made a glass bow for my niece and it came in a little heavy. need to remove around five pounds. Can I sand just the belly glass to help reduce weight? I already have the back skinned with artificial snake skin so I don't want to sand the back. The glass is .040 thk. how thin could I safely reduce this. How about trapping would that be a better option? Should I trap the Belly or The Back? Thanks.
What kinda bow is it? Round off the corners first. Then think about trapping
You could possibly reduce the width to reduce some weight.
Quote from: ocd on March 16, 2026, 05:31:22 PMmade a glass bow for my niece and it came in a little heavy. need to remove around five pounds. Can I sand just the belly glass to help reduce weight? I already have the back skinned with artificial snake skin so I don't want to sand the back. The glass is .040 thk. how thin could I safely reduce this. How about trapping would that be a better option? Should I trap the Belly or The Back? Thanks.
No worries at all dropping 5#.... sand the belly side of the limbs equally top and bottom limb, and keep an eye on the tiller measurements. trapping the belly side is ok too, just watch your tiller balance as you go.
thanks for responses guy's. Hey Kirkll how thin can I safely go on sanding the belly glass. Thanks
So it's probably already a narrow light weight bow. Keep in mind the weight is already small so more work to get the weight off.if you got. 040 glass to start that should be no problem. For a kids bow .030 glass may have been better. Better a thicker front than belly. So sand the belly as Kirk said keeping an eye on things as you go.
Quote from: ocd on March 16, 2026, 05:31:22 PMmade a glass bow for my niece and it came in a little heavy. need to remove around five pounds. Can I sand just the belly glass to help reduce weight? I already have the back skinned with artificial snake skin so I don't want to sand the back. The glass is .040 thk. how thin could I safely reduce this. How about trapping would that be a better option? Should I trap the Belly or The Back? Thanks.
Without more description it's hard to say what the best course of action is. How heavy is it now? How wide?
Mark
Quote from: ocd on March 16, 2026, 07:56:55 PMthanks for responses guy's. Hey Kirkll how thin can I safely go on sanding the belly glass. Thanks
On that draw weight bow you could easily take .010 off the belly if it is in fact ..040 glass....
Quote from: Crooked Stic on March 17, 2026, 07:25:35 AMSo it's probably already a narrow light weight bow. Keep in mind the weight is already small so more work to get the weight off.if you got. 040 glass to start that should be no problem. For a kids bow .030 glass may have been better. Better a thicker front than belly. So sand the belly as Kirk said keeping an eye on things as you go.
Actually..... for kids bows I'd almost prefer .050 glass for durability reasons. But .040 is fine.... The problem with starting out with .030 is sanding it too much is scary. IMO.