Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
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Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Some weeks back some one asked that the next time I built a bow that I supplied more pictures as I built it so here goes
First off the some details
The bow is 68" nock to nock , 70" all up
The Riser is Zebra wood , 16"
One tapered lamination and three parallel laminations
Taper is Coffee Bamboo .103"
Parallel laminations
2x .064 " Coffee bamboo
1x .101 " Tulip wood
Fibreglass laminations
2x .040 " Black
Draw Weight 40# @ 28"
First off I cut and grind my laminations , I use a attachment I made up for my big belt sander
I then mark out and cut out the Riser on my Band saw then grind to the line on the big belt sander
My bench is set up with a roll of Brown paper on one end , when I go to do a new bow I roll it out and tape down one end , when the bow is finished I cut off the old paper and roll out a new lot , makes it cleaner for epoxy work
I double check the laminations and the riser tape up the face side of the fibreglass strips with 8 day masking tape then do a dry run by putting the lot into the bow press and inflating the air hose , if all is well it comes out again and into the hot box to warm up ,
While that is happening I set out the bench with all the stuff I'll need for the next step , I set out the epoxy , I use smooth on , I make it up to a 110 gm batch , that seems to work out just right for me , I use a 40 mm plastic scraper to spread it , I always put several pair of rubber gloves on the bench handy and make sure the press is set up and the glad wrap , tape and such are handy and a covering of Glad wrap is on the bow form
Once the laminations are warmed up I put them on the bench , mix the epoxy and start work , when all surfaces are coated it's in to the form with the riser held into place with filament tape , more glad wrap goes on the Lamipanel strips I use between the bow and the air hose , I then put more Filament tape on the very ends , flip the mudguard washers along the form into place and nip them up to hold the laminations in place evenly and then use a plastic film hand dispenser to wrap the form from the ends to hold the lot into place evenly , the air hose then goes on and the top form and it's all bolted up tight and the air hose inflated slowly with a gap of 30 seconds or so every 10 psi , then into the hot box
Next morning out it comes and the plastic wrap comes off and then the epoxy dags are ground off on the big belt sander
Then the straight edge goes on and the centre is marked , then the bow marked out ,
Once it's marked out I cut it out on the Triton Bench saw , I used to use the Bandsaw but it's too expensive on blades , with the triton I get 10 bows from the one blade instead of just one
Then back onto the big belt sander to grind almost up the the marked lines for the limbs and the riser is ground to the correct width , I have made them 1 1/4" but prefer to make bows 1 1/8" wide
Then into the vise and sanded down to the line by hand
At this stage I then File the string nocks ,
string the bow and check for limb twist , check the draw weight , check both limbs are bending equally and check tiller , mark the top limb and mark out the shelf , I make the main cuts for the shelf with a tenon saw then take it to my smaller linisher and rough out the shelf , then back to the vise and the rasp , once the shelf is pretty much rasped out I take the bow back to the big linisher and rough shape the riser , then back to the vise and rasp ,
after the rasp I start with a block of wood that has one edge slightly rounded and I wrap that with 80 grit fabric backed sand paper , I use that to finish shaping the riser grip and shelf , I like the shelf to be slightly curved on all faces with no corners to create weak spots , I go from 80 grit to , 120 then 180 , 240 and then 400 grit ,
I then epoxy on some Zebra wood strips for the string nock overlays and into the hot box
next day I grind the overlays close to profile on the linisher and then start with the rasp ,
After the tips are roughed out with the rasp I clamp the bow to the bench and start working with strips of fabric backed sandpaper in a shoe shine style to final shape and sand the tips , seems to work out a couple of hours work in each one to get just right
at this stage I sand the tips , sides of the limbs and riser again with 400 grit and take it out into the sun to check over again for any sanding marks ,
I then apply sanding sealer with finger and let dry
when dry I sand with 1000 grit wet and dry and fine steel wool , then another coat of sanding sealer and let dry , more fine sanding and then the tape comes off the limbs and then I sand the glass with 150 wet and dry then 240 and 400 grit , not a lot of sanding , just cleaning it off basically , I sand the corners to give a nice rounded edge and then use a paint pen to mark the draw weight
At this stage I would normally clear coat but it's raining and has been for the last few days and may be for the next few day so since I haven't of yet made my self a spray booth I'll have to wait , I now use a Acrylic clear coat that gives a bit more gloss and a harder finish than the old clear enamel I used to use
