Christmas turned into a busy season for me this year. I got a request to build 3 bows for relatives in Tennessee, and I only had a month to get them done and get them there! It was a big challenge for me and I was more stressed than I like to be when I build bows. normally just for fun. I am always worried when I am building something for someone besides myself. I did get them done, just in time and I think they turned out nice.
(click any image for a larger view)
Bow #11
This bow is actually a design that I have been thinking about for myself. Most of the woods I work with are light and show up easily in dim light. I wanted to try a design that would be all dark, for hunting, but would still be beautiful. I don’t have access to any really dark wood right now, but I do have access to a hi-tech engineered laminate called Actionwood, known in the bow making world for its extreme strength and durability. It’s made of lots of layers of colorized wood, like Baltic Birch, and is used for gun stocks, skateboards, and other things that need strength, even in thin sections. When this wood is shaped, it creates nice patterns and interesting shapes. I decided that I also wanted some color in the sight window, so I added a middle section of Redheart. I also put in a couple a-symmetrical curves to add some detail to the riser. Keeping with the dark wood theme, I used a beautiful wood from Brazil called Moradillo for the limbs. It had a very nice color and grain pattern and is often used in hi-end furniture. Under the bow glass the Moradillo came out a bit dark, so the grain shows up better in bright light.
11th 65" Recurve
(Tracy Ford)
| 12/2013 |
- target stats: 65", 45# @28", 2" wide limbs
- achieved stats: 65", 45# @28"
- .040" ULS black glass for the back
- .043" ULS clear glass for the belly
- .070" hard maple parallel lams for back - .099" Moradillo tapered lams for belly (taper: .002/1") (visible) - .252" total stack height
- riser: 2 x 3 x 26" [Actionwood|redheart|Actionwood] (charcoal Actionwood block)
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Tracy Ford, shooting his bow.
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Bow #12
The riser on this
bow is made from a lamination of some beautifully figured maple from right here
in the USA and an exotic Brazilian wood called Redheart. The walnut has lots of character in the grain
patterns. Also, this particular piece of Redheart is very interesting. The color
is not a solid red, but instead is a wild pattern of many shades of red, fading
to brown near the edge, creating a really nice look to the wood. I used black
and red linen phenolic to add some accents to the riser and the tips of this
bow. The limb wood is another exotic
wood, Zebrawood, from Central America and Africa. This beautiful wood blends
some mid to light tones into the bow and shows off some nice large-grain
patterns which contrast the tighter grain of the walnut.
12th 65" Recurve
(Ed /Tracy's Dad)
| 12/2013 |
- target stats: 65", 40# @28", 2" wide limbs
- achieved stats: 65", 40# @28"
- .040" ULS black glass for the back
- .043" ULS clear glass for the belly
- .060" hard maple parallel lams for back - .103" Zebrawood tapered lams for belly (taper: .002/1") (visible) - .246" total stack height
- riser: 2 x 3 x 26" [walnut|redheart|walnut]
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Bow #13
I had an idea to
see how multiple wood types would look together and this is the result. The main riser wood is walnut, cut from the
same board as bow #12. In the middle is a nice piece of birdseye maple
sandwiched between layers of mahogany.
These are all native hardwoods from North America. They also have very different grain
patterns. As it turned out, there is a
round knot in the walnut on the left side of the grip area, perfectly
preserved. Also, there is a section in
the upper sight window where the maple starts to fade to dark, which is
unusual. Then I added a slice of red
cedar between 2 layers of black linen phenolic to add more detail to the
riser. Finally, the limbs show a very
exotic wood, Bocote, from Central and South America. This wood has a grain like
no other, wild and crazy. So that’s a 5
wood bow design.
13th 65" Recurve
(Scott /Tracy's Brother)
| 12/2013 |
- target stats: 65", 45# @28", 2" wide limbs
- achieved stats: 65", 43# @28"
- .040" ULS black glass for the back
- .043" ULS clear glass for the belly
- .070" hard maple parallel lams for back - .099" Bocote tapered lams for belly (taper: .002/1") (visible) - .252" total stack height
- riser: 2 x 3 x 26" [walnut|mahogany|maple|mahogany|walnut]
|
Hi. Thank you so much for your build tutorials. They have been so fun to follow and I am excited about trying my first bow build. Would you be able to tell me where you buy some of your materials. Particularly the Red Heart on the riser and the Moradillo Lams pictured in Build #11. Thank you so much. I would really appreciate it.
ReplyDelete-Will
Hi Will,
DeleteAll of my limb lam wood has come from 2 sources: Bingham Projects, Inc
( https://www.binghamprojects.com/ )
and Kenny's Custom Archery. Unfortunately, Kenny recently retired from the business, so I can't use his services anymore. If you ask around on the TradGang.com forums you may find other sources as well. The Moradillo came from Kenny. He had some lam woods that I haven't seen from anyone else.
The riser woods that I have used come from a variety of sources. The engineered laminated riser blocks all came from Binghams or Kenny's, but you can buy them online from other sources as well. They have lots of names (Actionwood, Dymondwood, Coreflex/Superaction). All of the other riser wood has come from local Utah wood businesses that stock it. There are 3 main places in Salt Lake City that stock a wide variety of woods (in rough cut 1x boards). There is also one wood craft place near my home that carries mostly domestic hardwoods, but occasionally has some exotics and that is where I get my maple, walnut, cherry, etc.
You can buy almost any wood you want online (just search for it), but the shipping costs look like a real drawback, so I hope you can find a local source. Again, some of the TradGang members could be helpful in this area.
Awesome! I have found a few sources online that I am going to try. I'll let you know how it goes after I receive the wood. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your response as well as the detail of your blog. Take good care Monte.
Delete-Will
Great looking bows. I am a first time bowyer. I am building a TD recurve beginner kit through Bingham Projects. So far so good. I have a ways to go yet, but I am curious about what you use or recommend for your finish. I assume you are spraying it on, but with what finish. I like the level of gloss on your bows. Great job and this is a terrific blog. All the best - Bill
ReplyDeleteHello and thanks for looking at the bows. I hope your project goes well. I have't done a take-down yet, but I may try one soon. There are many nice finishes that can be used on bows. There is a spray-on epoxy called Thunderbird ( http://tbirdarchery.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=page_3 ) that some people really like. Since I don't yet have a sprayer or spray-booth setup, I haven't tried it. So far all my bows have been finished with Minway Wipe-On Poly. I apply it with a small piece of cloth and I build up a lot of thin layers. I put on 4+ layers and then sand it with very fine paper to reveal the low spots and problem areas. I repeat this process until I am satisfied with the results. Sometimes it takes 20+ layers. Spraying would be much faster, but I am not mass-producing bows, so I just take my time. It's a nice finish and easy to maintain because more finish can be added at any time. I have also used Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil the same way with good results. This is just one way to finish, but it's worked for me so far.
Delete