Hello,
I have a good selection of longbows and recurves from different makers. I've noticed that, finish aside (frosted or matte or glossy), some makers' limbs show off the wood much more than others.
I have an older Abbott yew longbow that looks like it has no glass, same with my Widows, and others where the extra-figured wood was a surcharge, and you can barely see it, it's even streaky.
Is there something I should ask for in particular, for future reference?
Thanks!
Marco

Marco, Not really , If they are using Gordons clear glass we get the same. Thickness of glass used makes a difference./ Thinner and you see the wood a bit better but then its more prone to show any lines too. Honestly its just a tossup as to how good of glass you get. When I get glass with streaks in it I cull it if its too bad but with some batches you would have to throw the entire batch away./ I honestly cannot give an answer except that some bowyers keep the clearest glass for bows getting a high gloss finish which shows everything.
God bless, Steve

I have wondered about this also, and from what I have heard it is a tossup like what Sixby says. All the bowyers use pretty much the same manufacturer or something, and supposedly it's hard to even tell how good it is going to be until it is on the bow...

I have always heard that it is a toss up as well. I have been lucky and never had any streaked or cloudy fiberglass on any of my bows. Since it is something that most of the time is uncontrolable I would never blame the bowyer for it. Clear glass just seems to have a few minor imperfections in it from time to time.

Well, that's too darn bad. I understand the problem, but I guess there's no solution to it.

Do some finishes work better in general? Glossy vs. matte? Glossy seems better to showcase wood (worse for glare).

Thanks!

As far as strweaks go, darker woods show them much more than lighter woods.  Like Steve said, its a toss up.  And very annoying when you uncover the streaks that didn't jump out at you before gluing up the bow.

Java Man

I recently talked with the president of Gordon Glass about the culling process they go through before it it even goes out to the distributors.

You would be amazed at how much glass goes into the dumpster due to lack of clarity.

I've done a lot of experimentation taking different glass thicknesses and grinding them down with a drum sander to see if i could salvage some of the stuff with streaks or cloudy areas.

During the course of my grinding experiments I've actually salvaged some of this glass by sanding the finished side of the glass..... but i learned the hard way about grinding perfectly good looking clear stuff too much.... if you want .020-.025 glass for use over veneers over carbon, you are much better off buying .030 glass and sanding both sides .005 than trying to bring .040 down in thickness.

Some say they have better luck with the UL glass than the ULS which has "Scrim" in it. I've seen very little difference myself between the two.


The bottom line is a bowyer just cannot guarantee absolutely clear glass, any more than Gordon Glass can. You'll notice they do not use the word "Clear"... They use the word "Transparent" in their description.

The good news is,  Gordon Glass is constantly working hard to get a more consistently clear glass for us to use. I got info that right from the top. kirk

Thanks Kirkll!
So is a glossy finish better? 60's style...
Thanks!