Planning out new bow. Green mountain camo dynowood riser, action boo limbs.
Does anybody know where to buy colored glass for the limbs? I would like a dark green color. I thought about coloring the action boo, but not sure if I want woodgrain showing and would like a solid dark green glass finish.
Any suggestions Would be a great help. This will be my second bow. My first is a Bingham project one piece recurve. This bow is going to be another Bingham recurve but it will be a take-down.
I am not sure of the colors but Binghams has some
Green glass might be hard to come by and I think the professional bowyers that use it have it custom made by Gordon Composites. Gret Northern and Northern Mist make some bows with it. Maybe try contacting them if you can't find it elsewhere.
If you can't find any green glass you could laminate a thin linen with the color of your choice between a clear glass and the core lams.
----------
Andy
Thanks
I'll check out those places. Once I start I'll post some pictures of the progress. Thanks again for the help
Thanks
I'll check out those places. Once I start I'll post some pictures of the progress. Thanks again for the help
Jerry and Steve do indeed have green glass,but not for sale. Mike Fedora had some a few years ago. Other than that I think a nice paint job would work. Good luck.
I checked on colored glass some time back and it was not avaliable in the small amount I would buy.............James
I am with Swissbow.. if you want a solid color, head on down to your local fabric shop and buy some thin fabric to put under clear glass. I have a webpage book marked with some really cool camo fabric I was thinking of building some bows with.
Or, if you want grain color, die your lams under the glass.. either way you get your color.
Good luck what ever you do!
QuoteOriginally posted by Swissbow:
If you can't find any green glass you could laminate a thin linen with the color of your choice between a clear glass and the core lams.
----------
Andy
Thanks for this! I'd been wondering if that was feasible. I have some old Realtree camo that would look dandy on the back of a bow!!
If you use material between the lams for color can it be Satin, polyester, silk etc? I guess the question is, if the material is completely saturated with epoxy does it have to be linen?
Good question! Who knows the answer?????????????
You want a material that will soak up the epoxy.. Silk and polyester might not be the best.
Linen or cotton or duck.. will all absorb the epoxy all the way thru so it becomes one with the limb. Silk and such might work.. but I don't think so. Might get lam separation.
It will look glossy under the clear glass. Just like the wood can look dull then clear glass is like putting a layer of poly over it.
If I am wrong about the silk, some one chime in!
I agree with Bradford about silk and polyester. I have never used it but I think it's best to use some fabric that soaks up well with epoxy. That's why I used a thin linen.
@ Andy If it's not to thick I guess it should work. I bet the realtree camo would make a damn cool looking bow.
This is one I have done for my daughter...
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/6-1.jpg)
(http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab173/07Hawaii/Caroline%20Safari/7-1.jpg)
----------
Andy
I've been following this thread carefully, and gratefully, as I'm planning to make a copy of an old green glass longbow. I found some "Dark Sage" green linen that is a good color. I like the idea of the linen, both because, as noted, it will absorb the epoxy, but also because linen is an old fabric and one that has been used in bow making, as backing for selfbows, historically, so it "feels" right for the reproduction older style bows I do. Thanks to all who contributed.
beautiful bow andy. I do have more questions.
when you lay linen between limb and glass how much should you let overhang out the side?
and is the linen wrinkling an issue?
thanks
darren
Hi Darren, I cut the linen just a few millimeters wider than the lams and the glass. Wrinkling is not an issue because when the linen is soaked with plenty of epoxy you can stretch and flatten it out very easy.
----------
Andy
Thanks Andy
I considering using linen instead of stain or dye on the limbs. I'm sure I'll have a question or two once I get started. This is going to be my project once Missouri bow season ends.
Another option would be to dye the cores green and use clear glass. Trux Turning did one that way looked pretty cool. There was a thread about it I think he called it Gone Green.
I also think the bow with the leopard look is awesome.
Jess, have you dyed the limbs before? If so what kind of dye did you use? I've read you want to use a water based dye. What are some good brands to use?
Darren- you want to use either water or alcohol based dyes. I use the powder dyes(anilile dyes) you mix up yourself (you can get them at woodcrafts or place like them)I've even used rit dye with alcohol and gotten good results. I perfer to use alcohol based dyes with lams.
The simplest way is to dye a thin veneer of clear white maple the color of green that you want and then you have no problems. rit dye or analine dye from Binghams will work great. I have considered for a long time using thin cloth under glass but It definately will cut down performance by adding weight that does not provice you and benefit performance wise. Maple or whichever wood you use would not hinder bow performance and the ease of mind would make it worth the extra effort to dye it Imho. I have backed several wood bows with patterened silk and they came out really nice. It is so thin that you can see the grain of the wood through the silk,
God Bless you all and Merry Christmas, Steve
Would the fabric have much of a negative effect, Steve?
This is a great thread loaded with good ideas.
Only thing I can add is that I used leather die on a bow and within a few years is began to fade and is still fading. But, that was not under glass but on the maple handle and the edges of the lams. Glass was black.
I would like to thank everybody for their input, suggestions, ideas and photos, this has been a tremendous help. Once I get started I'll post some pictures of my progress. I am very excited about this new bow build but am going to wait till the Missouri bow season is over before I begin.
Any more suggestions and ideas are greatly appreciated and needed since this is only my second bow.
Thanks and happy holidays
Darren