David
First off the some details
The bow is 68" nock to nock , 70" all up
The Riser is Zebra wood , 16"
One tapered lamination and three parallel laminations
Taper is Coffee Bamboo .103"
Parallel laminations
2x .064 " Coffee bamboo
1x .101 " Tulip wood
Fibreglass laminations
2x .040 " Black
Draw Weight 40# @ 28"
First off I cut and grind my laminations , I use a attachment I made up for my big belt sander
I then mark out and cut out the Riser on my Band saw then grind to the line on the big belt sander
My bench is set up with a roll of Brown paper on one end , when I go to do a new bow I roll it out and tape down one end , when the bow is finished I cut off the old paper and roll out a new lot , makes it cleaner for epoxy work
I double check the laminations and the riser tape up the face side of the fibreglass strips with 8 day masking tape then do a dry run by putting the lot into the bow press and inflating the air hose , if all is well it comes out again and into the hot box to warm up ,
While that is happening I set out the bench with all the stuff I'll need for the next step , I set out the epoxy , I use smooth on , I make it up to a 110 gm batch , that seems to work out just right for me , I use a 40 mm plastic scraper to spread it , I always put several pair of rubber gloves on the bench handy and make sure the press is set up and the glad wrap , tape and such are handy and a covering of Glad wrap is on the bow form
Once the laminations are warmed up I put them on the bench , mix the epoxy and start work , when all surfaces are coated it's in to the form with the riser held into place with filament tape , more glad wrap goes on the Lamipanel strips I use between the bow and the air hose , I then put more Filament tape on the very ends , flip the mudguard washers along the form into place and nip them up to hold the laminations in place evenly and then use a plastic film hand dispenser to wrap the form from the ends to hold the lot into place evenly , the air hose then goes on and the top form and it's all bolted up tight and the air hose inflated slowly with a gap of 30 seconds or so every 10 psi , then into the hot box
Next morning out it comes and the plastic wrap comes off and then the epoxy dags are ground off on the big belt sander
Then the straight edge goes on and the centre is marked , then the bow marked out ,
Once it's marked out I cut it out on the Triton Bench saw , I used to use the Bandsaw but it's too expensive on blades , with the triton I get 10 bows from the one blade instead of just one
Then back onto the big belt sander to grind almost up the the marked lines for the limbs and the riser is ground to the correct width , I have made them 1 1/4" but prefer to make bows 1 1/8" wide
Then into the vise and sanded down to the line by hand
At this stage I then File the string nocks ,
string the bow and check for limb twist , check the draw weight , check both limbs are bending equally and check tiller , mark the top limb and mark out the shelf , I make the main cuts for the shelf with a tenon saw then take it to my smaller linisher and rough out the shelf , then back to the vise and the rasp , once the shelf is pretty much rasped out I take the bow back to the big linisher and rough shape the riser , then back to the vise and rasp ,
after the rasp I start with a block of wood that has one edge slightly rounded and I wrap that with 80 grit fabric backed sand paper , I use that to finish shaping the riser grip and shelf , I like the shelf to be slightly curved on all faces with no corners to create weak spots , I go from 80 grit to , 120 then 180 , 240 and then 400 grit ,
I then epoxy on some Zebra wood strips for the string nock overlays and into the hot box
next day I grind the overlays close to profile on the linisher and then start with the rasp ,
After the tips are roughed out with the rasp I clamp the bow to the bench and start working with strips of fabric backed sandpaper in a shoe shine style to final shape and sand the tips , seems to work out a couple of hours work in each one to get just right
at this stage I sand the tips , sides of the limbs and riser again with 400 grit and take it out into the sun to check over again for any sanding marks ,
I then apply sanding sealer with finger and let dry
when dry I sand with 1000 grit wet and dry and fine steel wool , then another coat of sanding sealer and let dry , more fine sanding and then the tape comes off the limbs and then I sand the glass with 150 wet and dry then 240 and 400 grit , not a lot of sanding , just cleaning it off basically , I sand the corners to give a nice rounded edge and then use a paint pen to mark the draw weight
At this stage I would normally clear coat but it's raining and has been for the last few days and may be for the next few day so since I haven't of yet made my self a spray booth I'll have to wait , I now use a Acrylic clear coat that gives a bit more gloss and a harder finish than the old clear enamel I used to use
David
Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Hi David.
