bows in now the wait

[texx]

yep i have one in the oven , flat and parallel . just have to wait now and see if i have a bow or a rot proof tomatoe stake .
did i learn anything on this first one , you betcha i did , i have glue everywhere except i think one ear never got any, i should of changed my shirt before i started this was a goodish one but it aint now i am stronger than car innertube ( snapped a few ) . and i am expecting to have a hell of a time getting it off the form tomorrow .
it went in the oven at 2.30 so i'll leave it alone untill about 8 or 9 pm then i can turn it off and leave it cool down for the night then open the box in the morning see whats in there

johno

[texx]

and cooking

[longbow steve]

Hi Johno, congrats. If the lams are parallel make sure you start wide at the fades and taper to narrow tips. My hill style bows required about .004-006" taper. My wider D/R bows about .002-.003" taper in the core. Barry Johnson used to build all parallel but as described above. Cheers Steve

[splashy]

awesome - good luck and keep posting the pics. I'm starting to tool up to make my first one.... everyone here is inspirational...

[texx]

ok its out of the oven this morning and inbetween other jobs that i have to do i have managed to clean it up a bit ( will have more time this arvo ) another thing i learnt is the rubber that i thought i was going to get a few uses out of aint gunna happen i had to cut a lot of them, off i never put plastic over the top of the stack cos i wanted to see what was going on as i strapped it down ,i did have plastic under it though so the bow never became a permanent part of the form . the top pressure strip i just used a 3mm slice of the boo flooring , it was a bit hard to get off the bow but i got it in the end all i had between the pressure strip and the glass was making tape , but it worked out ok after i got the pressure strip off i just had to clean the back glass up a bit and applied new masking tape to it for a bit of protection .
i am getting the worst of the glue and stuck bits of rubber off with my lam grinder its doing a good job so far .

[Flatliner]

Looks the goods so far Texx, steady as she goes matey, and watch the glass splinters . What draw weight are you aiming for?

Rob.

[texx]

would like to end up around #45 fingers crossed .splinters i have plenty of , the bamboo is bad enough then add the glass aswell .
done a bit more sanding ( just want to get it all cleaned up so i can see what i have )
problem is there is some thing wrong i think with my back at the moment and when i stand at the lam grinder after about 15 minutes my right leg starts to go dead then it goes to pins and needle i put up with that for 10 minutes or so and it starts to burn, about then i give up for a while .
anyway just took a few more pics now i have most of the glue sanded off and i am quite happy with my results for my first one i rekon the fades are good i did put a lot of time into these though .

[Stickbow Hunter]

Good onya Johno!!!

Yeah mate use cling wrap over your form, and between the bow and pressure strip to avoid the problems you had. Hard to tell exactly but going by your photos I would suggest making your fades longer on the next one.

I look forward to your next instalment.

Jeff

[texx]

jeff the riser is 17 inches long and the flat bit in the middle for the handle is 5 inches so the fades must be 6 inches long .
.
got a bit more done today, limbs cut down on the bandsaw and hand sanded to the pencil line , need to rough shape the riser handle section then make up a long string and start making it bend a bit . ( oh hang on need some kind of knock for the string first ) .
.
i might add i am going through the process of giving up smoking at the moment and keeping busy is a must , however i have never been as crook as i am at the moment , starting to think smoking was keeping me alive and problem free , at the moment i have an on and off crook back which migrates down into my right thigh and right oval shaped thing which forms part of the reproductive organs . i have the worst head cold i have had for years , and the wife just noticed today that i have a burst blood vessel in one eye making the right eye very red , i would not of known if she had not told me cos i stay away from mirrors , so is stopping smoking such a good move after all ????
i have to make a date with the doc in the morning for some blood test that he wants to do so i may be able to have a debate re the side affects of not smoking being bad for me while i am there .
back to the bow every time i work on it it gets smaller and lighter but looks more and more like a bow after each time i attack it , i'll do a bit more tomorrow and get a pic of the progress .
johno

[Stickbow Hunter]

jeff the riser is 17 inches long and the flat bit in the middle for the handle is 5 inches so the fades must be 6 inches long .

I was meaning the angle where the riser fades into the limbs. This area of the riser could be thinner and fade into the limbs over a longer distance IMO.

so is stopping smoking such a good move after all ????

ABSOLUTELY!!!

