ipe board suggestions?

[ionicmuffin]

thanks for the link, it looks as if even he has a small gap from power lam to the two meeting pieces of ipe

[cdpbrewer]

Just posted a how-to on making power lams.   It's over in the How To section.  Hope this link works:  https://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,39970.0.html

c.d.

[bubby]

I recognize the work shop, isn't that dutchwarbow on tradgang, whoever it is he builds a wicked bow

[DarkSoul]

Yes, that's him. I just can't find this build along on Tradgang anymore. I must have been searching the wrong queries... It's a pity he hasn't been building bows lately.

Ionicmuffin, there is indeed a small gap between the layers. In my opinion this does not need to happen. Make the powerlam fade smoother and more gradual. Also, the bamboo backing should be thin enough (max 1/8") so it flexes readily along the contours of the powerlam.

[bubby]

I hahen't been on TG in a long time but I always liked his posts, built some sweet bows

[ionicmuffin]

OK, so the bamboo came today, 100% strait in terms of no curve from side to side. It is about 1/4 inch thick and there is plenty of room for the bow. I don't know exactly how much draw i want to make it for. I was thinking no more than 30". What do you guys think in terms of total bow length for a bendy handle bow that I would like to come out to about 50 at 28 and a whatever at 30. I was thinking because it will be bendy handle that 64 inches wouldn't be so bad. I don't want it to be super short and i want a pretty nice draw for a decently short bow. I can make the ipe strip wider if need be and it can be a higher draw weight. also lets talk designs. what is a good design for a R/D bow like this? with a bendy handle. Here are the three i think that would be alright although im not sure which would work.

[ionicmuffin]

so I was looking around doing some digging around. I found that there are very few bend in the handle bows of BBI so I think this will be interesting. I was wondering if BBI's are really that strong. Apparently 1/2 inch thick at the handle by 1" wide is enough to make a 55# at 28 inch bow with a total length of 64 inches.

Im also trying to find out what length and what design to go with for a R/D bendy handle.

[mikekeswick]

Non of the above!
Do not narrow the handle more than 1/8 either side if you want it to bend. If you put a powerlam of more than 3/16th thickness the handle won't bend. If I was going to use a powerlam in a bendy handled bow then it would be 1/8th thick in the middle - definately no more. Remember that to double the weight of a bow increase the thickness by 1/8ths of the total.
As for design just make the center section 1 inch wide for around 4 inches either side of the handle then straight line taper to the tips. Make the tips 1/2 inch wide to start with. K.I.S.S. is one of the best accronims there is! 1 inch width is enough for 80 -90 lbs draw weight with an ipe belly. I've made quite a few bendy handled bbi's and for upto 60lbs they are only 3/4 wide at the handle tapering to less than 3/8ths nocks. I'm not suggesting that you make yours this narrow more just giving you a heads up....if you make your 1 1/4 wide it's going to be super thin...and slow 

[bubby]

muffy I have a BBI in my rack, it's 1 1/8" wide straight and tapers to 3/8" nocks bendy handle and it's thin, and pulls about 74#, listen to mikekeswick he's got plenty of experience with this style bow

[toomanyknots]

Is there crappy ipe out there, that would produce lesser results? Like, in other words, how some osage is better than others, and you can make a narrower bow with good osage, but some osage is less dense and will make a wider bow that takes more set (which I guess would mean it should of been wider, ). I know they say the darker ipe is better. That is funny, as I find the darker osage better too. I am thinking the darker it is, the denser, as my official scientific explanation is that "Avery thang is crammed together", which makes it darker.  Like denser I mean.

[ionicmuffin]

i think that is is one of the darker boards i saw, there was some light browns but this is pretty dark maybe not super dark but its dark.


Ok, so then how long should it be if i start at 1" wide and taper down to 1/2 inch? Like i said, id like to get 30 ish inches of draw.

[bubby]

at the start of this post you said you wanted a 32" draw so you might as well go with an ELB, i'd check out the warbow page or del's blog

[ionicmuffin]

i know i said that, However, i was trying to be cautious for my friends sake, but i think it would be fine to go 30 inches, I doubt hes got a draw over 29 because he was shooting mine and didnt overdraw on it. Im thinking i will just give arrows that max out at the max draw for the bow. and ill tell him to make sure nobody else draws it without an arrow on the string. im not too worried, and since the first stave bow i made was only 64 inches long i think i have room for the ipe to be 64 as well. the one ive got has been drawn to 30 and its fine. the fact that its hickory and only 1 1/4 inch at the VERY widest but in reality is more like 1" for most of the bow it has around 2.5 inches or maybe 3 of set, and my mc content in my house for wood is around 9% so thats excessive for hickory. So my guess would be that the bow will be fine if i make it close to my other bows just being careful and all.

[bubby]

well do what ya want

[Bryce]

at the start of this post you said you wanted a 32" draw so you might as well go with an ELB, i'd check out the warbow page or del's blog

YES! i totally agree

 72''ntn 4" handle section. 2.5" long fades 1.25" at the end of the fades.  then taper to .5" durable, easy to tiller bow.
best results IMHO