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Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: bjhaug on April 08, 2009, 07:47:00 PM

Title: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjhaug on April 08, 2009, 07:47:00 PM

I've got some 2x2x24 Gabon Ebony that I'd like to glue together to make a riser for a take-down recurve.  I may inlay it with something, I dont know yet.  Limbs are Cocobolo.  Anyway, has anyone done this, or heard of doing this and more importantly, can I get away with it to the extent that it's not going to break, (causing me to cry like a child  :banghead:  ).

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: snag on April 08, 2009, 11:07:00 PM

The guy who is teaching me just finished a one piece recurve that is gaboon ebony with an inlay stripe. It looks great. When you do the fade outs I would think you will have to be reeeaaaaal careful!

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: Blkbird on April 12, 2009, 05:46:00 PM

Wear a respirator!!!

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjhaug on May 07, 2009, 08:36:00 PM

Ok, so here's what I'm gonna do.  I'll try to get a build-along going when I get there, but the plan now is to foot the riser with some lacewood.  I'll take pictures as I go and post them when the bow is finished because this may take a while haha.

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: Apex Predator on May 07, 2009, 09:30:00 PM

I look forward to this one!

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjansen on May 07, 2009, 10:10:00 PM

Me too, love that Gabon ebony!  clean it well!

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjhaug on May 10, 2009, 07:52:00 PM

Got a little bit of work done today on the bow.  Unfortunately my camera has a dead battery and just wont charge, so I've been taking pictures on my phone haha.  Hopefully they'll transfer well onto the computer.

Here's what I decided.  As I said, I'm footing some Gabon Ebony with Lacewood and using a Padauk accent strip.  Right now it's cookin in the hot box!

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjhaug on May 19, 2009, 10:54:00 PM

Ok, I've never posted a pic so lets try this out:

 (http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt338/BJHaug/PICT0001.jpg)

Drawn out on the 2 x 4 x 24 Gabon Block

 (http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt338/BJHaug/PICT0002.jpg)

Gettin ready to take'er over to the bandsaw.

 (http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt338/BJHaug/PICT0003.jpg)

One cut

 (http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt338/BJHaug/PICT0004.jpg)

A good fit

 (http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt338/BJHaug/PICT0006.jpg)

Lets fast forward a bit.  Got the bottom in now.

 (http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt338/BJHaug/PICT0007.jpg)

This is a Bingham's riser design.  Notice the bulky site window.

 (http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt338/BJHaug/PICT0008.jpg)

A little modification.

More to come!

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: Apex Predator on May 20, 2009, 05:36:00 AM

Wow!  Keep them coming!

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjhaug on May 20, 2009, 10:28:00 PM

I have to apologize for the quality of the pictures.  As I said, my camera is dead so these are coming by way of my phone haha.  

If you're wondering why I dont have pictures of the limbs in this post, it's because one of them exploded.  Complete delamination.  It was a fantastic explosion.  So I'll have to remake the limbs now to fit this already formed riser.  Pictures will follow when that happens.

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjhaug on May 23, 2009, 01:51:00 PM

Wont be able to work on it until probably next week, so hopefully by the weekend, I'll have a shooter, less a few coats of linseed oil.

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: rkmnt2 on May 25, 2009, 07:17:00 AM

Lookin good so far. Next time try to get us some video footage of the explosion. Sounds exciting! lol

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjhaug on May 25, 2009, 09:58:00 AM

You know, it was one of those type of things where I heard it blow, but I was not in any hurry to look up and see what had happened because it sounded like it ripped my whole tiller tree off the wall!

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjhaug on May 30, 2009, 05:34:00 PM

Alright, here we go:

 (http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt338/BJHaug/PICT0003-1.jpg)

 (http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt338/BJHaug/PICT0004-1.jpg)


The riser actually failed.  Yes, it failed.  It delaminated right at the top of the site window.  Currently it's under going surgery to save it because A) I'm really happy with the way it turned out and B) it's really expensive.  

So I've got some epoxy down in the crack - it was open enough to see through it so I could get some down there, and I've also drilled into it and ran a #14 wood screw into it so hopefully that'll hold it.  I countersunk the screw so I can fill the hole like it never happened.

Otherwise, that's all for now.

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: bjhaug on May 30, 2009, 07:19:00 PM

Well, it's over now.  I tried to fix the crack - I did everything I could, but ultimately it failed in about 4 places.  The fix just re-distributed the forces to the other areas.

It stinks too because I had some $$ in it, not to mention about 60 hours or so, but hey, live and learn.  It was a good learning experience, and for the time being (before it broke) it was fun to shoot.  Specs were 79lb @ 28, 58" ntn.

Title: Re: Gabon Ebony Riser?
Post by: tim roberts on May 31, 2009, 05:15:00 PM

That is a great lookin bow!  Too bad it didn't make it  :(  .