Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Gordon on January 23, 2010, 08:34:07 pm
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Here is a bow that I made for a gentleman on the east side of the Cascades. Its bamboo backed Ipe with Osage power and handle laminations. The tips overlays are African Blackwood. Limb dimensions are 1” wide at the fades tapering to a little under ½” at the tips. The back is stained with black and brown leather dye. The bow is 68" ntn and draws 48# @ 28". The owner is new to archery and I wanted to make him a bow that would be easy to handle. So I made it a little long with a mild reflex/deflex profile. It holds about ½” of reflex at rest so it should be easy to string. The bow is stable and sends an arrow down-range with authority. I think he will like it and I hope you do.
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/JebsBow/jbsbow05.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/JebsBow/jbsbow02.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/JebsBow/jbsbow06.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/JebsBow/jbsbow01.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/JebsBow/jbsbow07.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/JebsBow/jbsbow08.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/JebsBow/jbsbow09.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/JebsBow/jbsbow10.jpg)
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Nice looking bow Gordon. Looks sleek and fast, he should be happy with it.
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kinda like giving a new driver a ferrari! ;)
another beautiful bow, Gordon!
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He should be happy with it as I know I would be :) Beautiful bow Gordon.
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Another beauty. Awesome!
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Gordon, that is a beauty! Steve
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A really fine bow - Ipe and Bamboo is just a fantastic combination.
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Sweet Bow Gordon...I like the Color Combinations between the Hedge and the Ipe...really sets things off
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Will you adopt me ????!!!! Maybe then I could learn to build bows that remotely resemble yours !! The fit and finish is always impeccable on your creations. They always provide tons of inspiration for me. I appreciate your posts - they show what CAN be achieved. This bow represents what I hope to someday achieve - world class.
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very fine bow, as allways.
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Thank you Justin. I hope he does like it as I want to trade something for it.
Thank you Rp, but this bow is hardly a ferrari. But it's not a clunker either :D
Thank you El, I really like the combination of osage and ipe.
Thank you Cooper. I agree, Ipe and bamboo are an excellent combination.
Thank you for the compliment Steve.
Thank you Dana.
Thank you Lombard.
What a nice compliment barebo, thank you!
Thank you woodstick!
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Very nice Gordon! I like the color contrasts in your dye job, as well as the profle and tiller. I am wondering what the draw weight and length are. It looks a little longer than most of your bows, I'm guessing 68 in or so.
Gabe
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Nice bow Gordon! Nice wood combination and your finish work is outstanding as usual. You sir are a real inspiration! :) -josh
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Thank you Gabe. I noticed I neglected to specify the draw weight and length. it is 68" ntn and draws 48# @ 28".
Thank you Josh.
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Very elegant! Wonderful work!
Frode
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Looks really nice Gordon. I like them long like that. I think you made the perfect bow for someone starting out because that length will make it more forgiving of shooting form and also more forgiving of abuse. Im sure he'll be happy. I would be.
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Glad you are having fun with crazy tropical wood Gordon. That is one of the prettiest I have seen..I think we will see a lot more osage and Ipe together on bows in the future ;D.
Rich
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Elegant is the word for. Great bowry and classic woodcraft. Bookmarked, too.
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Very elegant. And great contrast with the ipe and osage.
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Elegant IS a good word...great bow Gordon. If he's not happy with it I can send you my address... ;D
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Looks fantastic!
Great tiller profile...
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Fine craftsmanship as always. The wood combo looks really good. The new owner should be very happy.
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Another beautiful bow.It looks great.I really like your tiller shape on the RD. God Bless
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Smoooooooooth 8)
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I can't find the drool emoticon....that bow is absoutely gorgeous.
Did you steam bend the laminations, or bend it during glue up?
Goog
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Very nice Gordon, I'm sure he's going to be very pleased with it. Love the way that you did the osage power lam. It makes a very nice accent stripe. You sure are getting those laminate bows down and withthe Ipe I'msure it's a great shooter. Let me know what how it fits Him. Any Idea when your coming over this way?
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A work of art... as usual. ;D
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Just had to take another look, absolutely beautiful bow Gordon. ;) Are you going to make a match for the Mrs. or did she opt out?
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WOW GORDON,that is great...i love the wood and bamboo...thanks so much for sharing..john
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Fantastic work!!! I would love to here what your thoughts were on that power lam !! it looks like you are on to something thanks JEFF W
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Thank you Frode.
Thank you Jesse. These longer bows do seem to be more forgiving when shot.
Thank you Rich. I am enjoying working with Ipe, though I have a shopful of yew boards that I need to start working through.
Thank you Don. I appreciate the compliment.
Thank you Barage.
Thank you NTD. I will consider your offer if the owner is not happy with it :)
Thank you for your kind words Frank.
Thank you for the compliment Rick.
Thank you Pete. I think I'm finally beginning to get a feel for what an r/d profile should look like.
Thank you Saw Filer.
Thank you Goog. The refex was glued in on a form.
Thank you Keenan. I really hope he likes it. I expect I will be over in your area in the March time frame
I still need to make a self-bow for the Mrs. And I'm going to make some arrows so they have something to start with.
Thank you adb.
Thank you for the nice compliment John.
Thank you Jeff. The main reason for the power lam is to stiffen the handle area so the handle laminations won't work loose. A side benefit is that it creates a nice shape so I don't have to build up the front of the handle.
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Dad gone Gordon, as always I follow your work and strive to mimic your level of detail. Never reach it but one day.
How thick is your power lam in the middle? How long is it compared to past the fades?
I guess your past your bamboo blues?
