boo question

[Andrew Wesley]

I've got a 68" piece of boo/hickory bow that is proving to be a challenge to get glued up with my limited tools.  (4 spring clamps is all i brought along when i moved to Germany)
my question is.

would it be ok to cut the boo in half and glue on each limb separate with the 2 pieces meeting at the handle? by doing 1 limb at a time i could use all 4 clamps on each limb.
would it affect performance any?

[Bert Frelink]

Andrew,
Cut yourself some strips of innertube wrap your bow in Saran wrap and then tightly wrap it with the innertube, no clamps needed.
Good luck with your project.
Bert

[rainman]

What Bert said, 4 clamps would'nt be enough for one limb

[DogVilleDane]

Hello Andrew,

I would not cut the boo in half, and glue each piece seperately, due to the strain on the boo once you pull the bow!

The chances that the bow will blow apart at that precise point are very high. (I had a bow, that blev apart in the handle section, because I had made a too steep area from the normal boo width, and down to the handle. The pressure on the boo once the bow is drawn is very high, and I would not think, that the glued together areas on the back will withstand the pressure).

If you are gluing with Smooth on (or another glue that needs heat to work), then Berts ideá sound like a good way to go.

If you are using TBII / III, then do not wrap it in Saran *LOL* ... (I did that the first time I build a bow, and could not understand why it did not dry! *LOL* ...) Lesson learned - a glue that needs air to dry should NOT be wrapped in Saran ;-) ...

If you are using TBII / III, then you can also buy an innertube, and make short pieces, that you can tie around the boo/hickory. It should work the same way as the spring clamps, and still allow the glue to dry (allow the air access).

Good luck with your project! :-) ...

[Andrew Wesley]

thanks guys. not sure where i'll get inner tube over   here. but i'll see what i can do.
this is my first bow with bamboo backing.. not sure if its worth the trouble yet.
i much prefer a Yew or Osage stave, but beggars cant be choosers right?

[Eric Krewson]

You can also apply glue to the pieces, stick them together  put 3 or 4 wraps of masking tape around the core and backing on each limb and wrap string tightly around the limbs with each wrap almost touching the last. I use the string method when I have to glue irregular pieces of wood together, works fine and I have a very nice glue joint.

[Sal]

You should have no trouble finding inner tubes in Germany, they love bikes there.  No need to wrap in saran wrap, but it'll get messy.