What blade are you using in the Triton?
What is the Big belt sander?
Nice bow.
What blade are you using in the Triton?
What is the Big belt sander?
Nice bow.
Grahame.
Shoot a Selfbow, embrace Wood Arrows, discover Vintage, be a Trendsetter.
"Unfortunately, the equating of simplicity with truth doesn't often work in real life. It doesn't often work in science, either." Dr Len Fisher.
Shoot a Selfbow, embrace Wood Arrows, discover Vintage, be a Trendsetter.
"Unfortunately, the equating of simplicity with truth doesn't often work in real life. It doesn't often work in science, either." Dr Len Fisher.
- Stickbow Hunter
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
The bow looks good Dave and thanks for the build-a-long.
Jeff
Jeff
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Thanks guys
The blade in the saw in the triton is Irwin thin kerf 24 tooth
Hopefully the bow will look even better once the clear coat is sprayed on
I've got two bows waiting spraying now
The big sander is a hare and forbes L-80 https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Produ ... kCode=L112
Works well , The only tool I have that I use almost as much is my bandsaw
David
\
The blade in the saw in the triton is Irwin thin kerf 24 tooth
Hopefully the bow will look even better once the clear coat is sprayed on
I've got two bows waiting spraying now
The big sander is a hare and forbes L-80 https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Produ ... kCode=L112
Works well , The only tool I have that I use almost as much is my bandsaw
David
\
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Grahame & Dave,dawallace45 wrote:The blade in the saw in the triton is Irwin thin kerf 24 tooth
A comment regarding the saw blades. I prefer the 60 tooth blades for cutting the glued up bows. I also use the Irwin thin skerf blades which were made in New Zealand but now seem to be made in China. I haven't tried the China made ones yet so don't know if they will last as well. The last time I got some I managed to find two made in NZ ones.
Jeff
Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
thanks for your post build along. Very good and instructive.
nil illigitimo in desperandum carborundum
razorbows.com
razorbows.com
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Jeff
Wanted a blade with more teeth but it was all that bunnings had in the 7 1/4" size
David
Wanted a blade with more teeth but it was all that bunnings had in the 7 1/4" size
David
- Gringa Bows
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Good Build along Dave...........
Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Hi Dave,
I believe I was the one that asked, that if on your next build would you mind showing the production of the bow as a build along.
Well you have done a truely great job and I thank you for it.
Bill.
I believe I was the one that asked, that if on your next build would you mind showing the production of the bow as a build along.
Well you have done a truely great job and I thank you for it.
Bill.
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
I like the lam grinding attachment on you sander Dave . Any chance of some photos of how you have attached it ?
Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Hi Dave, thanks for the information.
Now just to test you a little bit further, for I have a question that you may be able to assist me with.
If ever there is a twist in a limb, what options do I have, if I have any, and what's the best way to fix it.
thanks,........Bill
Now just to test you a little bit further, for I have a question that you may be able to assist me with.
