r/d trilam---full draw added

[radius]

Ok, this bow started out life as a maple r/d with hickory backing.  But it came in underweight.  So i studied wytetale's how-to and added a belly lam of yew onto the thing.  With the zebrano handle, it's kinda busy, but the bow turned out pretty sweet.  On the way, I met my new best friend:  I'll include a picture in this post, and award 10 points to whoever can figure out who it is.  I'll give you a hint:  this bow is rounded:  round belly, round back.

Before attaching the belly lam, i tapered the maple (which had been uniform 3/8 or so) on the belt sander, just by eye.  Then I tapered the yew lam (last 6 inches toward the handle/up the fades) to 1/16 from about 5/32...  Once the epoxy had cured and the yew was shaped to the bow, i found it was way too stiff to move...but I didn't want to flat sand it all and end up with just a 16th or so...so for the first time ever, I created a round belly/round back bow...I love it!

This bow is 63" long, draws 50# at 28", and is a pleasure to shoot...fast and consistent...as usual, i'll give some photos of the bow before the oil goes on, and then some after.  I've also included some shots of the grain in the yew...becuase it is so purty!











my new best friend








unstrung

v









So, there it is.  That's 2 this weekend.  God, I have a lot of bows now!

[OldBow]

I'll bet the full draw is going to show off this fine weapon, too

[Rich Saffold]

Lots of bows is a  good thing, and they show you learning at a good pace..As much information as you new guys get nowadays, its still repetition that really makes bowyers..

Look at all the problem solving you did on this one, and you did the right move with the tiller with your best friend. I have twenty or so of these , and I rarely use other hand tools even though I have a boatload of them...

I don't know if you pulled any reflex when gluing up that belly lam, but it usually what I like to do when gluing one up since it will load the string up a bit more..

Keep em coming!

Rich

[radius]

i didn't even think of that!!!  Good idea!  I just glued it onto the r/d shape it already had, and that was that...ah well, it's still a 50 pounder and a real quick shooter...thanks for the encouragement, too!

[radius]

Ok, here's the full draw picture...thanks again to my roomie!



it looks alittle funny around the handle because of my mistake in making the riser block too long...and the limbs kinda remind me of a holmegaard...but its a fast shooter and very comfortable...

[wytetale]

Good job Radius, I love tri-lams the way they look and shoot.

[radius]

thanks!

they're fun to make, too

[david w.]

Wow you really crank out bows   Very  nice i love r/ds

[OldBow]

Belly lam worked great. You must have had a fairly flat surface...hard to use a planer one the early stages of the bow are finished. Nice job and #15 for Laminate Bow of the Month two of which are yours.

[radius]

thanks guys...yeah, i use a belt sander on edge, and just freehanded the taper...came out pretty flat...

yeah, david, i have been crankin' em out lately:  what i do is this:  one day i'll make a bunch of blanks:  go on a mad glue up frenzy...then in the days to come i have blanks all ready to go...each one gets another 6 to 8 hours work and it's a bow...

[Justin Snyder]

Nice job on the belly laminations.  It seems to me that you could have gotten a little more of the limb working a little more.  Does it have hand shock? Justin

[Dano]

I know it's tough getting all that reflex to work, without loosing alot of draw wieght. It does look like the inner limbs are doing all the work

[radius]

Yeah, like i said, it kinda reminds me of a holmegaard...you guys think i would've been better off to tiller it a little rounder, and then pike the tips for the draw weight?  I wanted to make sure I got at least 50#...