Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: kenroehr on February 26, 2015, 02:46:05 pm
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Knowing that the industry's best for backing the limbs of a takedown recurve bow is the BO-TUFF fiberglass, are there any acceptable (albeit, not quite as good but close) alternatives?
Things I'm thinking of trying:
Gorilla duct tape
HVAC foil tape
dry-wall patch tape
Leftover muslin fabric
strips of tarp or casing to a folding chair or gym bag
Anyone ever have any success with those?
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Why would it being a take-down require any sort of special backing? Modern bows use fiberglass because that's what they are all made with, take-down or not.
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V thin bamboo.
But it's no good just considering the back, you need to match it to the belly.
Del
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What is your purpose for backing?
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Stay natural man boo hickory maple all work great
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Rawhide is goot too, incase you didn't notice as far as bows go we're just a bunch of bush hippies and like to stay as natural as possible :laugh:
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Why would it being a take-down require any sort of special backing? Modern bows use fiberglass because that's what they are all made with, take-down or not.
Take-downs that are made of wood have limbs that are also made of wood in 5 pieces that are kind of sandwiched: 2 thin laminates, a wedge in the middle, and the backing on both the back and the belly. The most modern, and most durable, backing is the bow-tuff fiberglass which is not that much thicker than duct tape or fabric.
What I like about this style of bow is that there's more artistic freedom. The riser just just a rigid block, so one can just epoxy a bunch of hardwood pieces together in an arrangement that will look beautiful once all the cutting, rasping, sanding and finishing is done. Then the limbs offer more options regarding the draw weight & length. It's just a matter of how their cut. The backing was my only concern
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V thin bamboo.
But it's no good just considering the back, you need to match it to the belly.
Del
Had every intention of doing so. Just exploring my options. Thanks for the tip. I got a guy around the corner who sells bamboo by the stalk. May give him a visit.
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What is your purpose for backing?
Same as for longbows, to keep the lams in the limbs from splintering (yet sandwiched on both sides of the limb as is the practice for takedowns)
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Stay natural man boo hickory maple all work great
I got a maple I'll soon be tearing down (digging up my sidewalk, which is a fine in my town). So I think I'll tell the Tree Surgeon to leave me the best pieces of wood. Thanks.
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Rawhide is goot too, incase you didn't notice as far as bows go we're just a bunch of bush hippies and like to stay as natural as possible :laugh:
I'd been meaning to try rawhide as backing for other types of bows too. I saw a blog of how to unravel one of those big dog bones. I'll give that a try. Thanks.
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You seem a bit misinformed as to what is necessary in bow construction. The multi lams are not a necessity.
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I've built quite a few three pc takedows, all wood except the bolts when i get home I'll pull up a pic