BellyMount underway!

stickmonkey · August 07, 2018, 08:13:47 PM

I finally have gotten caught up in the knife shop leaving me with time to begin building a belly mount I designed last year. Kyle at Rose Wood Archery knew I had been searching for a dry piece of Black and White Ebony and he actually found a block that was dry, 12% MC, and would work about the time was getting started on the build. I have to say I found working with the B&W ebony enjoyable but also odd. I put new cutting bits on my facecutter before squaring up block but the wood appears so tough that it doesnt really chip away as much as it comes off in little woven spirals. Changed bits, rpm, feed rates, etc but it simply is tough and chewy.

Added some .200 g10 accents for strength and to match the grain but I ran out of thin g10 for the overlays so till it arrives I will work on building the form for the limbs. I did mill some drilling jigs for the riser and limbs and made a dummy riser from scraps for matching future sets of limbs.

The riser itself will be off-set to keep the sight window strong as the rest of the bow will be streamlined to remove the bulky look in most belly mounts.I like a low grip so I used my 1911 grip angle , 27 degrees to setup the angle on the riser.

Bvas · August 07, 2018, 09:19:28 PM

Pretty sweet Shane!!

So are you making the riser wider than the limbs to get the offset/strength?

stickmonkey · August 07, 2018, 09:36:49 PM

Quote from: Bvas on August 07, 2018, 09:19:28 PM
Pretty sweet Shane!!

So are you making the riser wider than the limbs to get the offset/strength?

Yes sir! As the riser sits is 1/16th under 2". I plan to use the mill to bring the pad portion to 1.5 or a hair under then blend it all by hand.

kennym · August 07, 2018, 09:55:48 PM

Gonna be nice!

stickmonkey · August 10, 2018, 10:38:23 PM

The back overlays finished curing so I got busy cutting out the riser. I did not get far into bringing the off-set into spec when I uncovered a very large check within the wood https://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/Smileys/tg/scared.gif

Used a razor to clean it out and a fillet knife to chase it down. Cleaned with a little acetone, heated the area lightly with the heat-gun to prevent bubbles and for the capillary action to draw the epoxy deeper as the wood cools.

I have a special opaque black dye that is formulated for epoxy that I use anytime I glue up a riser or knife scales and since riser is accented with black g10 I decided to rub the riser down with the leftover smooth-on and dye to darken and seal the riser till I can get back in the shop and finish sanding all the scratches out.

I have been wanting to try a small radius shelf like Tim Mullins puts on his bows so I rasped one in! I still need to mill some drilling jigs next week and drill the riser for the limb hardware but I wanted shape the riser and see how I wanted the index pins. The limb bolt will be set 1.5 from the end of the pad. I use G10 for my wedges so I can get by with a thinner limb base without any flex. Once i get the pads drilled I will continue to shape the sides and finish it up.

styksnstryngs · August 11, 2018, 12:38:22 AM

Very cool. Where do you get your g10?

stickmonkey · August 11, 2018, 06:27:52 AM

Alpha knife supply

Roy from Pa · August 11, 2018, 07:03:02 AM

Very nice and good save..

kennym · August 11, 2018, 07:12:26 AM

Awesome looking riser Shane! Grip looks like it would fit the hand great!

Carpdaddy · August 11, 2018, 11:01:56 AM

Wow; over the top!! Love it!

Flem · August 11, 2018, 11:27:10 AM

Thats wild looking and beautiful. You could mount it on a base and call it a sculpture!

stickmonkey · August 11, 2018, 12:05:45 PM

Quote from: kennym on August 11, 2018, 07:12:26 AM
Awesome looking riser Shane! Grip looks like it would fit the hand great!

Kenny, it literally took me a hour of shaping and checking to make sure the riser would align for me every time in the hand. I was fortunate it worked out.

stickmonkey · August 11, 2018, 12:06:36 PM

Thank you guys. Still a lot to do but it's getting there!

kennym · August 11, 2018, 12:31:50 PM

Worth every minute!! Grip rules!!

Roy from Pa · August 11, 2018, 01:03:52 PM

Bvas · August 11, 2018, 01:57:22 PM

Nice Shane. Almost makes me wanna start using exotic woods again.....almost. Lol

How far beyond center is the riser cut?

stickmonkey · August 11, 2018, 02:17:06 PM

3/16 beyond center with the base of the groove positioning the shaft center of the riser.

I am perfectly fine with laminates and some of the more cost effective exotics but I wanted this to be an heirloom for my grandson. I will be taking it on a diy bear hunt next year in Idaho and will make a second one as a back up but I plan to use either greybark or zebrawood for it.

Trust me when I say how nervous I was was when the crack appeared while milling the off-set. It will be fine and just add to the character of the bow but all I could think about was if I had a 225 dollar piece of firewood on the bench!!!

stickmonkey · August 11, 2018, 02:23:10 PM

I do like using the grey bark and it's very affordable as well as strong.

stickmonkey · August 14, 2018, 07:19:20 PM

Finally found some time to finish shaping and sanding the riser. I just sprayed a quick coat of sealer on it till the limbs are done.

mwosborn · August 14, 2018, 07:26:01 PM

Very nice!