Building a new bow…

Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
57
Location
San Antonio, TX
I decided to build a new recurve to hunt with this year. I usually hunt with a longbow, but the anticipation for September is killing me. So, I decided to start a bow build to pass the time..

Here’s the start….
 

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OP
LightManSA
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Dec 16, 2012
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San Antonio, TX
Made a little progress. I think its going to turn out nice. This is the first set of limbs from this new form, so I had to take a guess at the “stack”.. I’m hoping it comes out around 55 to 60 lbs. However it turns out, it will give me a good reference stack to get closer on the next set..

I really like how this Maple Burl Looks. Both the limbs, and the Riser “Swing” are Maple Burls, but from different cut methods. The limbs show the “Quilt” figure, and the Block shows the “Eyes”.

Next I’ll work on limb overlays. When that’s in the glue, I’ll cut the riser limb pads.
 

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BryGuy

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Jun 25, 2021
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What kind of time do you put into a bow like that? I’m very interested but right now can’t commit the time and money for tooling, but someday…
 
OP
LightManSA
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Dec 16, 2012
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Building a bow can take 12 hours, or 120 hours. Since this one started from scratch, and the form had to be created, etc.. Its definitely longer. But a typical long bow is about 16-20 hours of the spare time I can spend on it. This being a Take Down bow, and. Recurve, adds a few additional steps.
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2019
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Looks like it’s going to turn out really nice. As a kid I used to make bows and always wanted to build a legit bow. When creating your jigs, are you going off of some specs or have you learned your measurements via trial and error? Looks like a fun winter project that my son would be interested in too!
 
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Upper Michigan
I decided to build a new recurve to hunt with this year. I usually hunt with a longbow, but the anticipation for September is killing me. So, I decided to start a bow build to pass the time..

Here’s the start….
Very nice. Do you use a bandsaw or router jig to cut those curves in the riser?
 

Btaylor

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Love the change in cut orientation on the maple. That is going to be a really good looking bow.
 

Geewhiz

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Now that is what I call a build!


I love seeing craftsmanship in stuff, keep the pictures coming.
No Kidding! I was expecting to see a guy bolting components onto a riser and calling it a "build". Guys that "build" arrows annoy me. Congrats to the OP on the undertaking. Looking forward to the finished product.
 
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No Kidding! I was expecting to see a guy bolting components onto a riser and calling it a "build". Guys that "build" arrows annoy me. Congrats to the OP on the undertaking. Looking forward to the finished product.

I love it.

Apparently you have missed my posts about arrow "builds"
 

zbb

FNG
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Feb 7, 2019
Messages
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I have a couple questions if you don’t mind. Do you have a flat ground on your wedges or are they straight tapers? Did you put any tip wedge in? Also are you using some heat tape instead of an oven?
I really like how the maple looks! Gonna look good!
 

Btaylor

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No Kidding! I was expecting to see a guy bolting components onto a riser and calling it a "build". Guys that "build" arrows annoy me. Congrats to the OP on the undertaking. Looking forward to the finished product.
Tried creating a finished wood arrow from a raw shaft including processing your own feathers from whole wings? There is some "build" to it imo. I do agree with you about gluing on some vanes and sticking a lighted nock in one end of a carbon shaft.
 

Geewhiz

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Tried creating a finished wood arrow from a raw shaft including processing your own feathers from whole wings? There is some "build" to it imo. I do agree with you about gluing on some vanes and sticking a lighted nock in one end of a carbon shaft.
Sorry if I was misunderstood, didnt mean to offend anyone and didnt mean to steal the thread. "Building" gets my respect and catches my interest, much like what you're talking about. There's a guy on here that built a self bow out of a stick from his property and killed a deer with it, awesome. However, assembling premanufactured components doesn't constitute a "build" in my book. Just a pet peave of mine.
 

Btaylor

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Sorry if I was misunderstood, didnt mean to offend anyone and didnt mean to steal the thread. "Building" gets my respect and catches my interest, much like what you're talking about. There's a guy on here that built a self bow out of a stick from his property and killed a deer with it, awesome. However, assembling premanufactured components doesn't constitute a "build" in my book. Just a pet peave of mine.
So the question is are you running arrows you built?:cool:

Sorry for my contribution to the derail. Back to waiting on more pics of that sweet maple recurve.
 
OP
LightManSA
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
57
Location
San Antonio, TX
Thanks everyone for following along.. I’ll add more..

Isitfallyet - It really takes some planning, and of course a sketch/ print lets you pre-view what you intend to create. The plan does evolve as you go through the steps, and its vital to record every change, if you ever want to design something repeatable. The more “knowns” you have, the easier it is to predict the limb stack to achieve the intended draw weight desired.

cedarsavage - I use a bandsaw with a jig that lets me cut the swing out of the corresponding blocks, then sand to a tight fit. I’ll add some pictures of the jigs in here along the way,,,

zbb - The limb wedges are flat cut and sanded to matching dimensions, then I use a jig on my table saw to cut the taper. It’s fast, and produces a consistent wedge…. For repeatable results, consistency is a necessity. It usually requires some additional sanding to get them to end as a feathered taper. No Glue Lines Allowed there..

I do not use a tip wedge on a recurve. The limb core laminations are tapered at the rate that I need to get them bending where it should. That part of any new design does come from trial and error(s)! These are each .001/inch taper bamboo cores, and .022 parallel maple veneers, and a .015 Stabil-Kore. If I dont like the “Bend” when completed, I will adjust the limb core taper rate to modify the area along the limb where the bend happens. The point is to store maximum energy and leverage, while moving the least mass. I’ll use G-10 under decorative layers for the limb tips.

Yes, I do use a stainless steel heat strip, not the “tapes” sold commercially. You can see the heat set up in the original post. It’s super simple, and no giant box taking up space. The real benefit from it is the layup is cured in less than an hour, rather than the 12+ hours a hot box requires.

*
The next steps are to cut the riser block for Limb Pads, Apply Limb Pad overlays. While that’s in the clamps, I’ll put the limb back in the form to glue on the Limb Tip, and Limb Bolt overlays under pressure.
 
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LightManSA
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Dec 16, 2012
Messages
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San Antonio, TX
I got the riser block dimensioned and true on the edge sander. I cut the riser block limb pads, then glued on the limb pad overlays to cure overnight. I cut and glued on the limb overlays for the bolt end, as well as string groove overlay. The next step is to use the drilling jig to drill insert holes in the riser for mounting the limbs. The rough-out is nearly complete. The next steps will be mounting the limbs, finding the dynamic center of the limbs, and then marking the limb width taper. Once that’s done… The Big step is sanding to shape. Thats when the final shape will start to reveal itself…. The hardest part of this whole thing will be the final sanding, and repeated sanding with ever smaller grit, to get it to the right appearance for spraying on the epoxy finish.
 

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Looking good. Lines are going to pop for sure. Great contrast. I use the same jig for drilling. 20 years ago I used the binghams jig what a pain getting squared


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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LightManSA
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
57
Location
San Antonio, TX
I took a break from weighing, sorting, packing and re-packing the gear for our AK Moose hunt coming up.. So, I had some time to make progress on the Recurve Project.

It’s now dimensioned, drilled limbs ready to mount. With it ready to assemble, I can use the bowstring and some tillering blocks to find the dynamic center of the limbs, and mark for sanding the taper. Once thats settled on, I’ll rough shape the back of the riser and glue on the back overlays. After that’s cured, I can final mark and drill out the throat of the grip…. From the Centerline of the grip, I will measure, mark, and cut the sight window.
 

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