Building a take down long bow.

[2014FusionM]

I wish I had not only the time and patients but the talent to pull something like this off!

[bassmatt72]

When I am cutting out my limbs I cut about an 1/8 inch away from the line then send to the line. For me it is just to easy to accidently cut past the line not to mention a a good belt sander can sand the limb down to the line pretty quickly and accurately. Looking good so far.

Yep. Pretty much what I do, might get a little closer than an 1/8". But I usually draw my pattern just a little big. We can always take more off but can't put it back on!!!

[Horn chaser]

Yep. Pretty much what I do, might get a little closer than an 1/8". But I usually draw my pattern just a little big. We can always take more off but can't put it back on!!!

Exactly I learned that lesson on the first one I built.

[bassmatt72]

Another member PMed me asking what bandsaw blade I used. Here it is. One of the important thing about this blade is it only has 4 teeth per inch of blade, it cuts a little slower but will last longer than a blade with more TPI.

[bassmatt72]

Worked on the bow some today, will try to post some pics tomorrow.

[bassmatt72]

Well crud! Wanting 45 lbs @ 28" didn't even come close!!!


To measure draw while checking poundage I have an old arrow marked with one inch increments.

Fortunately there is some extra limb length I can work with so I'm making it an inch shorter.

And the new poundage is!!

Hmmmm. Not much extra poundage to work with.

[bassmatt72]

I have some concerns. With the bow strung and the brace height set we need to decide which limb is the stronger of the two and that will be our bottom limb.

To do this we use a bow square and measure the string distance at similar locations of both ends of the riser. We need to be at least with in 1/4 inch of each other.


Not even close! So, take some 120 sandpaper and a sanding block and sand both surfaces of the stronger limb. There is some techniques to this to do it right, kind of a long explanation. If anyone wants a further explanation just ask and I'll post it up. I traced both limbs to monitor progress and strung it up several times and remeasured.

[bassmatt72]

In the process of getting the limbs strength with in specs I lost poundage and had to shorten the bow just a little more. This is the last time I can do this so we'll see what happens! Alright! We have some poundage now!

[bassmatt72]

Ok. Limb strengths are with in specs and so is the brace height. Now to check for limb twist. Just looking at the strung bow its looking good, but we can tell better if we have the bow drawn. Binghams recommend to draw the bow approx. 18 inches, so I have an 18" "tillering" stick with a string groove cut in the top and a little curve on the bottom to keep it on the riser.


Draw the bow and look down the length.....

Everything is good and straight!! No limb twist! All the measuring and "technical" things are done! From here on out most everything other than the shelf is more "cosmetic" than technical. All of the rest of the things to do really don't affect the bows performance.

[bassmatt72]

Time to work on the riser some. Rough cut with the bandsaw.


Using a rotory drum sander attachment in my drill press. I have several diameters and coarseness

Ok, done all I can so far with power. next is hand tools!

[bassmatt72]

Lots of time with files, rasps, and sandpaper. Remember, we can take more material off if we need to but can't put it back on! I have several different files and rasps I use.

[bassmatt72]

Rasps, files and several grits of sandpaper getting consecutively finer grit. Throw in a lot of elbow grease and patience and this is what we have!

[bassmatt72]

You might remember earlier I mentioned I had built a bow for this coworkers son and had some left over Bubinga from it. I put some on the riser and was going to put some on for limb tips..then Igot an idea! I had some small cut offs from the riser and some smaller Bubinga.

So I set up my homemade bandsaw fence and ripped some thin pieces!

[bassmatt72]

So how do you hold these little pieces to sand them???? Take a little piece of masking tape and make a roll out of it! Has just enough grip to make it work!

I'm going to try and laminate these as my limb tips. Thinking something like this?

I have to work tomorrow so it will be a few days before I post much more.
Here is what I can think of that still needs to be done: Limb tips, finish string grooves, finish sanding the limb edges, sand and clear coat the limbs with several coats, shape the shelf, and finish sanding and clear coat the riser, and a new string.

[TMiddleton]

So, you had to pike the bow (shorten) to pick up bow weight.
What's the finished bow length your going to end up with? Is the future owner a large individual with a long draw length?

Just adding your limb tips will add you about a pound to a pound and a half.

Keep up the good work, it's starting to look like a bow!