Bow Building

[InstinctiveArcher]

Ok, guys, so here's the issue. As on most first bow builds, sometimes you discover flaws in the form that need to be repaired. I did a dry run earlier this year in order to make sure that everything fit tight. Unfortunately, that was not the case during the actual glue up. As I was cleaning up the bow, I discovered a small gap in the laminations. As I continued sanding, this gap grew and grew, and I discovered a matching gap on the other side. If this was in the riser, I would not be to worried, but it is right on the end of the riser fades, where the most stress occurs on the bow. I'm not exactly sure how big the gap is, nor how strong it will be. I've talked to some other bowyers and they told me that they wouldn't trust it, but to go ahead and keep working extremely cautiously. I'm going to keep going, but I don't know if I'll get this bow to a shootable state.



Here's a closer look. The dark area is what I presume to be gap. Best case scenario is that it is just a build up of epoxy, which would at least mean that it's not entirely hollow in there. I have strung the bow and slowly drawn it without an issue and no crackling sounds, so we'll see.

[Buckkiller4]

cool. wow. amazing. how else can I put it? your bows are awesome.

[Longmann]

It indeed looks like a gap. Hope it won't cause any problems. Why did it happen, not enough pressure after putting a glue? Good luck with you work, it looks very nice so far. [emoji106]

[Tod1d]

Trenton, it looks like an air bubble in the epoxy. Looks like there are a couple smaller bubbles above it in the close-up shot.

Can you inject them with epoxy? You might find some small injectors / syringes at the hardware store. Or order them online.

[InstinctiveArcher]

Yes, I plan on filling the gaps with epoxy. I'll probably mix in a little sawdust for color. I was going to just use a toothpick, but I like the syringe idea.

I'm not sure if I lost pressure at some point, or if something just didn't sit quite right. It's very difficult to tell if everything is right once glued up since epoxy is squeezing out everywhere. I strung it up with no issues, so we'll see what happens.

[InstinctiveArcher]

[Buckkiller4]

Nice that's looks very good. I just needs to ask, how long until it's done.

[InstinctiveArcher]

Nice that's looks very good. I just needs to ask, how long until it's done.

Not really sure. I have the above mentioned issues to work on and then some limb straightening. As you can see in the picture, the upper limb is much stiffer than the lower so I will need to correct that as well. Then I need to start shaping the riser. I would say at least another month or two. I'm heading to a big archery expo this weekend where I can pick the brains of some other (and much more talented) bowyers.

[Radamus]

So looking at the photo Trent it was a matter of clamping better and that space should be closed. Did you make a form with the contour to hold the dimensions? I thought you did. So basically you've got an epoxy resin layer in there. The only thing that is worrisome is that air gap- I'd say that's stiffer than the intended dimensions right? The cool thing is, once you go through these kind of things, it will never happen again

Is there a practice of using full length contour clamping forms?

[InstinctiveArcher]

So looking at the photo Trent it was a matter of clamping better and that space should be closed. Did you make a form with the contour to hold the dimensions? I thought you did. So basically you've got an epoxy resin layer in there. The only thing that is worrisome is that air gap- I'd say that's stiffer than the intended dimensions right? The cool thing is, once you go through these kind of things, it will never happen again

Is there a practice of using full length contour clamping forms?

Yeah, what I'm think happened is that somehow I lost pressure in the pressure hose. The form was made with the correct dimensions. I ensured that by making a template and using a router to insure that it was consistent. If that air gap was just a bit further up the riser, it wouldn't be such a big deal. However, with it at the end of the fades, and like you say, being stiffer than wanted, I don't know what kind of issues I will have. I've had some other guys to finish it out cautiously and see what happens, and others tell me to just scrap. In all reality this will be the last bow that I build for a very long time, and I'm really hoping to try and save it. I'm sure there is no way I can build them while off at college, nor when I'm getting started afterwards.

Yes, using full length clamps is pretty much the standard process for building bows. Some people use lots of c-clamps, but a) that is normally on straight end longbows, and b) I don't have access to that many c-clamps.