Bamboo Backed Ipe R/D Longbow [with Video]

bowhunter15 · March 24, 2015, 09:58:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by fujimo:
pitchurs!!! :D

I shaved the bow down to 64 pounds over the past couple days. My goal was 60 but honestly I think it is pretty comfortable after taking some shots with it. My shots were all over the place at 20 yards, but it had nothing to do with the draw weight lol. Could have been shooting a 20 pound bow with the same results. Instinctive is a different animal!

There was a slight amount of twist that developed again taking it from 69 to 64, so I'll get rid of that, then put the Tru-oil on again and take some nice pictures.

bowhunter15 · March 27, 2015, 07:30:00 PM

Haven't had time to work on it since the last post, but wanted to get some quick opinions on the minor limb twist I referenced. Think it's okay to shoot as is? Maybe just file the "green arrow" string groove a hair deeper so the string sits more centered over the limb?

fujimo · March 27, 2015, 08:26:00 PM

When doing a board bow, I always like to keep an outside caliper close at hand, just to make sure
Left and right are the same.
Just what works for me!
Very good work here, great bow

bowhunter15 · March 29, 2015, 06:30:00 PM

Picture time!!! What do you think?

takefive · March 29, 2015, 11:37:00 PM

Looks nice

Zradix · March 30, 2015, 07:07:00 AM

Looks very nice.
A bow to be proud of!

Is she staying straight for ya?
I guess sometimes when the alignment is slightly off a bow will get trained and get straighter...sometimes if the alignment is a little off it gets worse.

fujimo · March 30, 2015, 07:57:00 AM

wot they sed :D

Zradix · March 30, 2015, 08:00:00 AM

btw..
I like how you scraped the boo...just thru the skin in some places..little deeper than others.
I like the slightly rougher look it gives.
plus less worrying about going too deep..

Roy from Pa · March 30, 2015, 08:18:00 AM

Very nice for your first bow.

bowhunter15 · March 30, 2015, 10:27:00 AM

QuoteOriginally posted by Zradix:
btw..
I like how you scraped the boo...just thru the skin in some places..little deeper than others.
I like the slightly rougher look it gives.
plus less worrying about going too deep..

A lot of that look was in the leather dye. I dyed the whole bamboo backing with dark brown leather dye. Then I took OOOO steel wool and brushed between the nodes. It's smooth enough that you end up with a gradual color transition that looks darker in the nodes and lighter between. Also I didn't really sand the actual nodes, but I the entire length between each is pretty evenly sanded.

Archer Dave · April 02, 2015, 02:25:00 PM

Nice bow man. How does it shoot?

Zradix · April 02, 2015, 02:36:00 PM

Boy I wish I could work with ipe.
works good, it's cheap, looks nice...to bad it wants to "kill" me...lol

bowhunter15 · April 02, 2015, 03:28:00 PM

Shoots great. It's a different experience than a compound, that's for sure. The past parallel compound just sits still in your hand after the shot. This bow jumps more and has some hand shock, but it really isn't that bad or noticeable after shooting it a bit. It's also MUCH quieter than my compound. I thought it was loud initially shooting it in my room... Then I shot my compound in my room. Way Louder!!!

It'll take me a bit longer to get good with it obviously. I'm still waiting on my arrows to arrive, but I've been shooting my single 2117 arrow into my target maybe a dozen shots every day after work. I can hit the center dot just about every time from 5 yards. But at that distance it's pretty hard to miss lol. My bow muscles are adapting very quickly. The 64 pounds is becoming easier to draw, and I can hold it at full draw for maybe 5-10 seconds without quivering.

I read about some people getting reactions to ipe before I started and was going to wear gloves and a mask. Then I completely forgot and luckily I have no reaction to it!

Zradix · April 02, 2015, 03:33:00 PM

Archer Dave · April 02, 2015, 03:56:00 PM

Cool. Traditional is so much more fun then training wheels. Just came in from doing some more stump shooting out behind the house.

If you have the opportunity to shoot stumps on some land near you do it. I think you will find it addictive and that the constant unknown distances will help you learn a lot about shooting.

A lot of people wont shoot actual stumps, but I do it all the time with very little arrow lose due to damage. I have lost more from the arrow hitting a small twig and veering off on the way to the target then from actual breakage.

bowhunter15 · April 12, 2015, 08:55:00 PM

Here is the full how-to video I made while building this bow. Huge thanks to everyone who helped me out with the bow!!!

YOUTUBE VIDEO

JJB · April 12, 2015, 09:19:00 PM

Nice job! You have a bow to be very proud of, thanks for taking the time to post your build.
-Jay

bowhunter15 · June 07, 2015, 05:17:00 PM

I put this bow through the chronograph today. With a 600.6 grain arrow I fired three shots: 174, 176, and 175 fps. The arrow is a little under 10gpp but I'm not too worried. I think it'll be more than enough for whitetail or black bear.

Also, I cut a shelf into the bow. I was just having too many issues getting the arrows to tune well shooting around the wide handle off the Bear weather rest, and the rest was really taking a beating. In addition I rounded the grip a little more and put a slight locator on it. Much more comfortable now. I put a little piece of primary wild turkey feather on the side of the shelf. It offers containment but flattens down as the arrow goes by.

soy · June 08, 2015, 10:32:00 AM

Nice!

elkors · June 30, 2015, 02:50:00 AM

Hi, great work on the tillering part. I am planning a bamboo backed r/d myself. Could you share the final dimensions of the bow - width, thickness (bamboo and belly) at handle, mid limb and tip.

Thanks.