The Making of a Ranger Bows Recurve

[The Ranger]

I was recently asked by a client if I had any left handed recurve bows as he was in the market. I didn't, so it was decided that I would make him one. Below is the making of a Ranger Bows left handed take down recurve.

First, the client needs to select the type of timber he wants his new bow to be made from. For this recurve, I am using West Australian Jarrah and American White Ash which has been cooked in a kiln to turn it into a very dark brown timber with striking grain patterns. Once this process is complete, the wood is then called Cambia. With my riser guide, I trim identical curved trenches in both riser blocks which you can see in photo 1.

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I then use the trenches as a guide to cut the riser blocks on the bandsaw into three pieces and using a router, I trim the waste off to leave a perfectly smooth curved surface for gluing. I swap the centre piece of both riser blocks over which leaves me with two opposing coloured risers. For this bow I'm using black and white phenolic strips between the three pieces of riser for accent strips as you can see in photo 2.

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The riser is glued up and placed in the oven to set the 'glue off'. This takes around 5 hours.

Next come the limbs. All Ranger Bows recurves and longbows have a core limb timber (lams) made from compressed Bamboo floor boards which are cut and sanded to length, width and thickness on the bandsaw and then finished on the table sander. The thickness of the lams and other limb components will determine the final poundage of the bow. For this particular bow, the client wants around 55# @ 30”. Bamboo gives the bow a beautifully smooth draw and release and has been used in the construction of bows for hundreds of years. I then use the same process to make the limb veneers which are sanded down to a very thin 0.5mm thickness. For the veneers on this bow, I used African Rengas. The limb wedges are cut and sanded to a paper thin taper. Once all components of the limbs have been made, they need to get baked in the oven for over an hour to ensure no moisture is left in the timber that may ruin the gluing process.

The limb components (photo 3)

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are then taken out of the oven and glued up and placed into the limb mould. The newly glued limb is then put into the oven for 5 hours to enable the glue to go off and harden. Once the gluing up time has expired, I take the limbs and riser out of the oven and start to shape them into a final product.

The riser is taken out and cleaned up and the two limb surfaces are planed perfectly square with each other (photo 4)

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to enable the limbs to be attached. The limbs are taken out of the mould and rough cut on the bandsaw and solid timber limb tips cut to fit on each tip (photo 5).

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The limb tips are glued in place which takes another 5 hours and then rough shaped. The limbs are bolted onto the riser and poundage can then be confirmed on the scale.

The riser is cut to shape on the bandsaw (photo 6)

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which leaves the rough final shape. Using a rough rasp, the riser is filed down to shape and the limbs are attached. The bow is sanded smooth on the bobbin sander with the limbs attached for the final time (photo 7)

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, and a string attached to get the final poundage of the bow. In this case, 55# @ 30".

The long and meticulous job of sanding the bow smooth with ever decreasing grades of sandpaper is then completed and several coats of Scandinavian Oil are applied (photo .

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The bow is then polished and finished off by buffing to an ultra smooth surface. I find if I use oil to finish my bows instead of a polyurethane or similar lacquer which can crack and peel over time, the bow is easily repaired if it is scratched by simply rubbing on some oil with a cloth.

I return to the house to finish the recurve off. Two strings are made for each Ranger Bow and for recurves a stringer is made. I make Flemish twist strings and attach Merino wool silencers and the limbs have suede leather attached close to the ends to lessen the noise of string slap upon arrow release. Suede leather is also attached to the arrow shelf. The last thing to do is write on the bottom limb the bow specs and this bow's unique serial number.

The bow is now finished (photos 9/10)

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and ready for whatever the client wants to do with it, whether it's target, 3D animals or hunting, this bow will do it all.

Ranger.

[dan76]

Very nice mate, I am sure the new owner will love it for many years to come. I really like that timber you used in the limbs.

Dan

[bigbob]

Yep very nice and nice choice of timbers.

[Guy Layton]

Hi Ranger,

Very nice looking recurve mate... I love the limb veneer and riser combination...

If memory serves me correctly... I met you at the HVTA shoot this year at the Broadhead round....?

Very nice recurve...

Cheers Guy

[Stickbow Hunter]

Welcome to Ozbow Stuart. Thanks for the build-a-long. It looks like you do an excellent job. The finished bow looks great and I really like the African Rengas limb veneers - beautiful!!! It's great to see another Aussie making bows.

