68" hickory backed Lemonwood ALB(with pics)

[Pat B]

I agree about the ALB Chris. I need to make more.
 That wasn't clutter...no more than the other posts.     Since folks asked for a build along I thought I'd start a fresh new thread.

[IdahoMatt]

Thanks Pat.  Learning even more.  I need to do a glue up bow.  Now I might have the push I need.  I have a quarter sawn piece of sycamore that I want to back with walnut but have been hesitant.

[DuBois]

Boards come that way Doobs.

Doohh!! 
It is making sense now

[Pat B]

She's out of the oven(last night), has cooled over night and now off the form and unwrapped. She holds about 1/4" of reflex. The next step is to clean up the sides to inside the lines, give her a good looking over and get ready to start tillering. I'll take some more pics after I clean her up.

[Badly Bent]

Good build along with pics Pat. A glue up is something I've never attempted yet and know little about it myself. The steps your taking along with the pics and explanations all make good sense and make it look less intimidating. This will be very helpful to a lot of us watching it come together. Some cool tricks like saving the wedges for clamping and using the pins at the handle. Thanks for posting this and keep it coming, this is interesting to follow.

[Don Case]

When I started on here about 6 months ago there was a couple of threads that I read about glued on risers "always" popping off. Since then I have seen 2 or 3 threads with people gluing risers on. Did I miss an earth shaking advancement in glue, or have I missed something else?

[Pat B]

Don, as long as the riser is above the plain of the limbs and the handle area is stiff enough not to bend a handle riser will stay put. It is not a glue issue, it is a bending handle issue that causes handles to pop off.

[Don Case]

Does the riser contribute to that stiffness? I guess not, cause that would make it a glue issue, wouldn't it?

[Pat B]

The problem is the riser is stiff and if the handle area of the belly flexes at all the riser pops off. The riser and glue line add a lot of stiffness but having that section of the belly slat thicker also helps. I like starting with 3/4" thick stock and reduce the fades and limbs. This keeps the plane of the limbs below the handle so they bend while the handle area remains stiff.
 If your belly slat is thinner you can add a power lam between the back and belly to stiffen the handle area.

[Pat B]

Here she is after she has cooled overnight.


 I loosened the clamps and unwrapped the bands. Once released she still holds about 1/4" of reflex.


 back to the belt sander to clean up the sides then ground down to the lines. I've rounded the back edges and sanded the back. I'll get some more pics tomorrow.

[IdahoMatt]

Looking great Pat. 

[SLIMBOB]

Great post Pat B.

[Pat B]

I got her cleaned up on the belt sander, getting the excess glue off and bringing her to the profile lines. I then started reducing the belly and blending the riser into the limbs...





  Don, you can see in these pics how the riser sits above the plane of the limbs. When done this one will be at least 1/4" above the limb. This is what keeps the handle area from flexing thus popping the riser off.
  Before reducing the limb thickness I mark a line along both sides of each limb. I bring the limb thickness to these line, smooth it up and check the bend. If still stiff I put another line down the sides of the limbs and reduce the belly to that line and check the bend. Once I get some tip movement it time to start using only a scraper to tiller.
That's all for today. More later...
 I've had her on the long string and have started flexing the limbs. I realized that the hickory backing should be reduced in thickness because it looks like the belly thickness will get too thin while tillering and she is almost too narrow to reduce the width. I carefully put it on the belt sander and reduced it to about 1/8" and may go thinner later. I did eave the backing thicker over the handle though.
 

[mwosborn]

Thanks for sharing Pat - perfect timing as I am planning on trying my first lamination bow.  How thick is the hickory backing?

Mitch

[burchett.donald]

 Looking good Pat, I like how you left the extra meat under the handle to keep it from bending