Who is up for a bow build-a-long?

[Horn chaser]

I am starting the process of making me a new takedown longbow and thought I would bring everyone along on the process I go through making a bow.

The bow I am about to make will have the influence of several bows out on the market now. To start with I am going to use the limb profile of an older Bob Lee Classic longbow that Rob Lee himself gave my uncle and his partner for guiding them on an Elk hunt a while back. I then plan on using a Striker takedown for the rest of the influence on this build.

Here are a pic of the bows I am using as influence on this bow I am building.

Bob Lee Classic 64" longbow



Striker takedown



What I am shooting for is a 60" bow that will have a 15" riser. The bow will have a width of 1 1/4" wide when done and the arrow shelf will be cut to center. Right now I am thinking I will use a .003 taper in the limbs with a tip wedge. That is subject to change but for the first bow should give me an idea of where to go from there. The results I am hoping for is a light weight bow that shoots fast, hard, and smooth. I think this combo should yield those results. I hope anyways.

When I am done building this bow and if it turns out good I am thinking about doing a pass along of the bow on here. I would love to get my fellow TBH traditional hunters opinions on the bow. So if there is interest on here I am up for it.

I don't know how long it will take me to build this bow as I build bows in my spare time when I am not working or have other things going on. So I could be done in a short time or it could take me a while. Either way I hope everyone enjoys the ride and hopefully I have built a nice design when done.

[dropem]

I'm in. I've been wanting to try building a bow for awhile now. Maybe this will get me started.

[Horn chaser]

I started out on this build by copying the limb profile of the BL classic onto a thin plywood board that I will use as the pattern for the bow. I didn't take a picture of making the pattern but here is a pic of the pattern cut out.



I then got my plywood board that I am going to use to make my form ready to glue together. I drew a light line on the top board so I have an idea of where the pattern is going to be so I don't accidently put a screw where I will be cutting the profile out at.



Putting the glue on.



Then screwed the two pieces together. I like to use plenty of screws when I am making my forms.




After I got the plywood together I screwed the patter to the form and drew a darker line. I then took a jig saw and cut about 1/8 above the line to cut the form in two pieces.





After I got the form cut out I reattached the pattern I made and got my router out. I use a patter bit on the router and follow the edge of the pattern to get a good smooth line.

[Horn chaser]

After I cut it out with the router I then check the form with a square to make sure the form is square. To me when building a bow this is the most important part of making the form. If the form is not square getting the limbs to line up and draw back without any twist is next to impossible. Luckily on this one everything is coming out good so far.



After I checked and made sure the form is square I then hit the edge with a sander lightly to get the profile smooth. Then I spray a light coat of primer on the form and look for any low or high spots that need more sanding. If I find a low spot I take some automotive bondo and use it to fill in the low spot. Some how I came out nice and smooth on this form so I didn't need to do any additional work to the form to fix the imperfections.



Now that I have the form smooth and square I glue a scrap strip of fiberglass to the top with a thin layer of smooth on glue.





This catches me up to the point I am at now in the build. I am going to let it set so the glue can dry before continuing on to the next step.

[Horn chaser]

I'm in. I've been wanting to try building a bow for awhile now. Maybe this will get me started.

You should give it a try. The one draw back is that building them can get addicting.

[bmc09]

I'm in. How many bows have you made??

[chackworth3]

I'm up for it!

ps- I got dibs on shooting it first...

[Horn chaser]

I'm in. How many bows have you made??

I have built around 20 bows or so. This is my first try at a 3 piece takedown.

I'm up for it!

ps- I got dibs on shooting it first...

I will let you shoot it after you spray the finish on it. You can be my full draw model.

[JHarrell89]

Cool.

[DesertDug]

In...

[KenWood]

In for it bud! I build bows too. Not the same kind though. I build Osage orange self bows. I call it Bodark. I've been wanting to try a lam but have no clue. Look forward to learning something. Glad I can catch a build along here. I usually have to go to trad gang or primitve archer. I'm exited!

[SwampRabbit]

I always things like this are pretty cool. In!

[SwampGhost]

I'm along for the ride

[Bisch]

This will be just another thing that will affirm for me that y'all bowyers can keep building bows, and I will just buy them from you!

I envy the work y'all do, but in no way do I have the patience to do it!!!

Bisch

[Hoggslayer]

I'm in.