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bigcountry,
Thank you for the compliment. The powerlam is about 5/16" in thickness, 18" long and extends 4.5" beyond the fades.
I believe the reaons for the previous bamboo failures is related to the way in which I cured the bow after a glue-up (i.e. too much heat for too long). I won't know for sure, however, until I make a few more of these.
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Well, I guess I was premature thinking I had my bamboo problems figured out. The backing failed as I was testing the bow on my tree this morning. Examining it closely I can't see any reason why it failed the way it did. But that's four in a row now. The only variable left is the bamboo itself. I'll discard what I have and order a new batch. And hopefully that will be the end of it. The only consolation is that I'm glad it failed now rather than later.
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Gordon, I started making mine a bit wider, I had a bunch of failures as well. I make a 60# ipe boo about 1 1/2 at the fades now sometimes 1 3/8. That was a beautiful bow you made and tiller was perfect, as long as you keep the outer limb narrow you won't loose any spped, actually I think you gain some because it doesn't break down as much durring tillering. Stay with it, nothing wrong with your work, Steve
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That seems like really good advice Steve. I think I will start making the limbs wider. That said, I'm still going to discard my existing cache of bamboo - I just don't have any confidence in it anymore.
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Gordon, I am sorry to hear that. Did the bamboo break or removed it from the ipe?
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The bamboo splintered along an edge. It's probably salvagable, but I can no longer give it to the intended owner.
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Man that really sucks. How far from the nodes did it fail? How rounded were the corners? How about some pictures of the failed boo. I don't know that we can figure it out, but it might be educational.
Don't throw away the boo, you might decide to use it as a belly piece where it wont fail under compression.
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Strange. That bow certainly was built well from the looks of it. ??? ??? I would get some new bamboo as well. Even though wider could be better 4 in a row is abnormal even if they were only an inch wide with a poor tiller. which they were not.
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Well, I guess I was premature thinking I had my bamboo problems figured out. The backing failed as I was testing the bow on my tree this morning. Examining it closely I can't see any reason why it failed the way it did. But that's four in a row now. The only variable left is the bamboo itself. I'll discard what I have and order a new batch. And hopefully that will be the end of it. The only consolation is that I'm glad it failed now rather than later.
Sorry to hear it. I feel responsible for some reason. Shouldn't have mentioned it.
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Justin, the splinter started just off the end of a power lam and stoped about an inch short of a node. The bamboo edges were trapped slightly and then smoothed so there were no sharp corners. I'll post some pictures later.
Bigcountry, obviously you are not responsible but your timing is remarkable. You may want to go out and buy a lottery ticket today. :)
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Always love how the tips delicately roll out in the full draw pictures; another beauty for everyone to admire.
Greg
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Wow Gordon, sorry to hear that, That was a great looking bow. I will second what Justin is saying, keep the bow for belly lams. If the splinter is on the edge would it be possible to work that part out and make it a bow for a lady?
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I really feel your pain, Gordon. :'( As I've mentioned before, bamboo is not in my arsenal of options anymore, for the very same reasons you're experiencing.
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Justin, the splinter started just off the end of a power lam and stoped about an inch short of a node. The bamboo edges were trapped slightly and then smoothed so there were no sharp corners. I'll post some pictures later.
I figured you had it good, I just wanted to know exactly how you did it. I do it different than most.
I don't know what caused it for sure, but I have had similar issues with boo and hickory. It seems as though I had it bending well, then when I transitioned to non bending I think it was too abrupt of a change. It was like the boo was still trying to bend, but the belly didn't want to so it popped. I decided it was putting too much stress on the fulcrum point. Of course, just because I decided that was my problem doesn't make it so. ;)
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It's possible that's what happened Justin, but I'm careful to make the limbs bend through the powerlam transition right up to the fade. Maybe there was a weak spot in the backing at the point of failure - I don't know.
Keenan, I think I'll grind off the backing and replace it with a strip of Tonkin bamboo. I hear that stuff is pretty tough. I hope so...
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That is a gorgeous bow Gordon. I'm sorry to hear about the boo failure. I have had my run with bad luck here lately also. I'm doing the same thing you are and ordering some more boo... from a different source.
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It's possible that's what happened Justin, but I'm careful to make the limbs bend through the powerlam transition right up to the fade. Maybe there was a weak spot in the backing at the point of failure - I don't know.
Keenan, I think I'll grind off the backing and replace it with a strip of Tonkin bamboo. I hear that stuff is pretty tough. I hope so...
You would think. I had a Tonkin backing fail on me a few years ago, the belly was IPE
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Gordon I'm so sorry to hear about the failure!
It was such a beautiful bow!
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After taking off the existing backing I no longer think it was the bamboo that failed. It appears to have been a glue failure. I had the limb clamped at that spot so maybe I had it too tight and starved the joint. At any rate I have a piece of Tonkin worked down and ready to glue on. Hopefully I can salvage this bow.
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I hope you can salvage it too. What kind of glue did you use?
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I used Urac. I never had a problem with Urac before, but upon close inspection I'm fairly certain the failure resulted from a delamination.
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Eww. Sorry Gordon. I've only done two laminates but have used TBIII. Everytime shot them for the first few hundred shots I was paranoid about a delam explosion...
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Got her tillered today. I'm pleased with how she's turning out. The new bamboo is holding fine and the bow doesn't lose a bit of reflex after shooting. :) This tonkin is pretty good stuff. Next up is a week of torture testing. If she makes it through that intact, we're good.
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Good to hear it worked out that way...
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Way to keep at it Gordon.