Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Swissbow on May 01, 2010, 04:44:00 PM
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After I finished my first recurve my daughter Caroline also wanted to have one like that. She asked me to build her a 'real' bow. As soon as I got the actionwood from Kenny she was really giving me a hard time. So here we go...
First we start with cutting out the riser...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5010591.jpg)
... work it with the rasp...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5010594.jpg)
... and the drum sander...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5010595.jpg)
... until it perfectly fits the bow form.
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5010596.jpg)
That's all for today, there will be more soon. It was a real pleasure to work with Caroline, she wanted to do everything by herself and I had to give her only very little guidance and help.
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Andy
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Looks like a good bowyer in progress, Andy!
Nice to see young folks interested and kudos on the safety equipment! :thumbsup:
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Tremendous post!
Stan
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Very nice.
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awesome!
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Very Cool. Makes all of us dads happy to see that. Thanks for sharing.
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Great to see the enthusiasm, look forward to seeing the progress.
TBKII
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awesome! That has to be a proud parent moment.
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Ok, here we go again. Before we finish the fades of the riser piece we will prepare the glass and the lams. Caroline is covering the glass with masking tape, to prevent them from scratching...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0069.jpg)
... after that it's time to grind the splice on the lams...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0070.jpg)
... and glue them together with CA superglue...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0071.jpg)
Tomorrow we will glue it up... d:-D
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Andy
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Cool. Homemade spindle sander, Andy? Fun to see kids with healthy hobbies. My son who is 12 years old, follows me like a shadow when I'm in the shop ...
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That is GREAT~ I wish I had gotten started that young.
pete
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Very nice to see a young person willing to work with her Dad...wish my kids would have been more willing. Way to go!
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Good as it gets. :)
That will be a special bow for many reasons for both of you.
well done Caroline, and Dad
Pete
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Ok, here is the next episode. First Caroline is grinding the fades of the riser on the drum sander. With a piece of wood she supports the h a fades, so they can't break off.
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5090602.jpg)
the result is looking good... :-)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5090605.jpg)
Now we lay out all the lams and the glass, clean them with acetone and we are ready for glue up...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5090609.jpg)
First we laminate the camo strip to the back glass. Apply a lot of epoxy and make sure that the linen is completely soaked with it...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5090613.jpg)
... and now we laminate the rest of the bow together...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5090618.jpg)
... apply the rubber bands...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5090619.jpg)
... and it's done !
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5090624.jpg)
Yeah, gimme five ! Apply a few more rubber bands and all we can do now is wait.
I really love those moments with Caroline. It's is great if you can share your passion with the ones you love.
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Andy
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Looking great!Good job Caroline, and Dad!
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Took it off the form today and had a quick look at the camo and the lams. It's glued up nicely, the glue lines look good and there are no bubbles under the glass.
Caroline wanted a 'Safari'-style bow, so we added a leopard camo under the back glass.
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5100628.jpg)
Together with the desert camo riser and the honey locust lams on the belly this is really a lovely wood combo...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5100630.jpg)
Caroline already wanted to continue with the bow but I had to remind her not to forget school and homework...
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Andy
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Today I sanded the limbs of the bow. Since I didn't want to expose Caroline to the glass dust ( not even with a good dust mask... ) I did this afternoon while she was at school. Cleaned off all the excess glue...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5120633.jpg)
After that I started to sand the limbs. It's coming along nicely, the draw weight is still a few pounds to heavy for her but with all the sanding that lies ahead that's just fine.
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/P5120636.jpg)
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Andy
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awesome man, thats gonna be a great bow for her. wish my son was that interested in the process,lol.
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That is so good for the two of you. A project you will never forget.
Great looking bow so far, too.
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Thanks guys for the kind words. Caroline and I really enjoy our bow project so far. But now I have a problem that is the lower limb has a slight twist. I have tried to get rid of it by sanding the edge of the limb but it didn't work. I have also checked the form and it's in perfect right angle, but I still have that twist. Are there other ways of correcting that ? Is it possible to bend back the limb by applying some heat with hot water or maybe a heat gun ?
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Andy
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Everything I read on twisted limbs in recurves said Hot water, I would think that a heat gun would be to hot. I also don't have a clue as to twist during a glass build.
Just a thought.
Stiks
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I've used a hair dryer from a distance of about 12 inches to warm up the limb.
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I will try with a hair dryer. I don't like to use hot water because the bow is not finished yet and the wood of the limbs is not sealed and I'm afraid the wood might soak up the water.
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Andy
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Remember to only warm up the limb not get it hot. You should be able to touch it when it's warm.
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I tried with a hair dryer and it worked out pretty well. Like you said I only warmed the limb a bit so that I could bend it back with bare hands. Thanks again, Jason !
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Andy
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I'm glad it worked! Cool bow.
