board bow handles

[deiselbrown]

     I have an ipe board stave 1/2in thick. I have tried to glue on a handle many times. I used titebond 3, 5 ton epoxiy, loctite epoxy and also urac. I cleand the ipe good with acetone and i have also toothed the surface which also didn't help. How do you guys get a handle riser on a board stave.

[tattoo dave]

  Well, the only time I've had problems with that is on really short bows that do a lot of bending in the handle. Are you trying to add the handle after the bow is tillered? I don't have access to any ipe though, so i've never worked with it. I guess make sure you glue up the handle before doing anything else to the board, then use a design that doesn't bend much in the handle. If you are already doing that, then I don't know. Good luck, hope you figure it out.

[Pat B]

What are the dimensions of your bow.  At 1/2" thick I would imaging the handle area is bending and that is causing the handle to pop off. It doesn't matter what glue you are unsig if the handle area is bending unless the handle riser bends with it.
  Ipe is oily wood but I doubt that is the problem.

[Pappy]

What Pat said, you can build it up with strips of leather and super glue and work it down into a handle,the leather will flex and usually stay on just fine.
   Pappy

[half eye]

Deisel,
       I got to go with Pat about the bending riser. The only thing I have done to thicken up the grip area of a bend through the handle bow is to add 1/8" strips in descending lengths to the belly side....feather out the ends very well too allow the built up area to bend with the bow.
       You didn't say how long your bow was but if it's in the 60" range try making your first lam about 18", the second about 12", third one about 8" and finally a 4". Then feather edge them. Thats the only way I know of to maybe solve your problem using wood for the riser. Also some of the fellas have used thick leather strips glued down to do the same thing. I have not done that so cant say how to go about it.
       Just one guy's opinion though, but maybe it will get ya what you want.
rich

[bubby]

you can also glue on strips of rawhide or cork and shape how ya want

[Justin Snyder]

Sounds like you are having problems before the bow is really under way. I just clean with acetone and give it a few minutes to dry then glue with EA40 epoxy.

More dimensions would be nice. At 1/2" thick I don't thing Ipe will bend much at all, unless you are building a 90# bow. 

[Michael C.]

You could also put a piece of thick leather down against the bow with some titebond 3 and then put the wood for the handle on top of that. I've had luck doing that, I think, because the leather has a bit of give and doesn't put enough pressure on the wood to pop it off. I would only do that if you're planning to put a handle wrap on it though because sometimes it's not so pretty, but like the others said make sure to clean your surface with some alcohol or acetone.

[sailordad]

dieselbrown,can we se a pic of this stave?

is it floor tillered already?
does the handle overlay blend into the fades or stop just before them?

i have had this happen when using tropical hardwoods like ipe for handles etc.
i had a blood wod handle pop off of a hick board one time during hte tillering process
it was orignaly glued on with tb3
after that i used the same epoxy you mentioned
to use that epoxy you not only need the wood clean of oils and such,but it also bonds better to a ruff surface than a smooth on
take your handle wood and ruff up the side that will be glued down,also ruff up the stave in the handle area
then clean well with acetone or the like and then mix and apply your epoxy
dont over clamp it as you may squeeze out the epoxy and not leave enough between the adjoining pices for proper adhesion
i know it says you can start woring it after a couple of hours
however i never stress it for atleast 2 days(i like to make sure it is dried properly)
ever since i had that one handle pop offthis is how i do every handle riser now(espiecally when using tropical hardwoods  )
good luck and if you can post a pic or two that would help
 
                                                                     peace,
                                                                            tim

[deiselbrown]

hey fellas thanks for all the responsesd. the bow is 66 inches long 1 1/2" wide out to mid limb then tapering to 1/2" knock. I got the bow floor tiller with previous handles and just started long string tiller when they started to pop off regularly. I am thinking that a leather handle will do me the best. I have just never tiller a bend through the handle bow. I was sure to thooth the surface before gluing the last  couple of times and the ipe was cleaned thoughly. I can't imagine it's a gluing problem. with the stave being only a 1/2 " thick all the way through it bends alot though the center I never get a chance to get the rest of the bow bending before the handles pop off. 

[toomanyknots]

I swear I posted this but it just didn't show up? But do a really tight cord wrap on the handle before tillering. Even about an inch right in the middle will be enough insurance against separation. And even if it does it wouldn't bend enough to break the bow, like if you had it at full draw when the handle popped off or on the tiller tree and it popped off it could only bend a little and save your bow from breaking. I always do this while tillering on board bow handles and also do really a good tight cord wrap permanent handle later when the bow is finished. Haven't had a handle pop off since. There is also less chance of the handle popping off after the bow is tillered out and everything is bending where it's supposed to. I always take it off after it's tillered and shoot it and I haven't had a problem yet.