Spliceing Billets

[Timo]

Snowin here today so looks like some shop time. Got lots of billets that need joined.

Question: Why is the standard 4" for a splice? I always have to make my handle wrap cover the tips of my splice,just the way I am. So that means making the wrap bigger than I want sometimes.

Why not cut the splice shorter? 3 1/2"......3"?

[Ryano]

Tim, I have shortend mine up to 3 1/2 with no trouble. I like to cut a arrow shelf into my bows and with a 4" splice you nearly cut into the splice. I had a bow blow on me at full draw once because of that so I started shorting mine up.

[Eric Krewson]

I almost always make a 3 1/2" splice so I can move my grip up or down to the sweet spot and still have the splice hidden under the leather. I also glue on a cap on the back of most of my handles to reinforce the splice, never had a failure.

Here is one of my glued on caps, this one pretty thick, they are usually about 1/2".

[Timo]

I was thinking 3.5" so I  already got a couple pairs ready this morn.

Nice looking splice Eric. You guys ever pin them?

I started doing that mainly for fitting. Get it dry fit well, and set a 1/4" dowel.Then when ya glue up,just pop in the pin, and clamp.No worries.

[whitewoodshunter]

I pinned one once, but it was after the glue on the splice had set up.I am not sure the pin was necessary but it didn't hurt the bow .

[Mattco]

I used to make all my splices 4" - but didn't like having part of the splice exposed - I shortened to 3 1/2"  - problem solve
When I tried a 3" splice it began to squish itself apart which then had to be pinned

[Marc St Louis]

I make my splices as short as 2" but I don't use a conventional splice.  I use a tapered finger joint.  Never had a spliced joint fail using this splice even on a center shot bow

[Timo]

Marc, can you explain how you make it?

[El Destructo]

Marc...do you just use a Table Saw Blade to cut the Finger Joints...or a Dado Blade??

[Marc St Louis]

Wrote an article for PA on it.

[Timo]

10-4 Marc,copy that.

I got a couple glued up yesterday,with a 3.5" splice. I always look forward to the next morning when I get to see how bad my joints are.

[Eric Krewson]

If you get a real sloppy splice fit, heat up both ends with your heat gun and clamp them together without glue. They will conform to each other and glue up much better.

[Timo]

Never tried dry heat, I used to boil ,now I just make sure they fit right before I glue.

Just removed clamps and they look good.

[Shaun]

Timo, Gary Davis showed me his method and there were a couple of very helpful ideas. One; sand or joint the bottom of the billets at the splice area at a slight slope towards the splice end - this makes bandsawing much steadier on the flat surface and installs some backset from the slope. Two; make the bottom of your cuts and the points about 1/8" instead of a point - this allows the joint to hit a solid bottom and avoids the wafer thin point that gets shortened by minor mis sawing.

I was looking at a very old Grumley recently and it appeared that the splice was a V on the end of each billet and a long narrow diamond for the handle. This might have been to make use of short billets.