there is no Smooth On here also..i using local epoxy which no need heatbox,it cure for 4 hours in room temperature

my motto : " if you don't try, you failed..."  :D



mix the epoxy





Sorry no pic during gluing process..cause epoxy everywhere, it's hard to taking picture while your glove sticky with this stuff..the worse part bow building i think







very simple R/D bow form

I am anxious to see how this turns out! Nice job, so far!!  

after cure over night



fresh from the jig, not from the oven



I have little problem here..lam has separated and glue has little gap at the fade..OMG



Let me think the way to fix it later..

clean the sharp epoxy

Most interesting. Do you have the pvc strip only on the belly and bamboo on the back? Bue--.

Bue --> yes it is..because the epoxy isn't like Smooth On epoxy which more flexible..my epoxy has a little flexibility

There's no Smooth On Here.. :(

looking good so far I'm anxious to see how it turns out

shaping the limbs..not too perfect i'll fix it later after tillering



not bad for beginner  :D


Next..string groove making

i mark the string groove 2 cm from the tips





Sanding the bamboo surface



piece of mahogani woodstrip -> 2mm white acyrilic -> merbau woodstrip -> mahogani  ( 4 layers )