Reflex / Deflex Longbow Build #2 & #3

This is a post that has been long in coming. I built my first R/D longbow and it turned out so nice that I was encouraged and thought up some ideas for a couple more.  I even went so far as to glue up some risers for these bows.  But then I got so busy with my recurve designs that the longbow designs got left on the shelf.  When winter finally hit and my outdoor time demands were gone, I started working on these longbows. So, here are the results of my two designs

The King:

  I had some pieces of kingwood (Brazil) left over from a recurve and I really liked the way it looks.  This super hard wood is not easy to work, but it looks amazing when it's sanded and finished, almost like a brown marble. These pieces were too small to use in another recurve, but I could use them in a longbow. So I decided to do an i-beam riser with birdseye maple in the middle and kingwood on the outside. Also, to try something new, I sliced up the maple and put thin strips of Ipe (Brazilian Walnut) between them, then planed that into a board that was glued into the center of the riser.  That way the Ipe stripe would only exist in the sight window and not run through the entire riser.  I also added a curve of black linen phenolic, but I ran it from belly to belly instead of back to back like I usually do.  So, when I cut the curves from the riser block corners, there was a black strip in them.  I used one of these pieces to form the heel of the grip, so that black curve added some nice detail, running from the glass to the heel.  I added layers of maple and black phenolic to create the tip of the heel and also for detail on the sight window. The heel came out looking a bit like a target. I used a piece of zebrawood on the tips, which kind of makes them look like a beetle or something. When it was all finished, this bow came out looking very nice and it shoots really well.

(click on any image for a larger view)

Here are the stats for this bow:

• target stats: 66", 52# @ 28", 1.5" wide
• achieved stats: 66", 49# @ 28" (55# @ 30") 193 fps with 378gr arrow
• 
  
• .040"  UL clear glass - both sides
• .055" bocote parallel lam (2 sets) (visible thru glass)
• .060" maple super lam (belly power lam + tip wedge combo)
          (.060" for 2" past fades, then taper .001/1", then thicker at tips, .042" in center)
• .125" maple taper lam:  (taper: .002/1" on back) 
• .375" total stack height
• 
  
• riser: 1.5 x 2 x 18", maple, bloodwood, with Ipe & black accents
• limb profile: 1.5" @ 2" past fade, then straight to 1/2" at string groove

Walnut and Brown Glass:

Another idea I had was to try to make a bow with all "dark" materials.  Usually I like maple or bamboo in the core, but it really shows up against darker wood. That's great for a contrasting look, but what if you wanted a more "stealth" look for hunting? Also, I had never used brown glass and thought it might look cool. So, after some investigation of core lam options I decided to try a walnut core with brown bow-glass and red in the sight window. I had some bloodwood (South America) pieces that would work great for the center of the i-beam riser and I also had some nice walnut (USA) that had a lot of figure and coloration that could go on the outside. I created a center layer by joining bloodwood sections with a strip of Ipe before gluing it into the middle of the riser. For detail, I also put in a black phenolic curve from back to back.

Here are the stats for this bow:

• target stats: 66", 47# @ 28", 1.5" wide 
• achieved stats: 66", 43# @ 28" (48# @ 30") 180 fps with 378gr arrow
• 
  
• .040" brown uls glass - both sides
• .055" walnut parallel lam (2 sets)
• .060" walnut super lam (belly power lam + tip wedge combo)
          (.060" for 2" past fades, then taper .001/1", then thicker at tips, .042" in center)
• *.120" walnut tapered lam (taper: .002/1" on back) 
• *.370" total stack height 
• 
  
• riser: 1.5 x 2 x 18", walnut, Ipe, bloodwood
• limb profile: 1.5" @ 2" past fade, then straight to 1/2" at string groove
• * added .005" to stack because using walnut usually comes out with a bit lighter pull weight than maple. It still came out light.

Recurve Build #9 "The Moose"

This is another bow that I built for a friend of mine in Alaska.  She wanted me to just surprise her with any design I felt like creating.  So, with the wide-open possibilities, I thought about some woods that I had not used in the limbs before, but that I wanted to see beneath the bow glass.  One of those is woods is the beautiful and highly figured Central America Zebrawood.  I have used this hardwood in the riser of a R/D longbow, in my first build of that pattern, and it turned out really nice. I still want to try to use it in the riser of one of these 65" recurves, but I'm afraid it might be really expensive. However, using it the limbs is a different story. These wide-limb bows show a lot of grain, plus it costs no more than other exotic woods. So I decided on a color/wood scheme that would be a combination of beautiful native american hardwoods and exotic woods. It's a mix of tough and wild, perfect for Alaska.

