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Author Topic: A little bamboo help...  (Read 2050 times)

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Offline ShinneryOak

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A little bamboo help...
« on: November 02, 2009, 04:51:32 pm »
Well I'm trying my first bamboo back and as usual raised more questions than answers. I thinned it to 1/8" on the sides before gluing but when it was trimmed on the limbs in toward the center, the crown is thicker there. So, do you measure thickness of boo at the crown or edge? If it's too thick can the back be sanded down? I'm already wanting the Dean Torges video but would like to try finishing this one fairly soon. The belly is a 62" hickory pyramid.
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Offline Pat B

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Re: A little bamboo help...
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2009, 05:19:08 pm »
The boo should be 1/8" at the crown, at the handle. The sides should be a knife edge. You can not reduce it from the back because the power fibers are just under the rind and you will remove the strength if you reduce it once glued.   
  What glue did you use. If it was TB you can heat the bow to where the glue is 150deg(F) and the glue will release. If not you will have to saw it off at the glue line.
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Justin Snyder

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Re: A little bamboo help...
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2009, 06:06:49 pm »
Don't try to cut the glue line. I have tried it many times and all you do is ruin everything. Choose which you want to save, boo or hickory, and grind the other off. If you have more material to use you can always finish the bow for practice then start a new one. The other option is finishing it at a light weight, then gluing a thin lamination of something a little better in compression like Ipe or Osage to the belly of the limbs and make it a trilam.
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Offline ShinneryOak

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Re: A little bamboo help...
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2009, 06:40:36 pm »
Thanks, I think I know when I'm beat :) I have 3 more strips of boo- figured the first one would be a "learning experience." I used a 6" hand disc sander on the first strip, is a belt sander the way to go for boo? Don't have one yet.
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Offline jthompson1995

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Re: A little bamboo help...
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2009, 06:50:48 pm »
What you want to do is trim it close to the shape of the bow before you thin it, don't leave it full width when you glue it on. Then you can make sure to get it to a knife edge all the way along.
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A man who works with his hands is a laborer, a man who works with his hands and his mind is a craftsman, but a man who works with his hands, his mind and his heart is an artist. - Louis Nizer (1902-1994)

Offline kayakfisher

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Re: A little bamboo help...
« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2009, 07:35:45 pm »
I had that problem on a bow I made planed and planed on that bamboo till I had blisters. From the sides it looked pretty thin. Glued it on the  bow and trimmed it and oh man talk about thickness took a file and rounded the edges over to blend into side of bow turned out nice still shoots good made it four years ago. File the edges round not the back of the bamboo.
                                                         Dennis
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Offline ShinneryOak

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Re: A little bamboo help...
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2009, 11:52:45 pm »
PatB, the glue is titebond 3. What would you use to heat it?
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Offline Pat B

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Re: A little bamboo help...
« Reply #7 on: November 03, 2009, 12:21:16 am »
Use a heat gun and start at a tip and work down the bow. All you want to do is heat the bow through out so the glue gets hot but not scorch it. Once heated I used a chisel to get it started(only hand pressure) then as the glue heats the backing will pull away with your help. TBIII releases when it gets to 150deg(F). Here are a few pics of me removing a hickory backing.





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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline ShinneryOak

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Re: A little bamboo help...
« Reply #8 on: November 03, 2009, 12:45:34 am »
PatB, many thanks, now I NEED to buy a heat gun! And a belt sander...
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