Lets build a recurve....

[Greywolf in Hawaii]

X2
I only wish that we could get Sticbow to work a double shift on this thing!

If I did that, somebody would have to take this ole bag of dust on a hunting trip.

Yeeeeehhhhaaaaa

Anyone getten the itch to do a Follow-a-long?

[Greywolf in Hawaii]

No overtime takers huh? Darn !!!
Before we do the dry run, let me catch ya up on couple things, I had some time so I glued the riser block together, all I did was rummage through my scrap box and decided what woods to use in the riser.

Then the hard part was deciding which wood to go where, after 5-6 different tries I like this one. So I used Pheasant wood,maple accented purpleheart, bubinga, black walnut and bocote and lots of Smooth On epoxy.

Just like before wet to wet and make the lines tight to do that, might require clamps, screws, rubber bands, heavy bucket of water, it don’t matter just hold it right where it needs to be.


The angle pieces holds it down on the bench, the clamp makes tight lines, like I said, what ever it takes. (just remember to put a piece of paper on the bench or it'll be part of the work bench forever)

I then traced the paper riser pattern on a clear piece of Plexi-glass and cut it out on the band saw. The reason I used clear is, so I can see through it, and tell how the riser will look cut out, plain and simple



I sanded it to remove rough edges and make it smooth, sometimes it’s hard to keep from melting the plexi-glass, just go slow.



After a 5 hour sauna in the hot box and a cool over night, I squared the riserblock with the jointer and table saw.
Look close you can see the pattern and where I marked center and traced it on the riser.



Saw dust makin time I love this stuff !!!



Just cut slow and always stay outside the line, we will sand to the line.



Completed cut out riser, Now we need to sand the fades in, they will be paper thin..



Sand to the line and thin the fades, even though it will be encased with laminations it needs to be a light tight fit.



Once we have it shaped, remember that pin I drilled and put in the press? Find and mark the center, drill a ¼ inch hole in the bottom of the riser block just a 1/4 inch deep, it does a couple things, keeps the riser from sliding all over the place and keeps the lams close to where they need to be, and last, kinda hold them down, but don’t rely on it.



Ok, lets do a dry run, this is where it works …or not !!!!

We will clean the laminations later when we are ready to glue it up, so that way, we won’t be touching it again without gloves. First let’s lay down some plastic wrap, this protects the press from glue, kinda keeps it all contained



Plain ole cling wrap will do, you know the stuff that won’t stick to anything...except it’s &%$$(@ self ?
It goes between the brackets and covers end to end.




Start building from the belly up, glass, tapers, riser, parallels, glass in that order







See that was simple huh? Wait till it has epoxy on it, having 4 hands works well, other wise it’s a real bear to keep it all together . All the lams need to be taped tight to the curves, even the riser and 3-4 places from end to end too





Lay the pressure strip (20 ga sheetmetal 1 3/4 inch wide and as long as the bow) on the out side of the glass and cling wrap, and then put the deflated air hose on top, now we are ready to add the top and lock it in place.



Lay the top on top and insert the bolts and tighten them hand tight, if ya need, you might need the help of pipe clamps to get it talked into place.



See just a tad bit of persuasion it fits perfect



Now swivel the all washers up to touch the hose, if it needs the hose will push the washer down as it inflates



Here’s what all the hard work has done so far.



Give the hose a quick blast of air, not a lot, but holds firm, we want to be able to make adjustments if needed


Speaking of which, the air hose should be equal on both sides the lams should be taped and not move, if they happen to shift make ALL adjustments now.



Now add 50 PSI of air to the air hose, everything should be fitting perfect, all joints should be light tight.
Ready for true glue…………….. Well?



And the verdict is…………………………… Oh yeah !! See how the hose is in contact all on the lams full downward pressure across the lams, Excellent job.(sorry for the screwed up pic, if thats the worst that happens I'm good to go)



Ok, Ok, Ok lets not get all carried away…well ok…… just a little…..



Ok now that we know we can glue it up, we’ll glue it up…………….tomorrow….. Today is ranch time.



Oh, I forgot to mention about the top cuts of the press, I cut the bottom of the press to the most length I can get out of this press which is a 64 inch bow and cut the bottom off at that point, I also cut the top on a 45 deg bevel so the air hose ends wouldn't hit the press or interfere with the top going on, I could of ordered a longer hose but this one works with all my other bows so I didn't see any reason to spend more money on another hose 4 inches longer.

For now, we just reached a mile stone, it looks like it just might work . will it be a shooter? the next bridge we have to get to. Thanks for stoppen by

Have a good day, I need to go play for a while.
Any questions?