If ever there is a twist in a limb, what options do I have, if I have any, and what's the best way to fix it.
thanks,........Bill
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Guys not ignoring you , just haven't had time to answer properly and post pictures of the attachment may be a few more days yet
David
David
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Longbow Steve asked for some more pictures of the grinding attachment I use on the big sander , so here goes
The extension table is very simple , I like simple
The feet are slightly adjustable
I have another piece of threaded bar from the extension table to the sander as a further adjustment
the adjustment for thickness is simple and the whole thing screws down onto the extension table
David
The extension table is very simple , I like simple
The feet are slightly adjustable
I have another piece of threaded bar from the extension table to the sander as a further adjustment
the adjustment for thickness is simple and the whole thing screws down onto the extension table
David
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- Posts: 352
- Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2004 7:16 pm
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Bill
I find the best way to deal with problems is just not to have them , by making sure that my form is nice and square , that my laminations are with in tolerances and that I use a good straight edge to give a accurate centre line so far I've not had a problem
But according to the stuff I've read if you do have a problem with a laminated bow your making what you do is put a 18" block of wood between the rider and the string so as to be able to see the twist better then mark the side the twist is going to , so if the twist is going to the right , file the string nock a little deeper on that side and then take off some more material on the whole right side of that limb ,
AS I've said in practice I really know noting of it as I haven't had the problem with laminated bows , now if your talking self bows that's another thing , I've finished self bows that were fine when I made them but after several weeks in my reloading room in the middle of summer they have achieved propeller status , even though they appeared to be thoroughly dry before hand
David
I find the best way to deal with problems is just not to have them , by making sure that my form is nice and square , that my laminations are with in tolerances and that I use a good straight edge to give a accurate centre line so far I've not had a problem
But according to the stuff I've read if you do have a problem with a laminated bow your making what you do is put a 18" block of wood between the rider and the string so as to be able to see the twist better then mark the side the twist is going to , so if the twist is going to the right , file the string nock a little deeper on that side and then take off some more material on the whole right side of that limb ,
AS I've said in practice I really know noting of it as I haven't had the problem with laminated bows , now if your talking self bows that's another thing , I've finished self bows that were fine when I made them but after several weeks in my reloading room in the middle of summer they have achieved propeller status , even though they appeared to be thoroughly dry before hand
David
Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
G' morning David, I take on board all that you have said and agree that, if I do everything correctly and not rush things from the start I should not have a problem.
thanks again,........Bill
thanks again,........Bill
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Thanks Dave, That looks do able for me . I dont need the lam grinding aspect but could certainly use the table for riser fades. Steve
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
I like that set up Dave,but yours turned out a lot neater than mine mine had a bit of curve in the pulley bit that the sand paper goes on,so i didnt use it for lams,but yours seems to do the job well mate.
Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Hi David,
A nice concise build a long and another good looking bow.
I have been toying with different ideas on how to make the fence on my lamination grinder more user friendly.
Your setup appears to be a simplistic solution.
If I have interpreted the photos correctly the coil spring applies enough pressure to stop the booker rod moving in the joining nut when grinding laminations.
Thanks,
Daryl.
A nice concise build a long and another good looking bow.
I have been toying with different ideas on how to make the fence on my lamination grinder more user friendly.
Your setup appears to be a simplistic solution.
If I have interpreted the photos correctly the coil spring applies enough pressure to stop the booker rod moving in the joining nut when grinding laminations.
Thanks,
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!....
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!....
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Re: Build a long , sort of , picture heavy
Rod
I run the lams through then turn them over , measured them carefully with verniers and micrometer than they come out pretty even , with in .002 " all over
Daryl
Yep right , the spring is off a old trampoline , I love old trampolines , all that free steel , make good stuff out of them
Kayak racks , Benches , shelves and chook pens , love old trampolines
David
I run the lams through then turn them over , measured them carefully with verniers and micrometer than they come out pretty even , with in .002 " all over
Daryl
Yep right , the spring is off a old trampoline , I love old trampolines , all that free steel , make good stuff out of them
Kayak racks , Benches , shelves and chook pens , love old trampolines
David