New bow.

wood carver 2 · January 03, 2012, 05:45:00 PM

Hi gang. I just got this one out of the clamps this afternoon. It's bamboo backed cherry with a hickory belly and walnut power lam. The riser is walnut with maple and padauk accents. Total length is 69" right now, but I'll likely shorten it a bit. Please let me know what you think of it.
Dave.

PEARL DRUMS · January 03, 2012, 05:48:00 PM

First timer Dave?

eflanders · January 03, 2012, 05:59:00 PM

Looks real nice so far! I have had great luck with those wood combinations and they are real sharp to look at. However, the real test is how does it look at full draw? Show us a picture of that when you have it all tillered!

wood carver 2 · January 03, 2012, 06:18:00 PM

Not my first, Pearl Drums. I have two shooters, two pieces of firewood and one that might be rescued besides this one. I gave it a lot of reflex to see if I get a faster bow this time. That is if the cherrywood holds up.

Eflanders, thanks for the kind words. I think it should look good when it's done. I cut up some wood for an all North American bow yesterday. I'll probably get that one glued up over the weekend.
Dave.

KellyG · January 03, 2012, 06:26:00 PM

well the wood combinations looks great now let us know how it shoots.

PEARL DRUMS · January 03, 2012, 06:57:00 PM

I was only picking Dave. Your glue up looks great. Now you need to make that bow looking chunk of wood really bow at the middle.........and I cant wait to see that baby! Keep us posted. My .02 cents? The riser looks a bit long making the length of 69" not far off? Maybe its just the pic.

wood carver 2 · January 03, 2012, 07:19:00 PM

Thanks guys. The riser is long - it's 18" from fadeout to fadeout. Maybe I should be making my risers a bit shorter? As it is, it's too chunky and I'll be reducung the depth from back to belly.

PEARL DRUMS · January 03, 2012, 07:27:00 PM

You will need all 69". I would cut your riser down to about 10-11" fade to fade if you want to make shorter bows. You got a sweet glass sandwich bow recipe going there.

wood carver 2 · January 03, 2012, 07:47:00 PM

I don't think I'm ready for glass yet - but if I were to do it, how would I adapt this bow style?
Dave.

PEARL DRUMS · January 03, 2012, 07:51:00 PM

I have never built a glass bow. But glass bows have 12-21" risers as standard and that shape is a dead ringer for a perfect r/d glass bow, same with the risers shape.

wood carver 2 · January 03, 2012, 08:34:00 PM

I'm going to keep this in mind. Sooner or later I'll want to build a glass bow and now I have a staring point.

Once it warms up a bit, I'll get out into the garage and start working on this bow.
Dave.

Dmaxshawn · January 03, 2012, 11:01:00 PM

Nice colors.

Bodork · January 04, 2012, 12:08:00 AM

That's a good start to a real nice looking bow. From the unbraced profile, it looks like it will be a smooth shooter too!

Bodork · January 04, 2012, 12:10:00 AM

That's a good start to a real nice looking bow. From the unbraced profile, it looks like it will be a smooth shooter too!

Stiks-n-Strings · January 04, 2012, 12:15:00 AM

Pearl is dead on That looks like a great form to use for a glass bow.

Lamey · January 04, 2012, 08:50:00 AM

looking fwd. to seeing it complete, good looking so far.

wood carver 2 · January 04, 2012, 10:09:00 AM

Thanks everybody. I can't wait till the temperature outside gets above absolute zero so I can get back to work on it. I'm glad you all like it, I wasn't sure it I had overdone the amount of reflex. I don't have a form for glue ups. I just clamp it to a beam and raise the tips using a pair of 2X4 blocks with angled tops. I went with about 3 1/2" of lift in case the tips relax a bit during tillering.
I have a question about my next bow that I will soon be gluing up. The core of the next bow is walnut, just under 5/16" thick tapering to 1/16". The back and belly lams are 1/8" hickory and I will be adding a power lam as well. I am looking to end up with a bow that pulls between 40# and 50#. Should the core be a bit thicker or will the one I made be enough? I forgot to mention the width through the riser will be 1 1/2" and taper to 1/2" or less at the tips.
Dave.
P.S. I have a fast and easy way to taper both ends of a lamination that I'll show on another post, once it's warm enough to work in the garage.

wood carver 2 · January 04, 2012, 03:11:00 PM

I haven't been able to do any real work on the new bow today, but I marked the centre of the riser and put a straight edge on it to mark the tips. I was surprised to find that both tips are out of line. They are both bent about 1/4" out of line. Does anyone have an idea why this happens and how to correct it?
Dave.

Stagmitis · January 09, 2012, 04:18:00 PM

Dave,

I would check the handle for square and also measure the limb thickness on each side every few inches down the limb.
Sounds like you may have some built in limb twist right out of the starting gate.

wood carver 2 · January 09, 2012, 04:38:00 PM

I squared up the riser and it made a big difference right away, but the limbs are bent a little to one side. I'm going to remove wood selectively from the limb edges to try and straighten it. It needs to lose a lot of weight still.
Dave.