(click any picture for a larger view)

The Zebrawood, like all woods I have put under clear glass, came out a bit darker than I expected, though it still looks wonderful. I wanted it to blend with the Curly Maple in the riser window if possible, to enhance it's super beautiful  grain and excellent figure.  It's great to look at.

The riser in an I-beam of figured walnut and curly maple.  It is extremely strong yet easy to work with. Both of these woods had great figure and produced really nice grain patterns.

I decided that I wanted to see a bit more detail in the riser, so I put a curve through the middle using 2 layers of black phenolic, sandwiching a nice strip of bamboo (another wood on the "wild" side).

The bamboo brings out a nice light tone with a hint of yellow. It blends quite well with the other woods.

The tips also incorporate a layer of bamboo between the black glass and the black phenolic. The tip is a bit dirty in this picture.

I like to have a thin layer of real wood between the string and the clear glass. I don't know why, but I think it looks better. I used a slice of Moradillo wood on this one.

Here are the stats for this bow:

• target stats: 65" AMO, 45# @28", 2" wide limbs
• achieved stats:  45#
• .040"  ULS black glass for the back
• .043"  UL clear black glass for the belly
• .070"  hard maple parallel lam for back 
• .100"  Zebrawood tapered lam for belly (taper: .002/1") (visible)
• .252"  total stack height:
• riser: 2 x 3 x 26" [walnut|maple|walnut]

Recurve Build #8 - Alaskan Midnight

OK, this blog is about a bow that I am building for a friend in Alaska, for her son's 18th birthday. He wanted a black bow, but I don't have any super-dark or black riser woods right now. So, I found some black & grey Actionwood that would do the trick.The limb core wood is maple and the bow glass is black. For more details on how I build these bows, I refer you to my other bow building blogs.

(click on any image to  enlarge)

After I used my templates to cut the riser to shape. I glued in two curves, a 2-step process that takes 3 hours of cure time each. The riser block has to be cleaned up and re-squared after each glue-up. I think they will look great in the finished riser.

After shaping the riser further to get the perfect curves and edges, I glue the parts together and put them in the bow press. Then into the bow oven for 4 hours to cure.

When the parts come out of the oven, there is a lot of cleanup of glue, plastic, and tape.

Using more templates, plus some of my own prefs, I rough out the limbs and riser with the band-saw.

The fun and creative part is shaping the riser to get nice curves, patterns, and grip shape.

shaping the tips and filing the string grooves

shaping and smoothing the limbs.

here's the tillering step, where I make sure there is no limb twist and that the limbs pull correctly (top vs bottom).

After the first couple coats of finish, it's already starting to darken up and look nice.

and after a dozen more layers...

After completion, the bow tested at 48# and performed very nicely. So, the bow was shipped to Alaska and arrived in a timely manner.

Brandon seemed to like his bow and it looks like he can handle the pull weight. Hopefully this 18 year-old will become another archery lover and spread the joy of this hobby.

Here are the stats for this bow:

• target stats: 65" AMO, 50# @28", 2" wide limbs
• achieved stats:  48#
• .040"  ULS black glass for the back
• .040"  ULS black glass for the belly
• .070"  hard maple parallel lam for back 
• .105"  hard maple tapered lam for belly (taper: .002/1") 
• .255" total stack height: 
• riser: 2 x 3 x 26" charcoal Actionwood

Recurve Build #5,6,7 - Three 65" Bows (tutorial)

I have been working on perfecting the longer recurve design that I talked about in my previous blogs.  I took the Bingham 60" design and stretched it out a bit in the riser section and got a 65" AMO bow.  The first 2 builds came out too strong for my calculations.  I found that I was not using enough taper in the limbs.  I was using .001"/inch taper, but I should have been using a .002"/inch taper.  So, I set out to prove this.  You will see from this blog that I can now say that my longer design is predictable and follows the Bingham Charts for draw weight on a 60" long, 2" wide recurve.  This makes sense because the limbs are about the same length and the riser is where the extra length was added to the bow design.

