BBI Fix-along - FINISHED PICS!

[4est Trekker]

Hey, all.  I recently got a BBI blank from a fantastic bowyer/sponsor who was trying out some new ipe.  (He's a heck of a nice fella and gave me permission to post this thread.)  Well, about half way through tillering I noticed that the grain on the ipe was starting to lift in a few places.  Not fret, but simply separate and lift.  They were small enough that I could simply patch them with a round plug:

 

 

Well, as luck would have it, the problem manifest itself in other, larger areas as shown here (I've outlined the offending areas):

 

 

I decided to add a belly lamination of osage to try and curb the problem and save the bow.  I used a pull saw to hand-cut two laminations from the waste section of an osage stave I was working on, then trued them up on a belt sander.  Here they are after being cut, then after being trued and trimmed to rough profile:

 

 


I needed to remove an equal amount from the ipe from the belly as the osage lams were thick (1/8"), and do so in a uniform fashion.  I created this little scribe to cut a line 1/8" from the belly of the bow on both sides:

 

 

[4est Trekker]

Next, I thinned the ipe belly down to the lines using a 50 grit belt on my sander.  I then pre-bent the fade section of the osage lame using heat so that I would get a nice tight fit at glue-up.  I heated the osage lams well away from the bow and protected the fades with tinfoil while I clamped the lams in place:

 

 


Then it was time to glue the lams on.  I needed a way to apply good, even pressure at the fades, so I created these clamping cauls:

 

 


Using Urac 185, I glued one limb at a time and hung the bow from the other limb tip while the glue cured so as to not twist or deform the limb.  Since I was going "commando", so to speak, and not using a form, the limb would deform easily if not suspended.


After both lams were glued and cured, I trimmed them to profile, cleaned up the belly face, and came out with this:

 

 

 

 

[4est Trekker]

I slowly tillered it back out to my draw weight and length, going the last 6-8" using a mirror and drawing the bow in the hand.  Here's what I'm left with after shooting about 200 arrows through it.  This bow is NOT finished, but is sanded enough to be able to shoot safely.  I'll post some finished pics soon. 

 

 

 

 


Thanks for looking!

PS: The bowyer gave me the blank for free and gave me permission to post this thread.

[Elktracker]

Nice save and looks like a nice bow! Sounds like a nice guy to give ya the blank for free

[blackhawk]

NIIIIIICE. I think it actually looks better with the Osage lam belly. Makes for a nice contrast with the ipe. And thanks for showing and the how to.

[ErictheViking]

Incredible ingenuity. way to save the bow. As blackhawk said looks better with the osage.

[Lombard]

Way to overcome 4est. That is an awesome looking bow that you made out of what could have been a tomato stake.

[4est Trekker]

Thanks for the kind replies, ya'll.  I'm really enjoying shooting this bow and believe I like the looks of it better now than before.  Ipe sure finishes nice, but the contrast of the osage against it is kind on the eyes.     Thanks again.

[soy]

Thanks for taking us trough the process! Man that looks nice!!!

[anglobow]

I had the same problem with my first BBI bow recently, I thought that it was because My ipe was flat sawn, as the grain separated between growth rings. Yours looks to be quarter sawn but having the same type of separation. Glad to see you could save yours and the result is quite attractive. Thanks for posting.

[Gordon]

Outstanding work!

[Gaur]

Awesome looking bow.  I had the same problem but mine didn't turn out so nice 

I tried putting bamboo on the belly but I didn't have the core thin enough and wasn't able to get a working bow out of it as with bamboo I could only narrow the bow's width and it got too narrow.

[dwardo]

Great post, an inspiration. I usualy spit my dummy out when something crops up like that and start again, next time i will try a save.

[dragonman]

Nice hand work, well done!!! may I ask what glue did you use?

[Del the cat]

Great post, nice to see the scriber thingy you made.
great workmanship, great save. It came out prettier than it started too
Del