Adam's bow

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gilnockie · #1 Post by **gilnockie** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:28 pm

This is a thread I have created to illustrate how Adam's bow is built. I will be up front and state that some things I will not post or discuss. So if you ask a question and I do not respond, don't bother asking again.

Anyone who reads this should also be warned that not all bows survive my testing procedures. Those which do not are binned and I start again. If this happens with Adam's bow I will examine the failure and post some pics.

I will only insert one or two pics per post.

So let's begin.

Buford · #2 Post by **Buford** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:30 pm

gilnockie wrote:I will be up front and state that some things I will not post or discuss. So if you ask a question and I do not respond, don't bother asking again.

what glue do you use?

only kiddin mate.

cheers
Matt

gilnockie · #3 Post by **gilnockie** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:36 pm

Here is a close up of the laminate. Each side is different and this is due to the different fabrics. The reverse side did not photograph well enough to post.

gilnockie · #4 Post by **gilnockie** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:40 pm

Here are two pics of the mould containing the lams for Adam's bow.

gilnockie · #5 Post by **gilnockie** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:42 pm

Here are some pics of the timbers.

pete w · #6 Post by **pete w** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:51 pm

Thanks for sharing the build!!

tracker · #7 Post by **tracker** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 6:15 pm

Good one matey. This will be very interesting. The pictures are great.

Mick.

adam · #8 Post by **adam** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 9:24 pm

I can smell it already. this is great gil.

Hood · #9 Post by **Hood** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:01 pm

Erron maybe you should make this a stickey.

erron · #10 Post by **erron** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:49 pm

Done and dusted, Mick!

Norman, thanks fo going to the trouble with this. It makes fro a really interesting read to see the thing grow from the ground up!

Erron

pete w · #11 Post by **pete w** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:08 pm

If I was Adam I would copy the photos and the text Norman provides to a word document format and have this as a history of the bow from start to finish.

adam · #12 Post by **adam** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 10:47 pm

If I was Adam I would defiantly do the same. Wait a minute

erron · #13 Post by **erron** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 11:11 am

If I was Adam IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d look for Eve

Adam, cheque arrived today mate. More later, at work now. Sorry the site was down, folksÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

Erron

gilnockie · #14 Post by **gilnockie** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:56 pm

The limbs of my bows consist of three components: the back, the central core and the belly. Each is made up of several layers.

The back is combination of a layer of carbon with either a single layer of bamboo or several layers of veneer. The back is a parallel layer, it does not taper.

The belly is identical to the back, except it is laid up in two parts in order to lock the riser into the stave.

The central core tapers from the end of the fades to nothing a few inches short of the tips.

Today I laid up the back of Adam's bow.

Here is the first photo. The underside of the carbon lam is being sanded. The light grey area is the sanded area, the black area is untouched.

gilnockie · #15 Post by **gilnockie** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:57 pm

Here is the second photo.

This is the layer of Celery Top Pine veneer which will lie under the carbon on the back.

The straight edge I use for slicing the veneer into strips is clamped onto the sheet of veneer.

gilnockie · #16 Post by **gilnockie** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:35 pm

Here is another view of the sheet of veneer.

gilnockie · #17 Post by **gilnockie** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:37 pm

This is a photo of the gluing form.

gilnockie · #18 Post by **gilnockie** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:40 pm

This is a photo of the layers of veneer and the layer of carbon before the back is clamped into shape.

The layer of steel is 2mm thick and the layer of timber is 19mm Tas Oak.

gilnockie · #19 Post by **gilnockie** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:41 pm

Here is a photo of the back from above, before it is clamped into shape.

gilnockie · #20 Post by **gilnockie** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:43 pm

The final photo in this set is the back clamped into shape.

Over the next few days I will lay up the tapered core.

erron · #21 Post by **erron** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:50 pm

Dumb statement coming up: I didn't realize you needed so many clamps

Erron

pete w · #22 Post by **pete w** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 8:40 pm

Keep them coming!!Pretty soon it will start to look like a bow.

archangel · #23 Post by **archangel** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:58 pm

Norman,

The attention you have shown in each step is a real education to someone like me just starting out in bowmaking. I am not sure if you have covered these points in your introduction: What are the dimensions of the back and tapered core laminations? How much reflex is built into your form?

gilnockie · #24 Post by **gilnockie** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:46 pm

Here are 2 pics of the back of Adam's bow showing the reflex built into it.

gilnockie · #25 Post by **gilnockie** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:49 pm

What are the dimensions of the back and tapered core laminations? How much reflex is built into your form?

The laminations are nominally 0.6mm thick. They are standard furniture veneers

The form is reflexed 30mm over 70".

buzz · #26 Post by **buzz** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 10:24 pm

erron wrote:Dumb statement coming up:

v2.0.

So... the untensioned reflex is built in by having the material bent into shape, then the layer of laminate that is added on the "inside of the curve" is shorter overall than length it is bonded to? Sorry, even though I am sitting on a "bent" plywood chair I've never stopped and thought this through before.... so by being shorter, it pulls the length in a given direction?
(sorry if this was a statement of the bleeding obvious)

pete w · #27 Post by **pete w** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:42 am

Furniture Veneer?
Norm, you are a master at improvising.Sometimes the obvious is just to hard to see.What are the savings buying these veneers as oposed to paying for a "BOW VENEER" from the archery industry?

If we give Norm a ball of steel wool and some spikes I bet he can Knit a tractor.

Buford · #28 Post by **Buford** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:10 am

If we give Norm a ball of steel wool and some spikes I bet he can Knit a tractor.

gilnockie · #29 Post by **gilnockie** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 5:01 pm

Buzz

I have often wondered just how this works. I think it has something to do with the concave surface of one layer being in compression and the convex surface of the adjacent layer being in tension. When they are glued together the layers work against each other, tending to hold them in shape. The objective is to stiffen the limbs by building a curve ino them. Although the curve on a HH style longbow is minimal.

Pete

There are several advantages to using veneers. They are stronger than an equivalent thickness of timber; the many layers look good when seen from the side of the bow and I can vary the depth taper to suit my individual needs. I am not limited to the standard timber profiles profiles which other bowyers use. However, the greatest advantage is that you do not need a band saw, drum sander and dust extraction system because it is not necessary to slice a narrow lath with a band saw and SAND a piece of timber or bamboo to obtain a taper in thickness. When I make the tapered section of the core, probably tomorrow, you will see what I mean.

The veneers are not cheap, but they are not overly expensive either. I cannot honestly say any more than that. They are probably cheaper than purchasing tapered lams but probably no cheaper than grinding your own. With regard to time, I have no idea how long it takes to re-saw and sand a tapered timber lam, and I have never botherd to time myself in preparing the veneers for a bow. I am probably lucky because where I live there are two veneer mills and I can have a packet delivered in a few days.

Guys, I think I will pass on the tractor.

gilnockie · #30 Post by **gilnockie** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:14 pm

Tonight I laid up the tapered core for Adam's bow. Here are some pics showing the veneers of different lengths.

Tomorrow when it comes out of the clamps, I will clean up the glue dags and post some pix showing the curve.

You can see that the layers are numbered and the lengths (in mm) are pencilled on each. Don't bother copying them in the hope of building a duplicate of Adam's bow; how do you know the numbers are correct?

The layers are aligned on the centre line so that the tapered core is symmetrical.

Ozbow

Adam's bow

Adam's bow

Re: Adam's bow

Andy's bow