2 piece self bow ... first try. finished pics pg 11

c'ville · December 25, 2010, 05:42:00 PM

Keep it coming Ruddy, I'm working on a two-piece as well and have been following your progress. Thanks for the updates.

KellyG · December 25, 2010, 09:28:00 PM

C'ville where are your PICs.

c'ville · December 26, 2010, 02:13:00 PM

Working on it KellyG I'm going to post my bbo first then ill get the two piece up. Keep it coming ruddy!

KellyG · December 30, 2010, 07:50:00 PM

ruddy what have you been doing? You got any more done on her?
Kelly

broketooth · December 31, 2010, 05:44:00 AM

ive been chasin critters hard! got one day left of deer season, gonna be chasin them today too, ive been in the woods every day this week. gotta get the freezer full.

i'll have some more work done next week i promise. ruddy

KellyG · December 31, 2010, 06:23:00 AM

Hey now that is a true reason not to be working on a bow. I hope the lord blesses you with a chance at one of his gifts.
Kelly

ber643 · January 04, 2011, 06:12:00 AM

The alarm clock is ringing, Rudy. Time to go back to work, we are anxious to see the "rest of the story" and the end results.

broketooth · January 04, 2011, 06:33:00 AM

i hear ya bernie. i have to take care of some family stuff this a.m. going to be building a caul this week and start heating in some reflex. give me a call im awake this a.m. ruddy

ber643 · January 04, 2011, 12:00:00 PM

LOL - Sorry I missed that, buddy (we were out "running around" this AM). Maybe I'll call this evening. Good luck with the caul & bending, that'll be interesting to watch.

broketooth · January 05, 2011, 12:06:00 PM

i got some more work done to the bow today. ive built a caul, with a very easy elipse. about 2 1/2" of reflex for 36" measuring from the center of the handle. this should handle up to a 72" bow , if i so choose to build one that long. i used olive oil to to protect against any scorching. i also used tin foil as a heat sheild between the bow and the form. so far i have one limb done. here are the pics.

my starting point.

midway through.

one limb done. i did 6 " at a time like mr pat suggested. i have some questions. how long do i need to let this sit , clamped to the form. am i going to have to repeat this process on this limb. and how do i clean the oil of before i sand tiller. thanks for lookin. ruddy

Osagetree · January 05, 2011, 04:46:00 PM

IMO,,,,,

Overnite or until it cools... Your choice.

Doubt it very much.

Wipe it with a rag and sand, or scrape it a little with your scrapper. Clean with acetone if you plan to apply finish or glue's.

ber643 · January 05, 2011, 07:13:00 PM

Now you're loggin', Ruddy! Nice job on the caul and good pics and proceedure too. Verrrr-ry interrrr-resting.

broketooth · January 05, 2011, 07:55:00 PM

this is the first limb i did today . i did let it cool for a few hrs before unclamping.

starting the second limb

this is the first heating of the second limb

i let this cool and unclamped it to see what i was working with. i did a second heating this is where i stopped for the night.

. i learned a lot from the first heating of each limb. after unclamping i could see where i needed to put heat and clamps for the second heating.i was very amazed on how fast and how much the wood retains heat. learning to work the the clamps fast while at peak heat was a trick too.once you start dont stop until the limb is finished, to retain heat through the entire limb. very cool stuff. i'll unclamp her in the mornin and see what it looks like. ruddy

KellyG · January 05, 2011, 10:40:00 PM

I am learing a lot just from what you are doing. Nice notes ruddy. you will be shooting her before long.
Kelly

broketooth · January 06, 2011, 04:41:00 PM

after 3 heat treatments on the straight limb and 2 on the character limb this is where im at. note the character limb is on the right as has been through the entire build.

. i have noticed that the character limb has been excepting the heat a little better than the straight limb. i do have a question. is the goal to make each limb follow the form ? in other words, when you unclamp the bow from the form its not supposed to move at all. or is this a misconception from seeing glass bows being built. ruddy

Pat B · January 06, 2011, 04:49:00 PM

Ruddy, when you unclamp a bow from the form it will go "back" a little bit from the form. When correcting bends and twists you want to go a little past the ultimate place so it will settle in where you want it. Same with adding reflex.

ber643 · January 06, 2011, 07:07:00 PM

Now, I well remember Mike, my actual (bow) building mentor, telling me that self-same thing, (that Pat B just said) back when we were doing some "movement" on a bow/stave, early on in my "lessons". Keep up the good work, Ruddy.

greyghost · January 06, 2011, 07:26:00 PM

Great, great thread guys. Just finished reading the whole thing. Really just motivated me on the whole process once again. Used to make them myself till my layoff 9 years ago. May just have to get back into it.

Ruddy, can't wait to see the completed bow.

Sorry for interupting the flow of the thread.

Earl

DVSHUNTER · January 06, 2011, 07:57:00 PM

nice work heat treating. That osage can bend a lot with the right amount of heat. Nice looking bow so far.

broketooth · January 07, 2011, 07:02:00 PM

i did another session of heating the character limb and let cool. i did work on it some today. seein how i couldn't string it today i worked on shaping the tips and cutting in new string grooves.

this is what the tips started out as. time to remove the excess material . i tried to make the tips look as good as possible. i think there is room for some fine tuning. any how here are the pics.

these pics are the belly side of the nock grooves both tips

more to come. ruddy