Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: bjansen on December 21, 2008, 08:10:00 PM
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Hello all,
I have been working on this one for a while now and took quite a few pics on the way....so here comes a build along.
I have always wanted a greybark black widow recurve, and although I am sure they are worth every penny...I thought it would be great to try to save some money and build one that looks similar to it. So this is my most costly bow to date...but I think it really turned out well.
To start I took a blcok of grey coreflex superaction and laminated alternating red and white glass stips in the riser.
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics091.jpg)
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Here are the lams. Grey corflex superaction tapered lam, parallel lam, .030 white glass in between and then front and back .040 clear glass.
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics092.jpg)
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Glued up ready to come out of the form
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics093.jpg)
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(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics094.jpg)
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(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics096.jpg)
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If you can see in that above pic, the lams slid a little in the form so getting this tillered took a little more time. What I did was drew lines every ince all the way down both sides, measured from center. I then measured the thickness on each limb all the way down and sandeed to get them close (bottom slightly stronger/wider).
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics121.jpg)
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Glue on the overlays. I laminated a piece of glass in those as well.
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics118.jpg)
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(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics097.jpg)
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Ready to cut the shelf
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics129.jpg)
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics130.jpg)
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On the tip overlays, I used red glass, coreflex S/A wood and then white glass
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics123.jpg)
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(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics128.jpg)
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After a great deal of sanding
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics132.jpg)
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Coreflex superaction wood is an amazing product
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics131.jpg)
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with mineral spirits to check my finish sanding
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics141.jpg)
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Better make a string
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics125.jpg)
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(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics127.jpg)
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For the finish, I am using Thunderbird epoxy. The first coat I put on heavy with a brush to seal the grain. I let it dry 12 hours then sanded it out. It worked great. The remaining pics only have this one sealer coat on it...I still have to spray the remaining two coats. But as you can see...it sands great and produced a smooth finish even on coat #1. I have tried many other finishes (poly, tru-oil, Magnalac) and this is by far my favorite.
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics157.jpg)
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Braced...I still need to kick that brace height up a bit...in this pic it is at about 6
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics158.jpg)
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very cool...thanx!
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And drawn. I came across some Black Widow string silencers as well.
It came out a bit underweight...53# @ 28. I am making some dyed grey arrows to match and plan to hunt with this soon.
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/bjjanse/Greybark/Bowerpics160.jpg)
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Nice job!
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Two Words.......ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!
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looks really good to me brad !!!! keep it up brock
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That is sharp! Great job!
Tim
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Unreal, Brad! How much money do you have in it just in materials, and then in man hours?
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I am new to this site and trad achery but what is actionwood that is a nice looking bow.
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Well that is a good question...let me try to summarize below. Unlike the other bows I made, this one I purchased just about e/t so it cost me the most....(i.e. I sometimes make my lams/risers and that saves quite a bit). So here is the summary...almost e/t was from bingham projects
Coreflex Riser $32
Coreflex lams $30
Front back glass $40
Coretuff (interior glass strip) $9
overlays- free from scraps above
Thunderbird finish.....about $10
String and knock $3
Black widow silencers $8 (****)
Smooth on epoxy about $10
Arrow shelf...some fur scraps I obtained from Tandy leather...practially nothing $1
sandpaper/gloves/brushes and other misc shop stuff $5
So overall, it cost me about $150 in materials and as for man hours...i would say it took me about 25 hours
Try to build one!!!
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well I guess what i meant is What exactly is the Coreflex/superaction. or other "action woods"? Is it specially treated or what? is it synthetic?
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sorry i saw where you were answering someone else.
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Well, I am not sure what Coreflex means by itself or what Superaction means by itself....but I do know a coreflex superaction block of wood is basically 40-60 pieces of thin hard maple (sometimes dyed different colors) glued together. The result (as with any laminated product) is a stronger product than a solid piece. I dont buy it necessary for the stength but instead for the looks...everytime you sand through a layer you get a very nice simulatd woodgrain effect (which I really like).
If you check out the 3rd pic up you can see each layer i sanded through on the riser and the grain effect of it.
Therefore a coreflex superaction lamination is a lamination that consists of 40-60 pieces of wood side by side...the result again being a rather uniform bending, more stable lamination.
If anyone knows where to get this coreflex superaction wood...other than Bingham's riser block...I would love to know...thanks!!
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Very nice looking bow. And it is just the weight I like to shoot.
If it does not work out for you It can come my way for a TRY.LOL
Very nice job!!!!
DEATHMASTER
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Awesome looking bow!!!
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Rutland Plywood makes it, they call it Stratabond, besides Binghams, Ferodas archery sells it too.
I use it in almost all my bows, I love the stuff!
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Great job on a beautiful bow!
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I haven't used a lot of Coreflex superaction wood. Probably used it in 6 bows or so. I heard it is no longer made of maple but now birch. Does anyone know if this is true and can you tell the dufference in looks or performance?
Nice bow by the way. I really like the red glass laminated in the riser. Looks good with that gray action wood. Chad
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Chad, it is true, it is made from birch, as for looks, i don't see any difference, performance, i can't tell any difference BUT you will hear a lot of different opinions on that Harold
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Sharp looking bow, well done.
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nice bow and thanks for taking us a long on the build of it!!! Merry Christmas...BLM
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Nice lookin bow! Great job on her
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Looks great! Congrats!!
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Wow. Great Job. A beautiful Bow. Well Done
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Very Nice!!! :clapper: Wish I had that kind of talent.
Bill
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that sure is pretty! nice work