LVL for bow forms?

[stringstretcher]

I would love to see some pictures of your bow forms that you have used LVL to make.  My big question is how are you getting the thickness you want them down to.  I have some with some of the veneers sticking up a little on each side and was told it would tear up a jointer blade because of the glue, and the lumber mills around here do not want to do it.

[Troy D. Breeding]

LVL beams are normally all that I use. I've had to make one over the past several years out of plywood due to not being able to find the LVL beam in shorter lengths. Always hated to spend $$$ for a 12' beam when I only needed 3".

As for making it proper thickness. Guess I'm luck in the fact that I have a 22-44 surface sander.

Troy

[scottm]

Just Built my first form .Ran the LVL through the thickness planner.Worked great!10 feet of LVL cost me around 40.00 at my local lumber supply.Some stores sell it by the foot and may have some short pieces.Scott

[bjansen]

I used to plane the LVL down, but finally just started making all bows using 1 3/4" wide forms (which is typically what the big box stores have in stock for LVL) I use that width regardless of type of bow and using the same width makes buying glass and making lams a bit easier as well.

[bjansen]

Here is my latest and greatest R/D form made from a lvl beam.  After I route the form I usually glue on a .100 bamboo lam (or any other lam) and some .050 glass:

[stringstretcher]

While on the subject, has anyone or does anyone use the air hose method for glueing up bamboo backed bows?

[canopyboy]

Yes, I've been glueing up boo-backed bows with an airhose.  Works great, but you need some sort of very dense neoprene foam or the like to accomodate the nodes and still get even pressure on the back.  

I think I'm only about an hour away from you if you ever want to come see.

[stringstretcher]

I would love to canopyboy.  When ever you have some time in the near future, just let me know.

[rmorris]

Here is my recurve form... It was easy because it comes in 1.75" thick and that is what I needed...



Here is my one piece longbow form... It was too wide to run in my planer 12.5" planer so after I cut the basic shape, I than ran each piece in the planer to get it down to 1.5"



Here is my T/D longbow form... I did the same thing to thin down this form to 1.5"



I dont know if this would work, but I have often thought about taking a router and setting the depth of cut to 1/8" and then taking 1/8" off each side just around where the bow would touch the form on each side... you would then habe a form that is 1- 3/4" thick but only 1.5" thick where you need it...

[stringstretcher]

Thanks guys.  Great looking forms.  Gives me some ideas. I will probably have to do mine like you did rmoris, but all I have is a thickness sander.  Should be interesting.