Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => HowTo's and Build-a-longs => Topic started by: Roger on November 18, 2006, 08:19:04 pm
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I thought some of the new bowyers might be intrested in seeing how two billets are spliced together at the handle.
Wood billets are so much easier to obtain good clean wood from, but a lot of folks will not or cannot utilize them because of the splicing that's needed. Done properly, it is as strong as a single piece of wood and can have many advantages. You can also induce reflex or deflex right out of the handle which can be an asset depending on the design of the bow. "sister" billets will have the same density and characteristics on each limb most of the time unless you happen to have reaction wood, which is a different topic altogether... ;D
Ok...lets get started. First get the desired billets (tree stave or milled lumber) and make a surface parallel to the intended back of the bow nice and flat for about 8-10" however the thickness of the billets are. For this tutorial I'm using lumber so I don't have pics of the raw stave type...sorry. What this does is allow the cuts for the splice to be 90 deg to the back of the bow so the splices fit together neatly.
Now you need to prepare your template. I use the sticky peel off mailing labels. The adhesive peels off easily and without residue and they are cheap. Take a ruler and mark off (2) 1" X 4" rectangles as shown. Draw off the division lines and connect the marks as shown.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/Sparky59/Lemonwoodsplice5.jpg)
Cut the templates out with scissors. You should have two templates that look like this.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/Sparky59/Lemonwoodsplice4.jpg)
Now take you billets and strike a center line to line up the handle to tips. Peel off the label and align the marks with the centerline you made and stick it down.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/Sparky59/Lemonwoodsplice3.jpg)
Check to make sure you have oriented them correctly by holding them end to end (been there and done that... :D)
Now go to your band saw and cut to the lines of your template. This is what you should have when your done. You can fine tune with other tools if needed to get a proper fit. If your good with a band saw they usually come out pretty close.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/Sparky59/Lemonwoodsplice2.jpg)
Now, stick them together and and check your fit. Now all that is needed is some good glue and your ready to go.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/Sparky59/Lemonwoodsplice1.jpg)
If your fit just doesn't want to go right...you can boil the ends for about 30 min and clamp them together for a tighter fit. Let them dry clamped for at least 3-4 days and completely before gluing together.
Hope this helps some one utilize some of the good bow wood that can be found as billet material. It's not hard to do. After you have done a few you'll be using wood you never thought possible.
Take care...
Roger
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Nice tutorial, Roger. Very informatve. Jawge
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Thanks Jawge...hope someone can get some use from it ;D
R
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You bet. I know I will. Jawge
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Hey Roger -You tricky guy-GREAT THREAD-very simple- wish you were around when I started.When I think of the wood I passed up because I didnt know how to splice billets makes me sick nowdays- of course when I started I dont think bandsaws or hand saws were invented yet-ha-ha-ha--bob
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Thanks Roger, I'm going to cut a whole bunch of mulberry that is only about 4-5 feet. I figure it will make a lot of good billets but not much for staves. Now if you can just teach me how to cut a straight line with my saw. Justin
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Thanks Bob...don't tell me ya was hackin them bows out with flint tools while the dinosaurs was roamin around was ya... ;)
Good deal Justin...Mulberry makes awesome bows. Glad it helped.
R
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Very nice Roger, Just the kind of thing this site needs.
J. D.
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Good post Roger, most spliceing is used on billets but it is still a valuable tool for boards as finding a board with 3 ft of straight grain is easier than finding a board with 6 ft. I normally use the z plice but may try your splice next time. Got a couple of osage billets sitin right next to me waiten to get spliced. Steve
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Steve, I like the "fishtail" better than the "Z" because I find that any tip alignment problems at glue up are easier to adjust if using "tree stave" billets. It also gives a bit more glue line in the splice. The ones in the pics were actually decrowned Lemonwood billets I got from Jim Fetrow years ago. Finally got around to doing something with them... ;D
R
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I did a couple of lemonwood bows earlier this year, I was expecting the wood to be denser and heavier than it was, not sure if mine was from cuba or mexico, I understnd their is a big difference. Steve
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Cool Steve. What design did you use with them? I'm thinking flatbow, 67" long 1 1/8" wide 2/3 the limb length with a straight taper to the tips. I have some killer Boo' but was thinkin hickory might be a better choice for the backing. These seem very dense with no noticable growth rings.
R
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ttt
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Just used this thread to make my first, went great! Thanks Roger....Brian
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Hi all,
I have a question regarding spliced Staves that has been bothering me for a while now:
Do you use spliced staves for selfbowa also or only for backed bows?
It seems to me that the splice in a selfbow will have to resist a lot of stress.
Any experience?
Greetings
Radon
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Radon I have never spliced billets yet, but from my onderstanding folks splice em
together all the time for a selfbow. A properly made and glued splice should be stronger than
the wood itself.
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Its really great when you have had a few bows blow. You can splice the two good limbs together. Justin
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Cool tutorial. not as scary as I anticipated. Now I know how to utilize the plum in my yard! Do you pin or dowel the splice point?
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I use them in selfbows a lot,Gray Davis who showed me how to splice did over 100 last year for selfbows,he said he had never had one fail.I know I haven't out of maybe 10 bows that were spliced. :)
Pappy
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thanks for the post, I like the idea of drawing out the design on paper insead of measuring on the billets. I also like to drill through the splice from the side and insert a hardwood dowell for added strength. Radon, it wouldnt matter much unless the bow is bending in the handle, even then, the splice is really strong. this splice is also nice because you can induce reflex into your bow. thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Jawge...hope someone can get some use from it ;D
R
Sorry for the late post, but i know ill use this because its hard to get decent wood in my neck of the woods, and gstoneberg knows that LOL hes used google maps to look my address up and if i say end of the road i means it lol
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I tried this method when it first posted and still use it today when I splice. Although, I really like the technique that Mark St. Louis used in an article in PA a couple(?) years ago.
Tracy
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Two questions about splicing. Do you use 1" x 4" splices regardless of the width of the billet? When you make a stiff handle, the block is glued to the spliced area before any shaping is done, don't the cuts to shape the handle run into the glue lines and is that necessarily a problem?
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I used this method and work awsome thanks for posting
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Do you pin them with a wood dowel and glue?
We make self bows on thursday nights. One of the guys who has made many self bows had a HH bow and an osage bow break so he splice the two good limbs together. He is still working on that one. Your thoughts, is it going to work?
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Glad to see you knocked the dust off Gutshot. This was a helpful post and the one I was talking about at Moontree. No need to peg it . I used titebond 3 on a splice and it's still shoots.
Tracy