Jeff

[Gringa Bows]

Welcome to Ozbow,great looking bow

[greybeard]

Stuart, welcome to Ozbow and thank you for the photographs.

The takedown looks excellent, how long have you been making bows?

Daryl.

[The Ranger]

Thanks for the comments gentlemen. Daryl, I've been making bows for about two and a half years and of course I'm still learning with every bow I make. I'm a cabinetmaker by trade but now like to call myself a bowyer first. I'm pretty happy with the bows I'm making, they're functional, look good and are tough.

[Flatliner]

Nice work Stuart, welcome to the group, as Jeff said, good to see another Aussie at it, your bows look great, do you have some photos of your one-piece bows?
I notice you cut out your limbs before they are attached to the riser, how do you make sure your string tracks central through the bow? very interested to know.
Which glue are you using?

One suggestion I would make is if you are recommending and supplying 'Fastflight' strings I would be using phenolic and or glass in my nock tips.

Keep up the good work, Rob.

[hazard]

Another Aussie bowyer

Top work Stuart. Very Nice looking bow, as Guy said the timber combination is very pleasing to the eye.

Rob beat me to the punch with the limb question as I was thinking the same thing myself.

I too recommend the use of glass or phenolic on nock tips as I have seen myself what the string does to the limb. Not to say your not doing it already though

Cheers
Hazard

[The Ranger]

Rob and Hazard, you've got me worried that I might be doing it wrong, but I'll try and explain as best as I can. Starting with the riser block, I get one side face perfectly flat. Off that flat face I can then plane the two faces that the limbs will attach to perfectly 90 degrees to the flat face. Once that is done I then scribe lines running down the centre of the riser on both faces that the limbs will attach to.

The rough cut limbs are then marked down the middle and all holes are drilled on the limbs and riser which include the bolt hole and two locator pins. If I've done my planning and marking out precisely, then the limbs should be straight with the riser.

I must say, the way I do it isn't easy and takes a lot of work, so if there's a better way I'd definitely be prepared to give it a go.

In regards to the limb tips, I use either solid timber or phenolic or a combination of both. I've never had a problem with them.

Stuart

[Flatliner]

Hey Stuart, if the end result is a bow that shoots well and functions properly then you can't be doing it wrong, just different. There are many ways to reach the same goal. I personally fix the limb blanks to the riser and use a string-line to find the center of the limb tip on the blanks. Have a look at this build-along to see how I do it if you wish.
http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=11440 About 2/3 down the first page.

As for the limb tip thing, this is what can happen when just timber is used for the tip and a high performance string material is used. I'm not saying it will happen but it can. This bow (not one of mine) was brought to me a little while back to see if I could make a set of limbs for it. It had been used with a Dacron string without a problem for many years but the guy replaced the string with a 'Fastflight' string unaware of the potential problems and about 20 shots in this happened.

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Cheers, Rob.

[bigbob]

Definitely endorse what Rob and Hazard said regarding the use of phenolic. I wouldn't make a laminated bow without it in the nock overlays.

[Gringa Bows]

I don't always use glass or phenolic in my bows and never had a drama,but I make my own strings with extra strands in the loops ,my 12 strand string has 22 strands in the loops,this is just how I do it

[The Ranger]

Rob, thanks for the photos mate. It might be worth while glueing at least one piece of phenolic under the solid timber tip. Although I haven't had a problem with my personal bow which gets a pretty hard time of it, from (accidentally) whacking the limb tip on big rocks upon arrow release, to throwing the bow as far as I can from a horse because the horse just got spooked and was trying to buck me off. I consider these incidents to be R and D for my bows structural integrity and toughness.

I forgot to tell you what glue I use. I was using Smooth On but it was too thick, especially down here in Goulburn NSW where it gets a tad cold. I had to have my electric blanket on just three nights ago. I glued up a couple of limbs that got air bubbles under the glass so I've decided to now only use Techniglu as it's much runnier.

Your bow making article was a very comprehensive read and well worth it. I got a couple of good tips out of it. I might employ your method of slowly inflating the hose when clamping limbs. That appears to be a logical way of clamping to minimise any air under the glass. I might also give your method of lining up the limbs with the riser a go and incorporate it with my method.

Thanks Rob,

Stuart

[rodlonq]

Great looking bow Stuart, you should have a very happy customer.

Cheers..... Rod