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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: ozy clint on June 06, 2013, 05:48:00 AM
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hey folks, thought i'd share the method i used to make an exact replica of my grip. i love my bob lee grip and i'm thinking of ordering a bow from a different bowyer but i want it to have the bob lee grip. so i made a replica of the bob lee grip so i can send it to the bowyer for him to copy.
it's really very simple and requires minimal tools and materials.
you need some modeling clay, a bondo kit (the car bog panel stuff), fibreglass resin and hardener, a small paint brush, some cooking spray, electrical tape and a couple of hours.
the pictures will do a better job of showing you how i did it.
hold the riser in a vice for easier working.
make a dam with the clay. this is to hold the bondo/fibreglas resin mixture which forms half of the mold you need to make. you want the floor of the dam to be at around the centerline of the riser. be carefull not to make the dam floor below the centerline or any contour of the riser that will lock the mold onto the riser and not allow you to pull the the mold off the riser once it's set, atleast without destroying the mold you just made. smooth the dam floor with a wet paint brush, an artist's brush is good for this. before you pour, spray the area with a light spray of cooking oil. this acts as a release agent for the bondo mix and stops it sticking to the riser allowing easy removal of the mold.
the bondo by itself is usually too thick for this type of molding so i thin it with fibreglass resin. place the required amount of bondo in a disposable container. now add fibreglass resin and mix it in to thin it down to a pourable viscosity. not like water, more like pancake mixture. mix the two together well and then add the right amount of hardener of both the bondo and the resin. mix well then pour it in the dam.
tip- be sure the dam walls are high enough so as not to have 'riser island' poking out above the level of the mold.
here's the dam ready for pouring-
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6011_zps68548275.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6011_zps68548275.jpg.html)
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6013_zpsa59249c3.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6013_zpsa59249c3.jpg.html)
let that cure and then take the clay off and the riser will pop out of the mold like this-
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6014_zps9c6d0eb4.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6014_zps9c6d0eb4.jpg.html)
you now have half of the mold needed to make the cast of your grip.
now put the riser back in the mold ensuring it's fitted back in properly. now repeat the dam making procedure for the other half of the mold. using the mold you just made as the dam floor. this ensures the two halves of the mold fit together perfectly.
pour the other side and let cure-
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6015_zps68af3ecb.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6015_zps68af3ecb.jpg.html)
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6016_zps03e48a7d.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6016_zps03e48a7d.jpg.html)
now you have two half molds that fit together perfectly ready to cast the replica of the grip.
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6018_zps2f8b1c3c.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6018_zps2f8b1c3c.jpg.html)
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6019_zpsaf8e63f1.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6019_zpsaf8e63f1.jpg.html)
oil spray inside then fit the two halves together. tape them togther and put a clay bung on one end.
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6021_zpsf92e0a5b.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6021_zpsf92e0a5b.jpg.html)
tip- consider the contours of your grip. when you pour the mix in the mold you don't want to trap air in there as this will leave unfilled 'holes' in the cast. bung off the end that will be best suited to your grip. you want to slowly pour the mix in and have the contours as such that the mix will displace the air in the mold and not trap it in there. basically, no overhangs.
let that cure then pull the molds off. you now have an exact replica of your favourite grip that can be sent to a bowyer with your next bow order for him to copy.
i forgot to take a pic of the finished product before i started tweaking the shelf and sight window. but you get the idea.
that's is another great thing about doing this. you can tweak things a little on the cast before you send it. simply remove material with sandpaper, file or grinder. add it with apoxie sculpt epoxy putty.
i'm changing the shelf and strike plate so that the arrow contact points are above the deepest part of the grip.
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final pour-
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6022_zps3d2ee70c.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6022_zps3d2ee70c.jpg.html)
final product after i tweaked the shelf a little. forgot to take a pic straight out of the mold.
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/IMG_6023_zpsdb89180d.jpg) (http://s530.photobucket.com/user/ozyclint/media/IMG_6023_zpsdb89180d.jpg.html)
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Cool! As the grip seems to be the biggest single complaint on bows, this is so informative and relevant!
