Lam. bows/ what kinda clamps??

[Minuteman]

Alright I orderd some spring clamps 4", too small ,sendin' em back.
 What kinda clamps do you folks use when making a laminated bow? Just watched Dean torges' video on the BBO and I can't see buying that many big C clamps. Got any ideas for me? Will a larger 6" spring clamp work?
 Pics are good too.

[ridge]

 MM I use a two piece form with the air hose. I know guys who use the rubber band forms with good results. Seems to me but i could be wrong that the money spent for all those clamps would buy the hose and plywood for the form. I got my stuff years ago from Bingham Projects. I imagine that you would have to take care to not overtighten the clamps which might cause glue starvation or to little which may cause a bad  glue line. We all have the combo that works for us.   Ridge

[huntersim]

Chris,

I have about 10 6" c-clamps that I use near the riser, and then I use some 2 1/2" c-clamps for the rest of the way out. The little ones seem to work OK if you use a good pressure strip and dont over tighten them.  If you over tighten them and dont use a good pad, you'll leave "dents" on the bamboo. You dont want that.  If you use a floating form like D. Torges shows you can also use the clamps like Justin uses, with wood blocks and rubberbands.

[venisonburger]

Don't know what kind of bows you're building, I do tri lams with bamboo and use the jig shown below, it's made by drilling 5/16" hole as far apart as you want and pounding in pcs of arrows that were cut off on the saw to the same length, I use a bicycle inner tube cut into rings and stretched from one peg, over the lams to the peg on the opposite side, my glue lines turn out good. I use URAC 185. the other method is, I have long pcs of rubber that are 1 1/2" wide, bike innertubes split in half work, I clamp one end and wrap tightly at an angle to the other end and clamp, you can get pretty good pressure this way.
VB

[Justin Snyder]

I like that form VB. You been holding out on us, I haven't seen that one before.  Justin

[D. Tiller]

Say do you have a picture of the bows that come off that jig? I'm trying to figure out by looking at the jig and picturing it in my mind but I have no idea which way its bending!

David T.

[venisonburger]

This form was one that I made when I first started making boo bows, not thinking I made the form as the negative of what I wanted. what I end up doing with this form is doing my belly and core layers and then after dry I attach my back of raw boo and use the long rubber material to wrap it. For anyone who doesn't understand the problem with this form, if I tried to do all three lams at once, I would have the raw boo down first, with the radius of the boo it would rock left or right and I wouldn't be able to keep the lams from sliding apart. So basically If I were to do it again, I would use the part I cut out from the board and throw this pc away.These are some that came off the form, It works and I don't want to waste it.

[Minuteman]

I've been doing Hik backed bows so using a form like you showed is kinda what I've been doing. Putting the backing down against the jig and using rubber strips wound across cut off arrows stuck through it. I'm quickly running out of hikree though  so I'm gonna start into my bamboo pile soon. Guess I'll try the rubber bands and little sticks thing on my next one, see how that works out.

[ridge]

 V Burger, I use a piece of felt carpet underlayment on the form so that the raw boo nodes sink into the felt. I first used it on the boo bows but now even use it on my forms for G  bows. My glue lines come out great.   

[DCM]

You can use the pedistal type from and rubber bands.  Just wrap the whole clue up with bands and clamp it down onto the supports.  If it's hot summer you gotta move along pretty good.  And it's messy as the dickins.  But it works.  I pick up truck inner tubes, or ag, from a tire shop dumpster in town.  Any big truck/ag tire store will have old tubes for give away usually.  can bands of 1" to 1 1/2" out with scissors.  I used the air hose setup for a glass build.  Won't go that route again.  Gonna do on like Venisonburger for my next glass project.  Not sure how good that works for boo backed, seems like the nodes would mess you up.

[StanM]

Mornin' David,

How have you been?

You gotta build it in the inverse.  If you do that then the boo side is up and you don't have to worry about it sliding.  I built one that way and it works fine.

Stan

[Justin Snyder]

Like Matt said, I just use rubber bands and little blocks I made.  Here is a link to the thread explaining mine. http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,1978.0.html
 Also if you cut a form like Matt's and use the other side of the cut like he says, you could just use the rubber bands to loop from pegs on one side to pegs the other. The only problem with that is a riser could get in the way.  Justin

[DCM]

Real fine Stan, and you?

Ah, work upside down.  Same as a pedestal form.  Then you mate up the riser wood after I assume.

Funny story, I spent half the day perfecting the wrong side of my first glass form on the drum sander.  Duh.

[markinengland]

I double wrap the glued up bow in a car inner tube "bandage" then use just a ferw clamps and wooden blocks to give the reflex or deflex wanted. Works well with a long open time glue like resorcinol. Gives a good glue joint, and doesn't slip like clamps can.
Mark in England

[StanM]

David,

Yep, you got it.  Riser wood goes on last when done like this.  I've been good.  Way too busy, but good.

Stan