So, these are the results from making three 65" recurves, using various woods for the limbs and risers and targeting a draw weight of 50#, 45#, and 40#.  Some of these build steps have already been covered in my previous blogs, and in much more detail. So check out those for more info.

(click on any image to see a larger view)

After the risers are shaped and tapered, they are ready to be glued up to the limb lams. I try to keep uniformity in the riser tapers (fadeouts).  I make a mark every 1/4 inch on the two inches closest to the tips, then mark every 1/2 inch as I move further in to the center.  I then use a micrometer (calipers) to check the fadeouts at each mark and sand them until they are as close as possible on both ends, creating matching fadeout curves.  I think this keeps the performance of the limbs the same, both top and bottom.  After the risers are shaped, it is time for a glue-up of the bow.

Two layers of plastic wrap keep the glue from bonding anything to the bow press.  That would be a disaster. The layers are glued together and held down with fiber tape. Then two more layers of plastic are placed over the bow before the metal pressure strip and pressure tube are put in place.  The upper press piece is bolted down and the entire assembly is pressurized to 60 psi.  I check all the layers very carefully to make sure there is no sliding, and that the pressure is applied correctly.  If there are issues, I let the pressure out of the hose, make adjustments, and re-pressurize.  I also take a putty knife and carefully scrape the excess epoxy down into the lower plastic wrap wherever I can. This makes a thin, easy-to-break-off glue section which saves a lot of time during cleanup since I don't have to grind it all off with the drum sander.

If everything is setup well during the glue-up, the bow will come right out of the press after 4 hours in the bow oven.  It comes out a little easier when it's still a bit warm.

Cleanup consists of tearing off as much plastic, tape, and glue as possible without removing too much masking tape (we need the center line).  The glue can be very sharp so I have to be careful.

After cleanup, I carefully remove any glue that keeps the limbs from sitting flat on the bench. I use the drum sander for this.  They must sit flat so that the template for marking the cut-off lines, grooves, and limb shape can be used correctly.

There is no use wasting time or sanding drums grinding off any more glue from the edges when we are just going to cut most of it off to shape the limbs.  So, once the limbs can sit flat on the bench, and the templates are used for marking all the lines, I get the limbs cut out. I keep one bandsaw blade around for making cuts thru bow-glass.  The glass dulls the blades quickly and I don't want to use a good blade or it would ruin it after just one bow.

Next, I cut the curve shape from the top of the riser and use a section of it to glue to the flat side of the riser for the heel of the grip. I use a 100w bulb as a heat lamp with a foil "tent" around it to cure the epoxy.  Then, there are templates that I use to give me a rough idea of the shape of the riser. I have a few favorite shapes that I am starting to like to use in certain areas as well, so I free-hand draw them in.  It's important to remember that not all lines represent a cut that goes all the way thru the riser, so I don't just cut every mark.  For example, the handle/grip area has a sloping shape top to bottom and front to back.  I mark these areas  to remember not to cut them (see right side of riser in picture below).

The tool that is most required for this hobby is the drum sander. It is very useful and time-saving.  The different diameter drums allow me to create curves and shapes of all types on the bow.  Dust collection is a big must, however, since I spend hours at this task until I get it right.

I work on one section at a time, removing material, smoothing, blending, and shaping. Slowly it comes together and starts to look like a bow.  It's the fun part.  Also, on this bow, I "center cut" the riser window. This allows an arrow to sit right in the middle of the bow and is supposed to improve arrow flight.

Another area that requires some time, is in tip creation.  After the layers are glued onto the tip, it has to be shaped and filed to hold the string correctly.  There are numerous color combinations and shapes that can be used.  I try to come up with a combo that matches the bow well.

I use the drum sander for the initial shape. Then I use a strip of sandpaper and pull it back and forth across the tip material to round off the edges.  Files and sanding blocks can also be used to create slope and relief areas. The finished tip will have lots of color and blend into the bow.

This is the first time I have tried to use a piece of wood on the back of the bow tips.  I saw some bows with it at the range and decided to try it. Instead of using 3 thin layers on the tip, I put 2 on the back and then one longer one on the belly side.  This makes it harder to clamp during the glue-up process, but it looks really good and it keeps the string off of the clear glass (if you are using clear).  I like cutting a groove in the wood better than in the glass anyway. This one (below) uses a slice of moradillo wood on clear glass with actionboo (bamboo) showing thru.

