building a new take down recurve, need some advice - New riser pics... please look

Bradford · February 03, 2012, 07:36:00 PM

Okay.. building a bit out of my comfort zone here. I am building a take down recurve (very much in my zone..hehehe), but building it for a buddy of mine. He wants a 60-65lb bow and pulls 30".

I was going to build a 62" AMO bow.. 20" riser, 9" wedges and a tip wedges. The handle is maple with black glass and paduak stripes (lams) and Mahogony accents. Will post pic a little later.

Should there be any problems with this set up pulling this far back at such a high weight?

I usually build my bows 30 to 45 lbs and set them up for 28" draws. So this a bit of new ground for me...

All ideas and comments are welcomed.

Thanks,
Brad

BrushWolf · February 03, 2012, 07:58:00 PM

Those specs are close to the bows I have built for myself. Riser 19" 8.25"wedge 62"long .I shoot between 50#-65# bows. I haven't had any trouble but I'm no expert.

Trux Turning · February 03, 2012, 08:04:00 PM

Is this going to be a heavier version of your lighter bows? Same length (62") same riser etc. If so check and see where the lighter ones begin to stack- that will tell you if your design will work for a 30" draw. If it is a new design-62"@30 should work-your limb pad angle will be the key. Id guess around a 18% pad would be a good starting point.

Bradford · February 03, 2012, 08:13:00 PM

New riser desing and new limb design actually. I decreased the limb pad angle from 21 degrees to 19 degrees.. the limb itself will be longer, so I am building a new form and the tips curves will be more aggressive.

My other bows have been 19 to 20" risers with limbs coming out at 58 to 60".

What do you mean by 18% pad.. ?

Also was reading that Paduak might not be the best wood in such a high poundage bow. There are two stripes (lams) the run belly and back about 1/8" thick for accent. I really do not want a failure on this guy.

Thanks

Trux Turning · February 03, 2012, 08:22:00 PM

The 18% is the limb angle-your 19 degree angle should be fine.
Put a few pieces of glass in with the accent pieces and the face of the riser- the paduka will be fine.

Bradford · February 03, 2012, 09:11:00 PM

Here is a pic of the layup.. you can see the glass is up against the maple.

Sounds like I am on the right track...

Any other thoughts.....??? anyone/???

BrushWolf · February 03, 2012, 10:05:00 PM

Looks like a good start to me.

jess stuart · February 03, 2012, 10:14:00 PM

Should be fine. Trux recommendation of glass on the back of the riser is good advice. Glass will add a bunch of strength to the riser. I always have glass over the back of the riser usually more than one piece.

Dmaxshawn · February 03, 2012, 10:38:00 PM

What Jess and David both said. On the three piece bows I build I like to put glass across the whole back of the riser before I install the bushing and pins. Then what ever you cut/file/sand away during shaping the riser glue a couple pieces running the length where you cut out as overlays and then a piece of thin fancy wood on top all as an overlay. Hope this helps

Shawn

Bradford · February 03, 2012, 11:17:00 PM

Here is where the handle sits now.. I didn't have pics of it, so I snapped a few real quick. I have never ran the glass all along the back before.. but the highest poundage bow I have built is 45# @ 28". It was maple with yellow heart.. just like this design.. no problems with it.. was more worried about the paduak.. but if the glass I have with it should help..

Trux Turning · February 04, 2012, 10:02:00 AM

The way you have the riser glued up you have reinforcement in the grip area but really none towards the end of the riser- I would be worried the maple has to carry all the load of the limbs from the green lines out- with your riser design it doesn't look like you can add anything to the front- I would think about adding some glass in the center- end to end- sorry about my poor drawing skills.

Bradford · February 04, 2012, 10:46:00 AM

Alright.. I get what your saying now. So you feel the maple may not hold all the weight? I might have to build another riser then.

I have seen other risers out on the "market" that don't seem to use a stripe all the way thru like that..what are they using, do you know?

Thanks for the input by the way, this is helpful.

Trux Turning · February 04, 2012, 11:05:00 AM

I wouldn't count on the maple alone- you are hoping the maple in the site window stays together-if that was action wood then I wouldn't be concerned. You could still add some reinforcement to that riser if you have a bandsaw-you can get away with a lot more with lighter draw weights.

Bradford · February 04, 2012, 11:15:00 AM

Okay... action wood is why you can use one piece.. because it's all laminated.

So where would you add reinforcement to this riser without ruining the sleek line? or is that possible?

And out of curiosity.. what is "lower" weight? 50# and down?

Trux Turning · February 04, 2012, 11:33:00 AM

Lower weights to me are<45#- I still add reinforcement on the face or running through the riser on the ones I build. On your rier I'd add the glass the length of the maple like the red line I drew.

GREG IN MALAD · February 04, 2012, 12:00:00 PM

I would suggest backing the riser with glass where the accent stripe breaks out. I have seen more than one riser break there. Adding glass from the bottom limb butt to the bottom of the grip, and from the bottom of the top limb butt down to the shelf would be good insurance.

Bradford · February 04, 2012, 12:16:00 PM

Okay.. so I penciled in a line that goes with the bow.. you think this will strengthen it up enough?

I will do two black fiberglass with a strip of Mogahagany sandwiched inbetween to flow with the rest.

Then I get what greg is saying as well.. does that need to be glass, or do you thing a pretty accent wood glued there would be enough to help hold?

Thanks again everyone.. I really appreciate the feed back. I really don't want a failure on this.

GREG IN MALAD · February 04, 2012, 01:04:00 PM

Glass or phenolic would be best, but maple is better than nothing. I wouldn't be afraid to use a .060 maple lam capped with padouk.

Bradford · February 04, 2012, 03:50:00 PM

Well, I made the cut along the line.. got it all prepped and glued in two black glass with a stripe of Mohagany.. it's in the oven.. will post pics when done.

Crooked Stic · February 04, 2012, 08:05:00 PM

What Trux said will work fine.
Another way to do it would lay your footing up in a block. Drill two 1/4 hole on the ends in an area that will be cut off later. These will be lineup holes when you glue it back together. saw it right down the middle and ibeam it with a stronger wood. Drill holes in the ibeam piece to match and use 1/4 dowell to keep things lined while the glue cures. It will look something like this one.