I have glass longbow that I love dearly but want to have a few pounds taken off. Which is the better way to remove weight? Sand the glass on the limbs or take some of the width off the limb edges? Pro and Cons?
You might get a couple different answers, but I'd take a little off the limb edges. When I build a bow and it comes in a bit heavy, I just sand all limb edges evenly until it gets down to weight. Now you don't want to go too narrow. Another way to reduce weight is to trap the back or belly.
I know some guys will sand the glass, but that makes me nervous. I don't want to cut into the fibers that are running the lenght of the limbs.
Hey Dan, like John said.
I've done a couple production bows by trapping the the belly side. Did a long hunter for Nathan that he is still hunting with .
Taking 5 to 8 pounds off isn't too bad.
If sanding the faces it takes forever and you should know the original thickness. Plus it needs to be done evenly.
Since your a carpenter, take your pencil and run your calibrated hand along each edge and mark about 1/16 on each side of the belly. Do less near the ends. Use a file or rasp at about a 45 degree . Keep it even. Then using different grits sandpaper smooth it out.
Test, then after finished spray with minwax poly.
It depends how much weight you want to take off and how wide the limbs are. If you just want to remove a couple lbs then it can be done by narrowing/trapping the limbs. If I trap the limbs then I do it towards the back, because IMHO it's more efficient that way.
I you want to remove 10lbs or more and the limbs are already narrow then you can't do it just by make the limbs narrower. Check how thick the glass is before you start to sand it down. Go slowly and always check the weight and the tiller, because suddenly the weight might drop very quick.
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Andy