First Laminated Longbow

[dawallace45]

Finished my first Laminated Longbow yesterday , Jeff reckons I should post the results so here goes

The bow is 68" nock to nock , it has a grey actionwood riser with brown actionwood laminations with black fibreglass , it weighs in at 55 lb at 28" , the tip overlays are Quinine with Desert Rosewood on top









David

[ichiban]

wow... i love it awsome work keep it up
-Dave

[dawallace45]

ichiban , thanks , I'm reasonably happy with it for a first go , I learnt a lot doing it , the next one I build with be with a Howard Hill type grip which I prefer , but didn't want to wander too far from the Bingham's instructions for the first one

Don't know how it shoots yet , haven't fired it , need to make up a proper string , have ordered materials , in the mean time that is just a string made up from leather stitching thread , not game to actually fire it with that string , don't know how strong it is

David

[ichiban]

yeah a very good idea.... i can just see it...... one shot...string snaps dry fire......top limb ....Bang and then you would have to turn into the hulk... how long did it take you to make all up?
really nice work.
-Dave

[dawallace45]

All up there is probably some thing like 20 hours because I work slow and was really un-sure what I was doing , there was over 4 hours of final finish sanding , I figure I could probably halve the time with more experience ,

David

[ichiban]

thats still pritty fast IMO really good work keep it up

[looseplucker]

Looks great David - you didn't mention this on the phone the other day!

[Moss]

Wow that looks amazing for a first laminated longbow I really like the wood on the handle. 20 hours isn't bad the bow that im working on would have got up to about 50 at least.

When you get the new string make sure to post em full draw pics

[dawallace45]

Looks great David - you didn't mention this on the phone the other day!

John , Sorry , thought I did , but then I really don't have much in the way of a memory these days and I'm easily side tracked

Moss , I use a lot of machinery and very few hand tools , I have multi-tool on a bench grinder and a GMC bench belt sander 100x914 with disk [ barely adequate ] but it's been very handy , I also have a drill press that I use a assortment of drum sanders on , bench saw and band saw with tungsten carbide tipped blade , so I really only need to use my files and rasps for a short time [ and that suits me fine ] , actually most of my working time is taken up trying to find my tools where I last left them , I have a habit of walking around my workshop with a tool in my hand looking for another tool and when I find the new tool I tend to put the old one down , there by creating a new hide and seek situation , hopefully when my new workshop is finished I'll have enough room to have every thing set out for easy use and where I can have shelves with every thing labelled , I'm considering painting the tools I use [ and loose ] most fluorescent green


When I ordered the Riser blank and laminations from Bingham's I thought of getting them in some of the more exotic timbers but when figured that if I wasn't there to pick it my self I'd probably be better off going with some thing where I knew exactly what it would look like and so the actionwood



David

[Brumbies Country]

[quote="dawallace45
When I ordered the Riser blank and laminations from Bingham's I thought of getting them in some of the more exotic timbers but when figured that if I wasn't there to pick it my self I'd probably be better off going with some thing where I knew exactly what it would look like and so the actionwood



David[/quote]

What a great looking bow. Reckon you didn't need anything more exotic than that. The actionwood looks really good.

Simon

[Stickbow Hunter]

Thanks for posting up the photos David. You have done an excellent job mate!!!

Sorry but I don't like the look of action wood - see we all have different tastes.

Jeff

[dawallace45]

Simon , thanks

Got to admit that I do like Actionwood , even like the camo version , I like real timber better but want to choose it my self

Jeff , thank you , no problem on not likening action wood , I think I told you of my plan to use some of the Spur mahogany , Sally Wattle and Quinine I have for risers in the future , still unsure about wether to use clear glass or black from now on , I do like Black as a functional thing but liked the look of the clear glass on your bows , so have been thinking of thin veneers of Sally wattle under clear glass , but like the idea of coffee coloured vertical bamboo too , so many variations , suppose I'll just have to build a lot more bows

David

[Moss]

suppose I'll just have to build a lot more bows

Thats the spirit the more the better

[Stickbow Hunter]

suppose I'll just have to build a lot more bows

Yeah why not.

Jeff

[Gringa Bows]

very nice job David,its a great feeling making that first bow hey. ...............Rod

[dawallace45]

Rod

Yeah it is , the trouble is that it's adictive , the only problem I have now is explaining to my wife why I need a dozen more

David

[ichiban]

you at least have an excuse for one more........ "i made this one for you darling" and hope she loves it as much as us hehe

[Gringa Bows]

yes very addictive,cant wait to start another one used the one i made last week,all weekend at the muster ,man that was a good feeling ..........Rod

[ichiban]

i bet i really look forward to finishing the first 2 i have planed so i can make one for myself, it just feels so good when the bow starts to take shape..... then you carve a handle that fits your hand so well..... then it starts to bend...(then in my case snaps) ahhhh darn you guys im gonna have to go to rehab for this stuff!!

[dawallace45]

Trouble is that I tend to be a obsessive builder , I just have to build , I just ordered a couple of hundred dollars worth of stuff from 3 rivers but my wife made me drop the tins of Smooth -on and glass laminations off the list as she reckons I have enough to do already and I need to get it out of the way first , suppose she is right , will be ordering the cladding of the shed extension today so that will come next week , then there will be a major clean out and rearranging of the shed and reloading room , then it's on to the retaining walls , concrete paths around the house , concrete floors for the carports , decorative security screen door for front door and back , tile the veranda , build wood fired pizza oven and fire pit for spit roast and new entertainment unit and outdoor furniture and in between turn back 3 1/2 acres into field course , suppose I can do a few self bows in between

David

[ichiban]

nahhh that stuff will take like 20 min maby... hehe nah you should behave yourself belive me those who dont shaire our passion for bendy sticks dont really understand

[TomW]

Beautiful job David. Congratulations. I don't like actionwood per se but it is extremely strong and very stable so given that and all aesthetics aside, it is probably the most sensible stuff to make a really strong bow out of.

And it sort of grows on you after a while.......

Best regards

Tom

[dawallace45]

Dave

Think the pending projects may take a little longer than 20 minutes but I do want to get them done over the winter as I want to devote the spring and summer to more interesting things like fishing , kayaking , shooting and of course archery , I have a number of bows I want to build as well as several kayaks I want to do , also have several ideas for lures and poppers I want to try out and I'm way behind on my wood turning and metal projects , I generally have a lot of projects on the go at any time so I can go from one to the other if I have to wait for some thing like glue or finish to dry

Tom

Thank you , actually the first time I saw action wood I didn't like it but a few years later I bought a couple of bows off some fellers who had bought bows way too heavy for them selves as first bows , so for a extremely cheap price I picked up a 60# recurve with grey action wood riser and a 70# recurve with green action wood riser ,

I came to love those two bows and wish I hadn't of sold them off many years ago but at the time I'd severely injured my shoulder and was told I'd probably not be able to shoot a bow again , in hind sight it was probably the best thing I could have done at the time as if I'd had a bow handy I wouldn't have been able to control my self and after a week or two would have tried pulling a bow and there for screwed some thing up , I have a history of doing stupid things out of boredom

David