Hickory Selfbow Build-Along

[Dano]

Man, you Mom is going to be mad when she goes to look for that sheet    What are you doing for a handle?

[kcdaniels]

What a great start    
How long have been into archery? I have a son that is your age and is a natural at archery but has no interest in it right now  :(  
 Keep posting your progress    

Dan

[George Tsoukalas]

Nice job. Keep up the good work. Jawge

[Eric]

New Guy: Hah don't worry, its just a ratty old sheet we don't use anymore.

Dano: Funny you should ask. I was thinking of using some leftover cherry and purpleheart, perhaps making a nice layer of hickory/purpleheart/cherry. The thing is I don't know the best way to do it. Should I use Titebond II or something better, like Gorilla Glue? And what about clamping...how tight and for how long?

kcdaniels: I've been into archery for about 2 years come this June. If you want to get your kid interested, just bring him down (or across, or up, haha) to MoJam. I garauntee he'll leave a happy man.


-Eric-

[SteveD]

Eric, Beautiful work. It looks like it is going to be a great bow. Keep up the good work.

[Eric]

Update!

I've finally finished all the gluing of the riser pieces. I opted for a relatively short riser, mainly because well, I felt like it. Haha.

Anyway, the middle is purpleheart, and the top is cherry. The glue-up seemed to go well, and all is well.

This weekend I'll start the tillering. (say a prayer that she holds together!)

Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

[Eric]

 

 

-Eric-

[Eric]

By the way, the handle isn't fully sanded and smoothed, but I did a little bit just to get rid of the file marks.

[cjones]

Lookin good so far Eric.      

[Dano]

Looks great Eric, I like wood combination. I'd be carefull about getting the bow to bend too close to the handle it may want to pop off, they'll be a lot of pressure on it at that point. It might have been better to cut the purpleheart about 8-10" and use it as the fade into the cherry. We watch in awe Buddy  

[clintopher]

I was thinking that about the handle as well.  I'm workin on my first r/d and the handle is starting to pop off.

Clint

[Eric]

Hmm...any suggestions to help keep it on?

[clintopher]

Try keeping the bow stiff in the fades and it shouldn't pose too much of a problem.  

Either that, or you could wrap it with sinew, thread, or whatever, or you could cut it off and put a longer one one.

Clint

[Gopherhunter]

How did you do the linen backing?

I have a hickory self bow about the same stage as yours prior to the backing and would like to do it the same.

Gopherhunter

[benzy]

I'm working on a hickory bow that looks alot like yours, short glued on handle. My third, latest, and I think final handle is black walnut. (yes the first 2 popped off.) The problem is exactly what the guy's above said, the bow wants to flex to close to the rigid handle. To stop this, I thought I needed more glueing surface, so I drilled it and glued in dowels. (no, not all the way through the bow. stop short of the back.) It seems to be working. If you need to replace the handle and you can make it longer and increase your fades, I would do that.

good luck.

Rob

[Eric Krewson]

I suspect you will have trouble keeping your handle on. Blunt cut handles just about always come loose. If you shape your handle like the one in the picture the fade out section can bend with the bow and is less likely to come unglued.

This a bow that the post office trashed for me, apparently ran it between two I beams on a fork lift. Broke the riser off but you can still see the taper to the fade out.

 

[Ironfist_Canada]

Try drilling at opposite angles Eric thats what I do its almost impossible for the handle to pop. Great job up to now. very nice.  John.

[Eric]

Gosh its been at least a week since I've touched the bow. I've been quite busy with school. I don't think I'll be getting to it till around the 18th. Quarter exams will be over then, and it'll be spring break!

Anyway, the backing process was quite simple really. I sanded the back down with a fairly fine, to medium grit paper. Then, I made sure the surface was fairly smooth, and washed (wiped with a damp cloth) the back down with acetone. This removes any oils and other things which hinder the glue-adhesion (is that even a word? lol). Since acetone quickly evaporates--and has a pungeant smell--I opened the windows in my shop to allow adequate ventilation. Once the acetone evaporated, I used a cruddy paintbrush, and applied a fairly thick layer of Titebond II to the back. I left that to sit for just two or three minutes. This allows the glue to slightly tack up. I then took my linen (which was pre-cut to a rough estimate of length and width) and applied it.

I started at the center of the back, and pressed firmly out to either side. Once this was done, I pushed out all air bubbles by running my finger along the back.

After this, I allowed the glue to tack up for another minute or two. I then used the same paintbrush to apply Titebond II to the back again. Only this time, the glue is on top of the linen. This will ensure that proper osmosis occurs, and a strong glue seal is present along the entire length.

I then waited for the glue to completely cure (roughly 24 hours), and used a sharp utility knife to cut off the excess. Since the fabric is taught and stiff from the glue, it's simply a matter of gently running the blade down alongside the bow.

Voila!


Now, about these dowels...are you saying I would drill opposite angles down into the handle, and into the bow (but not all the way through) and glue in dowels? If that will work...I'll be quite happy, because it would save me the work of another glue-up...

Would the angles look like this from a side view?:

__________________--/-----\\--__________________


...Where the back and forward slashes are the dowels, and the dotted lines are the handle?


Thanks,
-Eric-

[clintopher]

If drilling for dowels is the fix, I'd think the they should be lined up like this...

_______________--\\----/--________________

...that way they're opposing the bend of the bow.  That's pure speculation though, never tried it.


Clint

[Ky Headhunter]

You could try wrapping the handle on instead of gluing.  I did that with my first bow.  Didn't like the feel of the flat handle, so I carved out a "shaped" handle from another piece of wood.  Stuck it on with one drop of Duco in the middle, just to hold it in place while I wrapped it with leather lace.  Wrapped it good & tight, hasn't moved on me yet.  This way I don't have to worry about it popping off & maybe taking some of the bow wood with it.  

Looking back, it woulda been much easier (& better looking) if I'd used some wider, thin leather.  I'm thinking something about an inch or so wide, and just thick enough that it won't break when wrapping it tightly.