WoodBow
WKR
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2015
- Messages
- 1,932
Some of yall have seen my thread transforming and ilbe pack into something resembling a kifaru. The existing stays were not long enough to provide good load lifting. They also were not very stiff. I would really have preferred aluminum due to its adjustability, but i dont know anywhere local that sells 6061 pr 7075. I also assume it would cost $20+ for enough of it. Therefore i decided to make some composite stays. I have made bow limbs so i saw it as a less critical version of that. I already had a bunch of maple so thay was my hardwood of choice. Rather than make 2 separately, i decided to make one wide one and rip it in half. I made it 2 1/8" wide. The 1/8" is to compensate for the saw kerf. No need for super precision so i made the form put of a 4x4 ripped down to 2 1/8". I laid out the profile, cut it out with bandsaw, then sanded it smooth with the spindle of an edge sander. I faced it with some 1/8" cork sheet to smooth any subtle variations. I ripped the maple to a little over 1/16" and ran it through the drum sander to remove the saw marks amd burning from using a dull blade. I wasnt worried about them being perfect. Its not a bow limb.
I looked into carbon fiber "tape". You can get it from us composites for less than 3$ a yard. But i didnt want to pay shipping and wait for it. So i bought some fiberglass cloth from walmart. Rigid fiberglass or carbon would be easier to work with but this was readily available.
I used smooth on epoxy that is used for bow limbs because its what i had. The fiberglass resin walmart sells would work fine but that stuff sets fast and i didnt have any on hand. I used an excessive amount of epoxy to impregnate the cloth well. I did 2 layers of fiberglass on both sides and 4 pieces pf maple in the middle. Press amd seal wrap keeps ot drpm sticking to the form amd pressure strip. Aluminum was used as a pressure strip to distribute pressure. It cooks for 4 hours at 180 in the bow oven.
I looked into carbon fiber "tape". You can get it from us composites for less than 3$ a yard. But i didnt want to pay shipping and wait for it. So i bought some fiberglass cloth from walmart. Rigid fiberglass or carbon would be easier to work with but this was readily available.
I used smooth on epoxy that is used for bow limbs because its what i had. The fiberglass resin walmart sells would work fine but that stuff sets fast and i didnt have any on hand. I used an excessive amount of epoxy to impregnate the cloth well. I did 2 layers of fiberglass on both sides and 4 pieces pf maple in the middle. Press amd seal wrap keeps ot drpm sticking to the form amd pressure strip. Aluminum was used as a pressure strip to distribute pressure. It cooks for 4 hours at 180 in the bow oven.
