BBI build along, my first backed bow

[Echatham]

Ok here we go. I got almost everything i need (enough to get me started) for my first attempt at a bow that involves glue. I have read every thread in existence, I believe, on building a bamboo backed ipe bow, but I will still undoubtedly need some help. so thank you all in advance. A friend gave me the ipe. its 72"x1.5"x3/8". I bought a bamboo backing, a curly maple riser block, a slat of osage, and a slat of curly maple from a guy on the ***********. i spent a hundred bucks today on a pint of unibond 800 (in the mail from 3 rivers) and a whole bunch of clamps, a 2x4 for the form, a stanly surform plane (recommended by Sam Harper) and some files and rasps. pictures to follow...

[Sockrsblur]

Take  as many pictures as u can! I can't wait to watch!

[Echatham]

the materials: left to right curly maple riser, maple slat, osage slat, ipe, bamboo on the 2x4

[Echatham]

before i go further, does that ^ count as too large an image, I used the code from photobucket, and didn't upload it to this forum, im not the most computer savvy person, so I don't know if thats right?!

[Echatham]

well, I found my own answer, hows this:

[Echatham]

ok thats going to take a while to resize all my pics, I will get back on it tomorrow, sorry for the false start!

[rmorris]

Looking forward to it!

[bowhntineverythingnh03743]

Good luck on this adventure. I have made three successful BBO bows. Starting a new one next week when my osage slate comes in.

What style are you looking to build (R/D, just reflex, straight?

[David Flanrey]

Watching.  

[Roy from Pa]

Looks like you have the right materials there.

[Echatham]

pile-o-tools and a messy workshop


those were 99 cents a piece!

[Echatham]

ran a center line down my bamboo with a string and spring clamps for weight at each end, just like in the Poorfolk bows build along by Sam Harper. then traced out my bow shape. my dimensions are 69" tip to tip (as long as i get it and keep the nodes equidistant from the tips) 1.5" at the center and for 8 inches either side of center, tapering to a half inch at the tips. thats an 8th inch wider than i want all the way down, so i have room to play and finish later.

[Echatham]

using a belt sander to reduce the bamboo down to my outline, because i don't really have much else to do it with, works pretty good! The guy I bought it from already thinned it out and flattened it for me.

[Echatham]

ok i got the bamboo roughed out, looking good and straight. got some thickness variation though that im not sure how to tackle. it varies from 1/16" to 1/8" on the edges, the middle of course will be thicker. i would like to thin it out some more, but its soooo flat on the bottom, and i really don't want to mess up the glue line. but im afraid that if i leave it like it is its going to overpower the ipe, or maybe create hinges where its thinner. any advice here?

[Echatham]

got the riser roughed out with a chop saw

tried to thin it a bit with a radial arm saw, wasn't happening, just started burning it. so, hand saw it is.





came out pretty good!

[Echatham]

traced out the bamboo onto the ipe, i think i want to work the ipe down close to my traced outline before glue up, but im not really sure how to tackle that either. my options are: draw knife, rasp, sander, find a bandsaw or good table saw that i can use. advice?

[Echatham]

cut off the extra 3" of ipe, thats gonna be for tip overlays, along with this shed antler.

[Echatham]

an interesting occurrence here, I have a node EXACTLY in the center of bow, and EXACTLY 8" from each tip. a perfectly symmetrical piece of boo. i remember reading that that doesn't happen....

[Echatham]

haha! draw knife is NOT the way to do take my ipe down to the line. tried a test scrape at the end where i needed to remove alot of wood anyway, pulled up a giant splinter that made my heart skip a beat, kept getting bigger, didn't hit the line though.

[Echatham]

the way to do it was on the sander, same as the boo, worked very nicely, right to the line.