Takedown selfbow plans

[razorsharptokill]

Anyone have any or advice they could give?

[PEARL DRUMS]

I would advise you to not make one unless you truly need a take down. The sleeves are very quirky to get right and they change with the weather in regards to how they fit together and come apart. And quite frankly, cold, hard and uncomfortable.

[Eric Krewson]

I tried one with commercial metal sleeves, a real pain to fit the sleeves and I do a lot of inletting parts on flintlock rifles. I violated a grain on the osage right at the edge of the sleeve, didn't think it would matter being non bending and all, thats where she blew.

No more takedown sleeves for me.

[razorsharptokill]

Hmmm. Good info. Clay Hayes at twistedstave.com has a nice design that uses fiberglass cloth for the handle and female portion of the joint. Sounds awful but it actually turns out nice with a leather grip stitched around it. I was considering a takedown for my antelope hunt next year. Easier to fly with.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I'd use Clays method, but I wont ever touch the metal version again.

[PatM]

 A lot of people have switched to the glass/carbon type.  It's much more user friendly.  There was an article on this in  a '98 issue of the mag.

 You can see videos on how to do it on youtube. 

[DLH]

What about a 3pc? They look like a lot of work too. I’ve seen mention of hinge bows too haven’t seen one but they sound interesting.

[Jim Davis]

I make mostly takedowns, because  it's an easy way to splice billets. I use seamless steel tubing and epoxy one limb in permanently and wax  the inside tubing on the other before  epoxying the second limb in place.

I cut a small notch in the steel of the detachable end and drill and drive a brad through the notch into the wood. I DON'T violate the  grain on the back and have made bows up to #45 in a 1" ID tube.

[PEARL DRUMS]

What about a 3pc? They look like a lot of work too. I’ve seen mention of hinge bows too haven’t seen one but they sound interesting.

I made a 3 piece. The biggest problem was bow length. I made a riser that is as short as it can be and my bow is still 70" long for a 28" draw. The cool part is I can bolt up glass limbs or self limbs to the same riser.

[Mo_coon-catcher]

Big Jim has a video series on YouTube going over how to make the glass take down sleeves. He trusts them enough to offer them on his commercial bows. I’m pretty sure he has used them on bows into the 90# range. I’m working on a hickory takedown with one of those sleeves right now. Though I made one  simple mistake and had to make a retention pin for while it’s together. In my picture where the arrow points should be a flat parallel section, instead of tapering to the end of the sleeve. Because of it being billets and I don’t do these often. I didn’t think about it. So the antler retention pin keeps the halves from sliding apart under tension. Oh, and 5 min epoxy works and is JUST enough time o get a couple wraps of glass on before it thickens. Definitely go with the 30 min is my opinion, that gives plenty of work time.

Kyle

[DLH]

What about a 3pc? They look like a lot of work too. I’ve seen mention of hinge bows too haven’t seen one but they sound interesting.

I made a 3 piece. The biggest problem was bow length. I made a riser that is as short as it can be and my bow is still 70" long for a 28" draw. The cool part is I can bolt up glass limbs or self limbs to the same riser.

I thought you mentioned you had made one talking to you at Marshall. Never thought about it but the typical 8in handle would be too short for a riser? I would like to attempt one sometime but have been on a kick lately of exploding bows in my garage. What do you think about the hinge bow? Ever seen one?

[PatM]

There was a hinge bow posted on here a short time ago.

[Selfbowman]

My hunting bow has a bow bolt in it. It popped apart on the top end of the handle so I glued it back together. Took a bit of wood off then wrapped it with electric fence wire in bed of epoxy. Still going strong. Arvin

[razorsharptokill]

Clay Hayes takedown. Very similar to Big Jims design.

https://youtu.be/uSuCBBu0ApI

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uSuCBBu0ApI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[bownarra]

Big Jim has a video series on YouTube going over how to make the glass take down sleeves. He trusts them enough to offer them on his commercial bows. I’m pretty sure he has used them on bows into the 90# range. I’m working on a hickory takedown with one of those sleeves right now. Though I made one  simple mistake and had to make a retention pin for while it’s together. In my picture where the arrow points should be a flat parallel section, instead of tapering to the end of the sleeve. Because of it being billets and I don’t do these often. I didn’t think about it. So the antler retention pin keeps the halves from sliding apart under tension. Oh, and 5 min epoxy works and is JUST enough time o get a couple wraps of glass on before it thickens. Definitely go with the 30 min is my opinion, that gives plenty of work time.

Kyle

Take the 'end' off your female part. This method is very good but Jim (and every other glass bow maker) puts a grp I-beam in every riser. The Ibeam is strong enough by itself and is not cut into during shaping/cutting out the sight window. Bear this in mind.
The parts should definitely NOT slide apart when the bow is braced.