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Wow - You are a bright boy, why didn't I think of that? I usually do a sketch with measurements, but they never quite get it right.
Thanks for sharing Ozzie.
Are you able to say which bow you are going to order?
sutto
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Great idea Clint, and so simple when you see it.
Going to stock up on car bog before there's a shortage ;)
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That was a fantastic tutorial. Thank you for taking the time to share this with us.
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Very cool.
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That is an awesome idea!!!
Thanks for sharing!
God bless,Mudd
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sutto. i'm thinking of a border black douglas recurve with HEX6 limbs. 70#@28". my new water buff bow.
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this thread needs to go into the sticky how to section.
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Informative and relevant! Agreed...
:clapper:
~CB
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awesome!
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Now THAT is slick! :thumbsup:
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It's easier w/ aluminum foil and spray expansion foam.
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Overbow, It's easier w/ aluminum foil and spray expansion foam.
If you do another thread on how to do that it sure would be appreciated. Then we would have two ways to do it. This is really cool stuff. I honestly never thought of doing anything like this but man it sure would save the bowyer a lot of trouble in pleasing the customer with a grip.
God bless, Steve
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It's the same process of making the mold as above but you cover the riser w/ aluminum foil and spray expandable foam over the grip area.Let it set for a hour or so and cut the foam in 2 halves and you have a mold of the grip.
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That's pretty cool! :saywhat:
When did they start doing that?
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That's pretty neat, Clint! Great idea.
I hope all is well with you and your family.
Bisch
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Back in the late 1970's I molded the handle of my first Bighorn bow and sent the cast to Fred Asbell and Denny Behn to copy for my 2nd bow.
I did it in a similar fashion but used plaster of paris for the mold,waxed that and used bondo for the cast handle.
After pouring the first side of the mold and cleaning off the clay dam,it helps to use a drill and drill some shallow divots on the surface of the first mold half,that the second mold half will mate to.This is called a mold "key" and helps to positively line up the mold halves every time.
After drilling these divots,you apply mold release to the first mold half and pour the second.the second mold half will come out with "bumps" that lock in to the "divots" of the other side.
Air bubbles aren't a big deal in the mold or cast as the cast can be tuned up after and really,it is the overall shape you are after,not a fancy,finished product but nothing wrong with that either.
I didn't have to use resin in my bondo.If you rap the mold constantly before the bondo sets,most of the bubbles will rise out.
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Well done mate :)
Clint,
you have a PM
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the drill idea is a good one jimB. i would do that if i ever do another one.
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If I were a custom bowyer that offered custom grip options, I would offer (for an added cost) the materials needed and the instructions to do this IN ADDITION to any other charges for making a custom grip. Talk about a selling feature!!!
I cannot count the number of relatively new, high end bows that I have seen sold on Classifieds (I've bought a share of them :knothead: :p ), that one of the main reasons that the lister states they are selling is because of the grip.
Bows are like anything else, there are a plethora of good, custom makers out there, and, unfortunately, a purchaser tends to blame the bowyer if the grip doesn't suit them.
SOOO, I see two logical choices - no custom grips ( :( bad choice IMO), or, offer custom grip only if customer provides mold of grip that they like (again for additional costs associated).
Off my soap box now!!! :biglaugh:
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Originally posted by ozy clint:
the drill idea is a good one jimB. i would do that if i ever do another one.
I wasn't sure how well I explained that.Sorry,this isn't a bow handle mold but one of a bear claw where you can see the "keys".In this case,I used the butt end of a Sharpie marker and pressed that in to the clay dam to make the female half of the mold key and the second half of the mold,molded itself to that.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/ForSale-1.jpg) (http://s10.photobucket.com/user/jbrandenburg/media/ForSale-1.jpg.html)
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because the floor of my dams weren't perfectly flat they key together nicely but that is a really good way of doing a proper job. thanks jimB.