Below is an example of a stubbed tip. Some people don't like much tip beyond the string and claim it adds weight and slows the limb's performance. I haven't tested this yet.

Oh, and before we get into the finished pictures, I wanted to show my bow stringing device that I added to my bench.  I got the idea from a member of the tradgang forums. I put a couple bolts thru the open side of the bench. I wrapped them in foam tubes used for insulation water pipe and I also added plastic end-caps from a cardboard shipping tube to protect the bow from the metal.  The spacing is setup to work with longer bows, but could be changed.  This setup saves me a lot of time when working on tillering and limb twist issues, where the bow is strung and unstrung a lot. It is also very safe for the bow and myself during stringing because I have lots of control over the bow while flexing.

Now on to the pictures of the finished bows. 

This is the belly of the 50# bow, showing the moradillo wood's nice figure thru the clear bow-glass.

The 50# bow has a laminated riser of walnut, bloodwood, and birdseye maple.  I added 2 parallel strips of black phenolic to create some design.  I wished I had put them further back in the block so they were centered better.  I need to work on that little trick.

The 45# bow had a laminated riser of cherry, walnut, and bloodwood. I added a curve of phenolic to this riser.  It was my first attempt at this.  I free-hand cut the curve with a bandsaw (very carefully), then used the drum sander to smooth up any areas where the 2 halves didn't sit tight together . I held it up to the light so I could see the problem areas. Once it fit well enough that I couldn't see any light when a piece of black phenolic was clamped between them, I glued it up.  I think it looks really good in this bow.

The belly of the 45# bow, shows the actionboo, an engineered bamboo product, that I used for the limbs.  It's a great wood for bows, but not as visually stunning as some other woods.

Here are all three bows together. 

The 40# bow has a laminated riser of walnut and bloodwood.  The back limb is jatoba and the belly is honey locust, both showing thru clear glass.  I pushed myself even more by adding 2 non-parallel curves into the riser to create a nice pattern.  This took 2 glue-up steps, but it came out looking nice.

The 45# bow has become one of my favorites to shoot.  It has a super-smooth draw and I am getting really good with it.  I even won a shoot-the-dot contest from 30yds at the end of our 3D indoor shooting league.  That money nearly paid for the bow!

And last of all, here are all the cold,  hard specs for these three bows. The 50# bow was still kind of an experiment.  I cut the limbs a bit shorter to get a 64" bow exactly.  That made everything a bit stiffer and the bow shoots with more vibration (less smooth) that the 65" version.  I guess I should not have messed with the curve. I am currently working on a 50# 65" version that uses actionboo and hackberry in the limbs. Still, these results show that by following the charts, these bows can be right on for the desired pull weight.

3rd 65" Recurve	03/2013	- target stats: 65", 46# @28", 2" wide limbs - achieved stats: 65", 45# @28", (50# @30"), 197 fps with a 378gr arrow - .040"  ULS black glass for the back - .043"  ULS clear glass for the belly - .070"  Actionboo (natural) lam for back - .100"  Actionboo (natural) tapered lams for belly (taper: .002/1") (visible) - .253" total stack height - riser: 2 x 3 x 26" [cherry|walnut|bloodwood|walnut|cherry]
4th *65" Recurve	03/2013	- target stats: 65", 48# @28", 2" wide limbs - achieved stats: *64", *50# @28", (55# @30"), 205 fps with a 378gr arrow  - .043"  ULS clear glass for the back - .043"  ULS clear glass for the belly - .070"  Dark Moradillo parallel lam for back                              (visible) - .100"  Dark Moradillo tapered lams for belly (taper: .002/1")    (visible) - .256" total stack height - riser: 2 x 3 x 26"  [walnut|bloodwood|maple|bloodwood|walnut] *limbs were cut shorter by 1/2", so bow came out shorter & heavier
5th 65" Recurve	04/2013	- target stats: 65", 40# @28", 2" wide limbs - achieved stats: 65", 40# @28", (45# @30"), 187 fps with a 378gr arrow - .043"  ULS clear glass for the back - .043"  ULS clear glass for the belly - .060" Jatoba parallel lam for back              (visible) - .100"  Honey Locust tapered lams for belly (taper: .002/1") (visible) - .246" total stack height - riser: 2 x 3 x 26"  [walnut|bloodwood|walnut]