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Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: kenweldsit on April 14, 2009, 07:38:00 PM

Title: using store bought fiberglass cloth
Post by: kenweldsit on April 14, 2009, 07:38:00 PM

i was wondering if anyone here has ever used storebought fiberglass cloth for building a bow and what the ups and downs are
and if anyone uses west system epoxys for bow building i have lots of these available too me .

So i wonder if they are suitable for beginnig with without all the expense of buying what i have on hand?????  :knothead:     :help:

Title: Re: using store bought fiberglass cloth
Post by: Pat B on April 14, 2009, 11:56:00 PM

K.I.S.S!  You can build a wood bow without any fiberglass if you want to keep it simple.

Title: Re: using store bought fiberglass cloth
Post by: huntersteve on April 15, 2009, 01:53:00 AM

I have used the cloth fiberglass on several bows in the past....i used bowgrip 100 and Smooth-on epoxies....if you saturate the cloth f-glass with the epoxy it becomes transparent and you can see the wood grain thru it when it dries....Steve

Title: Re: using store bought fiberglass cloth
Post by: monterey on April 15, 2009, 01:08:00 PM

I just put the backing on a short kids bow using automotive repair fiberglass and some long cure kinda thin epoxy that came from a local hobby store.  This is a very light weight bow so it would not compare to an adult draw weight, but it came out pretty nice and like said above, you can see the wood grain through it.

If I do it again I'll use a boat builders grade of fiberglass mat and a better epoxy.

In the late '90's I built a bow for a guy who specifically wanted it built with West Systems epoxy.  It was a simple straight longbow from a Bingham kit with a draw weight of about 50#.  I used it to shoot at a local indoor get together before sending it off to him and it seemed to shoot nicely.  About a month after he got the bow he emailed me and said "don't make any more bows with it, it broke while my nephew was stringing it".  Not sure if the break was due to the West systems epoxy or his Nephews stringing style!  :)  

More importantly, the West Systems stuff had a very short pot life.  By the time I got it in the oven (and I rushed the lay up job) the epoxy remaining in the cup was very hot and way beyond being useable.  The short pot life itself is enough to make it incompatible with bow building.  The oven may not have been neccessary to the cure process but I used it anyway "cause that's the way it's done"  :D

Title: Re: using store bought fiberglass cloth
Post by: bigcountry on April 15, 2009, 01:37:00 PM

I think for now on, any kids bow I build will have the clear fiberglass boat cloth.  Just not worth it to me for my son to break a bow just to stay primitive.  

Me on the other hand, thats fine if my bow breaks into a million pieces.