Jeff

[texx]

ok got what you mean re the riser ta .

johno

[rodlonq]

I was writing this reply when Jeff already answered the question. I was thinking perhaps Jeff meant to use a smaller radius so the fades come to a finer taper. A bit like the below picture of my 16" riser template (it only has 4" in the flat part) that has the same overall length fades as your riser.

16%22 riser.png (49.25 KiB) Viewed 5490 times

Your glue lines look good mate, top job for a first bow. Oh yer... don't underestimate the usefulness of glad wrap......

Cheers......... Rod

[texx]

whats the norm for the riser block height as in from the back of the bow to where the palm of the hand will rest because that will influence the arc in the fades wont it ?? maybe i started with my block to big i just measured it and it is 1 3/4 " at the moment before i do any shaping i have taken some off it though it may of been closer to 2 inches at the start when i marked and cut the fades ..
will for sure be using the wrap next time sad thing is i have a roll of the thick heavy stuff in the shed that fruit shops use for trays its a lot heavier than glad wrap i could of used that if i had of been smart .

thanks
johno

[rodlonq]

You're right about the depth of the block influencing the radius. Mine is 1 3/4" deep as well. By the time you get some lams and glass in back of it there will be room for shaping to finish up at 1 3/4" at the pivot point.

Cheers....... Rod

[texx]

getting closer , did some knock overlays and some rough sanding on the riser just to shape it a bit , sanded along the limb sides until there were no band saw marks and have a long string on it and it bends , i am picking up a string in toowoomba on wednesday .dont have any amo for it yet though i suppose i will have to wait and see what poundage it finishes at then find some arrows for it , anyway still got a bit to do yet but happy with it so far .
johno

[bigbob]

All looking great so far though I agree with Jeff about the fades and Rod with his diagram.Not sure what you're using to sand edges but I cut the limbs to rough shape with a 4''grinder fitted with a diamond masonry blade which saw work on masonry and has since cut at least 8 bows and is still going for about $8.then I have a long piece of timber about 400mm long with rounded ends so the paper can return up onto the top and fit into slots on each end which are then covered by bit of tin and held by screw.This really smooths out the high points.

[Stickbow Hunter]

Lookin' great Johno!

Jeff

[Gringa Bows]

Johno,its looking tops mate,i agree about what was said about the fades,what length is it going to be

[texx]

looks like yuz are all gangin up on me re the fades .. its 68" ntn rod .

johno

[Gringa Bows]

Nah ,not gangin up mate,just advise with the inner tube did you cut the nicks out of the edges,the rubber should last a few bows at least

[texx]

bought myself a half doz knock about target arrows today while i was in toowoomba , could not bare the thought of finishing this bow and not having anything to sling out of it , got a string for it so all i have to do now is slip in and get it finished .
gee they are nice arrows though , and if they dont suit this bow they may suit the next one .
probably have a go at making my own arrows in the future though .
also chased around trying to get the layflat hose that i wanted and did no good they were all only good for 50c temp i did get the fittings for the hose though and i have found a company down in taree that make the hose ( well i think its the right stuff ) so i have just sent them an email .

johno
should add they are wallace woods hoop pine with brass points also bought a couple of tusker broad heads of the same weight so i can change a couple of them later .

[texx]

ok i have got it about as far as i think i should go , the last few inches of the limbs dont look like they are doing much of the work to me but i dont want to make it any lighter to rectify that ( opinions please ) .
one picture braced with the new string ( not twisted ) and one at my draw of 28" and measured it to be 39#bit lighter than i was hoping for but i am happy with that for my first lam bow , rather it be lighter than heavier at the moment until i get some kind of form happening anyway .
if you guys rekon not to tiller it anymore then all that is left to do is make it look pretty .

johno

[greybeard]

Hi Johno,

I must agree with the comments about the fadeouts, they are too abrupt, apart from that point you have done a good job.

If you study the fadeouts of your handle they cannot bend sufficiently to get a smooth transition into the limbs when the bow is fully drawn.
This can result in a high stress area as evidenced in the photo of the bow at full draw.

Short Fadeout.JPG (31.02 KiB) Viewed 5352 times

As a rule my handle blocks are 18” to 19” long, 1 ½” in depth and on the belly face 3 ½” to 4” long [depending on width of customers palm], belly laminations can add up to ¾” to this length.
Could not find a photo of a standard handle but this one should illustrate the point.

Long Bow Modified Handle.jpg (60 KiB) Viewed 5352 times

Daryl.