first two fibreglass laminate longbows

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Sabinus
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first two fibreglass laminate longbows

#1 Post by Sabinus » Thu Sep 08, 2016 1:26 am

hi guys,
well, I'd just finished a major, wordy, picture filled buildalong style post around my first fibreglass longbows........then my little girl screamed out from bed, my connection timed out while i was away calming her, and bye bye post.

i cannot bear to start again, neither will I admit defeat by not posting anything....here are the finished articles
finished..jpg
finished..jpg (100.07 KiB) Viewed 3326 times
finished2.jpg
finished2.jpg (37.87 KiB) Viewed 3326 times
full draw..jpg
full draw..jpg (51.17 KiB) Viewed 3326 times
fulldraw2.jpg
fulldraw2.jpg (31.92 KiB) Viewed 3326 times

flyonline
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Re: first two fibreglass laminate longbows

#2 Post by flyonline » Thu Sep 08, 2016 5:53 am

I feel your pain, have been there done that (and for the same reason!) so I now copy all text on wordy posts so I can paste it in again if necessary, or write up in a text editor and paste into the forum with photos once complete.

Beautiful work though! What is the darker timber on the bottom/lighter bow?

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bigbob
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Re: first two fibreglass laminate longbows

#3 Post by bigbob » Thu Sep 08, 2016 8:26 am

very nice work1 Is that Zebrano on belly lams? what is other riser woods?
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rodlonq
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Re: first two fibreglass laminate longbows

#4 Post by rodlonq » Thu Sep 08, 2016 9:59 am

Great looking bows Sabinus, you have every right to be very pleased with your efforts.

Cheers... Rod

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greybeard
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Re: first two fibreglass laminate longbows

#5 Post by greybeard » Thu Sep 08, 2016 10:01 am

Congratulations on two successful bows.

Can you give us your impressions on how they shoot? :Bow :Bow

Daryl.
"And you must not stick for a groat or twelvepence more than another man would give, if it be a good bow.
For a good bow twice paid for, is better than an ill bow once broken.
[Ascham]

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” [Einstein]

I am old enough to make my own decisions....Just not young enough to remember what I decided!....

Sabinus
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Re: first two fibreglass laminate longbows

#6 Post by Sabinus » Thu Sep 08, 2016 7:29 pm

oh bugger this - it happened again. much loving detail of materials, and shooting characteristics, lost through being 'logged out' somehow- this time whilst typing. Logged back in and I have a lovely blank screen..............

short version -
thanks for the comments all!
Bow1 is the dark riser, tassy blackwood with lams of tassy myrtle, maple, brown fibreglass.
Bow2 is the light riser, Maple with tassy blackwood, maple, clear fibreglass.

Bow1 is surprisingly quick and straight-shooting and quiet, albiet with a mild 'thump' through the riser on release. Smoother and easier to draw than I thought a bow this weight would be.

Bow2 I tried (maybe succeeded?) to get the inner limbs bending slightly less and outer limbs slightly more. The result seems to be a quieter and more refined feel in the hand, very smooth to draw, but is a bit slower as a result.

Thanks for the interest guys, and I welcome any feedback/ideas of your own.
I hope I get to send this!!??
Darren

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greybeard
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Re: first two fibreglass laminate longbows

#7 Post by greybeard » Thu Sep 08, 2016 8:08 pm

Sabinus wrote:........Bow2 I tried (maybe succeeded?) to get the inner limbs bending slightly less and outer limbs slightly more. The result seems to be a quieter and more refined feel in the hand, very smooth to draw, but is a bit slower as a result...........
Are the bows flat laid or do they have some degree of reflexing and are you using parallel or tapered core laminations?

Daryl.
"And you must not stick for a groat or twelvepence more than another man would give, if it be a good bow.
For a good bow twice paid for, is better than an ill bow once broken.
[Ascham]

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” [Einstein]

I am old enough to make my own decisions....Just not young enough to remember what I decided!....

Sabinus
Posts: 138
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:56 pm

Re: first two fibreglass laminate longbows

#8 Post by Sabinus » Thu Sep 08, 2016 11:26 pm

Hi Daryl, the limbs are classic straight laid, which at least for me follow the string by a few mm after shooting in.

In both bows, the limbs are composed of 2x parallel laminations and 2x .002 tapered laminations, for a total limb taper of .004.

Since finishing these bows I've come across a number of threads on one of the American trad sites where there is a strong consensus that .004 limb taper can and does work, but that .005-.006inch per inch is the more popular taper range for straight longbow limbs of the 'Howard Hill' style.

Reckon next bow I'll be aiming to dictate the full-draw limb profile by altering the taper of my laminations, rather than fiddling the width taper with hand tools! Now that I think about it, the latter method requires sweat, time, and extra physical grunt. The former is more a simple 'flex' of the old grey matter!

Darren

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Flatliner
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Re: first two fibreglass laminate longbows

#9 Post by Flatliner » Sat Sep 10, 2016 1:30 pm

Great effort Darren, mate, it looks like you've done it before. Well done.

Rob.
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