So, I recently placed an order with Kenny for some of the Bearpaw clear glass and Stabil-core.  It is my first time working with these materials and my first time ordering from Kenny.  I wanted to give some feedback and observations.

First, Kenny is a pleasure to work with.  He made the whole process very easy for a technology retard like me by patiently talking me through the use of PayPal.
Also, the material arrived very quickly and very securely packaged.  Top notch job with that.

I will most definitely place more orders with Kenny in the future.

As far as the glass is concerned, my initial impression after glue up and removing the tape is that this Bearpaw glass is much clearer than Gordon's.  I have no way of proving this scientifically, but it is very obvious to the naked eye.  Even to my highly near-sighted eyes.

I found NO streaks at all, only a couple of very slightly cloudy spots which I can't even capture with the camera.

As for the Stabil-core, we'll have to see how it acts when the bows are finished, weighed, and shot.  I'm building a pair of mild D/R longbows which don't necessarily need something to help prevent limb twist, but I had got into the habit of using a strip of Uniweft as more of an accent in the stack.  In this application, Uniweft is probably better in that it is available in more colors and is thicker.  Also, though there are many competing theories about where in the stack a guy should place the Stabil-core strip, I place mine right under the riser.  I do this because I believe it adds to the strength of the thin fade outs of the riser while still helping to prevent twisting of the limbs.

Mainly, I wanted to try the Stabil-core in a couple of my recurve designs, particularly, my #3.  I build this mainly as a kid's bow and I wanted to add some stability without adding too much to the stack thickness.  I have a pair of these coming up and I will document my experiences for that application.

I was initially a little worried about cutting the Stabil-core, as it is almost 2" in width, and I needed it to be 1 1/2".  I shouldn't have been concerned.  It cuts very easily with a good pair of ordinary scissors.  I think Monterey figured this out on one of his excellent bows.

Anyway, the project is ongoing and I'll keep posting updates as I go along.

Here are the riser blanks.  Mirror image Bocote and Beli wood with accent strips of Zebra, black palm, and maple bordered with strips of maple.

Not the best pic, as I only have a smart phone camera, but the wood grain is very visible and clear through the glass.

Here's the Bocote.  One of my favorite woods to work with.

Side by side, after glue up and sanding square.

One more.  I'll post more pics as I progress with the build.  Thanks for looking!

Very nice it looks great !

Thank You, Craig! My pleasure ! 

And talk about quick, didn't I just send that stuff out?   

Quote from: kennym on August 11, 2018, 02:45:35 PM
Thank You, Craig! My pleasure ! 

And talk about quick, didn't I just send that stuff out?   

Yeah!  It's almost like you used a Star Trek transporter to beam it into my shop!

This is a great opportunity to learn more about stabilcore.  I'm especially looking forward to your impressions of it in a recurve.

I meant quick on your end! Two glued up already!!

Sweet..

Not you Kenny, meant those 2 risers above:)

That's a relief !! 

Ok, so I have both bows roughed out and overlays glued on.  I cut string nocks in one of them so I could get an initial draw weight.  At present, this bow is drawing 44# @28".  This is fairly typical at this stage with this bow.  My target weight is 40# @28".  I should come pretty close to that.  As such, I'm going to say, at least at this point, the Stabil-core and Bearpaw seem to make a negligible difference in draw weight at the same total stack as Gordon's and Uni-weft.

.400" total stack thickness.

66" NTN

18" riser

1.380" at fades.  Full width to 12" from center line.  Then, tapers straight from 1.380" to .520" at base of string nocks.  And a partridge in a pear tree.

You are a bow making machine there Craig Awsome 

Nice..

Quote from: Roy from Pa on August 15, 2018, 04:14:38 AM
Nice..

Yes they are, love the veneers.