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Ok, it's time to continue with Caroline's bow. After shaping the limbs we glued the tips and shaped the roughly.
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0074.jpg)
Then we started shaping the riser...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0092.jpg)
...the colors of the desert camo actionwood are perfect for a girl bow...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0091.jpg)
...until it perfectly fits the hand of Caroline...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0093.jpg)
Hope we can finish the riser and the overlay that weekend and after that a lot of sanding lies ahead of Caroline.
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Andy
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What a great sense of accomplishment Caroline will have when the bow is complete and what a great sense of accomplishment you will have in her! Very cool father/daughter colaberation! Can't wait to see the finished bow and the proud owner/builder at full draw!
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Went shooting the bow with Caroline for the first time that weekend. The bow is a few pounds heavier than her last bow, but she got used to it quickly and she's really happy with it.
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0101.jpg)
Actually I intended to finish the bow that weekend but Caroline wanted to shoot it, so the overlay is still not done yet. But hey, if we're not doing it today, we are going to do it tomorrow... d;-)
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Andy
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:clapper: Cool bow. Guess you both are proud.
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Very cool. Caroline has great form. She looks like Diana the archer!
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Very nice thread Andy..
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Great job!
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Thanks guys for the kind words. Caroline is very excited about her bow and this post. She asks me all the time if there are any new comments.
So here we go for another step in the making of her bow. First we sand the back of the riser on the drum sander until its square and flat...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0110.jpg)
After that we glue the white and red phenol and fix it with c clamps...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0116.jpg)
It almost looks like an olympic recurve bow with the stabilizing rods... ;-)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0115.jpg)
All we have to do now is wait until tomorrow till the glue has cured completely...
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Andy
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You guys make a great team the bow look fantastic.Makes for great memories. :thumbsup:
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Looking great Andy and Caroline!
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Nice bow Caroline! :clapper:
You have a good helper too! :p
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Ok, we are moving towards the finishing line with this project. The glue has cured and the phenol strips are glued on the back of the riser...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0134.jpg)
With a rasp we start shaping the overlay...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0136.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0138.jpg)
After that we round the edges of the overlay...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0140.jpg)
... until Caroline is happy with it.
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0144.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0147.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0150.jpg)
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Andy
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beautiful bow, you guys did a great job.
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Can't wait ot see the finish sprayed on!!
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Beautiful bow, great job.
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cool stuff, andy! my full respect on that!
greets
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looking great! neat idea with the limbs
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beautiful bow, you guys did a great job.You couldnt have picked a better color.Love the limbs!
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We started apply the finish. Caroline is very happy with the way it turned out. All that is left to do for her is sign the bow and apply 2 more coats of finish and she's ready to go...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0153.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0154.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/IMG_0155.jpg)
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Andy
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Very Nice. Great job
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Fantastic! Thanks for posting. Congradulations Caroline, very impressive.
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Ok, here are the pictures of the finished bow. Caroline is very happy with it, because now she owns a 'real' bow.
Went shooting it the other day and I'm very pleased with it. It shoots almost as fast as the wango tango I did some time ago and it has approx 12lbs less draw weight. So there has been some minor improvement from the first to the second recurve.
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/1.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/2.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/3.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/4.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/5.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/6.jpg)
We both had a good time during this project and it was a real pleasure to see how much she wanted to do all the work her self. I have already some ideas about a quiver that fits the bow.
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Andy
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How cool, let her know she did a great job with dad.
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I like!! Tell Caroline GREAT JOB!! And you also DAD!!
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Wow! Caroline made an amazing eye-dazzling bow! I need to show this to my daughter. Maybe it will inspire her.
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Your bow has alot of flare and eye catching wood combinations,it sure is nice to spend time with the kids,they are our future of traditional bow making.Hope we see more of you too. :clapper:
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Wow. That is just great. I really enjoyed this thread and that you and your daughter were nice enough to document and share it with us.
She has some pretty good form too.
You must be proud.
Take care and have fun shooting.
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Epic! What a great read!
Hope she enjoys shooting it :)
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Really enjoyed your thread! :thumbsup:
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Thank you very much to all of you for the kind words. I really enjoyed very much building this bow with my dad. I think he did a rather good job as my assistant. I'm very happy with the way the bow turned out and I like shooting it.
Caroline 'Swissbow Girl'
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Great job Caroline! Love the contours on the riser. "...he did a rather good job as my assistant."...HAHAHA Sounds like something my daughters would say about me! You are lucky to have such a great dad!
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Wow! Great job Caroline! And you even let you dad help some - very generous of you. Your form in the shooting picture looks great too. I like the desert camo action wood - looks like it would be a good color for old geezers (like me) too.
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Man, you are makin me wanna build a recurve,and that is really hard to do! LOL