Aloha

[Txnrog]

Awesome thread! Certainly makes me wish I was a bit more handy.

Care to enlighten us on the story behind the reminder on the half made bow on the wall in the background?

[Ol Man]

Sticbow,

Hope you are gonna lay some cling wrap down before putting the hose on the glue up!

I did it once without doing this and had to get me another piece of hose!

By the way - great thread...many will try this one out for sure!

[Cottonwood]

Sticbow, this is so awesome to watch you do this step by step.

Mahalo Nui Loa

[bbs383ci]

thats awesome had to go back and see how you done the limbs got a little confused but i have it now looks like its gonna be a beautiful bow cant wait to see how your gonna shape the riser would love to do this one day

[bob sarrels]

Great thread and build along man. I appreciate this. Now folks will know why I have to charge the $$$ I do for a bow.

[darnobody]

sorry Bob... But he's making me want to try myself...

[darnobody]

Care to enlighten us on the story behind the reminder on the half made bow on the wall in the background?

Yea...

[atombomb]

Great thread and build along man. I appreciate this. Now folks will know why I have to charge the $$$ I do for a bow.

I think you're very reasonable for the work you do Bob... and I love my
3 bob bows, and have one I got from a guy for my wife now on the way..

Great follow along Sticbow.... great attention to detail...

[Tubby]

Awesome thread! Certainly makes me wish I was a bit more handy.

Care to enlighten us on the story behind the reminder on the half made bow on the wall in the background?

This ^^ "never ever forget"


and the saying you have on the chalkboard about

the last arrow shot is a memory
the next arrow shot is the future
now is when it counts, leave the ... "past behind"? can't see all of it, great motto!

[lbbf]

AMAZING work!

[bbs383ci]

i have a question the pieces you call tapers for the limbs i guess do they go all the way to the end of each limb and what kind of wood are they made out of.... aaaaand where are your getting your pieces of exotic wood from a guy i work with is wanting to make a poker table and hes wanting to make it out of some different wood to sell.

Thanks

[windwalker]

Great thread

[Greywolf in Hawaii]

Sticbow,

Hope you are gonna lay some cling wrap down before putting the hose on the glue up!

I did it once without doing this and had to get me another piece of hose!

By the way - great thread...many will try this one out for sure!

This is a dry run only (no glue) Just to see if the bow had any gaps in between the form and bow. When I do the glue up, then I pull the cling wrap up and over and roll it tight so all the glue is contained in the wrap. That's why I said it's be nice to have four hands, roll the wrap, hold the lam down in place, tape the lams down, keep the glue off me and keep it centered.


bbs383ci
I had a limb kit in the rafters I had from another bow from Binghams. the laminations are 2-3 sets of Paralells, and one set of tapers, which are ground so they are .100-.120 on the thick end and taper .001-.004 to the end. pending on what you order. a total thickness is used to determine the draw weight at a specific draw length. This is Also just a part of what you pay for when ordering a custom bow.

bob sarrels
Yessir, The amount of work we put into a bow is unreal, time,material, pride. If they only knew what the "real cost was per hour" they would buy 3-4 from you.

Txnrog

I designed that bow for a buddy of mine. It didn't work out friendship wise. So the words "Never ever forget" are to remind me, not to let anyone too close. That unfinished bow is 7 yrs old. Sad but true.

Tubby

It's my motto, sometimes I see guys walk along a shooting course still thinking about the shot 5 targets ago.
I'm glad I don't think about anything except, tripping over my own feet and just having fun and how I can mess with the guys at the next target.


bbs383ci

I use Red Elm in my bow laminations. I use to do footed risers, flat grained exotic woods under clear glass, and people wouldn't hunt with the bow in the field. They didn't want to scratch it or get a nick in it.

I make a hunting bow! I drop my bow, I pitch it out of the way to jump on a tree if a hog wants my arse for lunch.

But.. This is my choice to make them this way. and part of the reason why I don't sell my bows.
Bowyers who make great bows like Bob, trys like hell to make a living at it. I do it to relax. I have no time limits.

There are a few things that change weight big time, those are trade secrets. For the 15 yrs that I've made bows I keep a Bowyers journal, it has everything to do with that bow, good bad, what I wish I did, what I did that I won't do again, lams sizes..ect. and how I fixed the screw up if one happened.

For those of you starting out and want to build your own bows, let bob know what you want and $20.00, he'll tell ya what ya need

As far as exotic wood, I use west penns hardwoods in New York. They treat me right and have my business. there are a few places here that has hardwoods fo sale, just google it.

I hope all the questions got answered. Mahalo for askin.
If I get off work in time, I should be able to slather on some glue.