an easy board bow build, full draw pics added/i am going to attach pics again

[bubby]

alot of newbie's have been asking for a build-a-long so here's one for a pyramid bow. first get ya the best board you can, this is hard maple, but hickory, white oak, even red oak if that's all you can find, but get the best one you can.this is a quartersawn board 66" long cut 2" wide, find centerline both length and width and mark, on length mark both ends and then use a straight edge of snap a chalkline to mark it. use a square to mark a square line at 33", then go up and down from that mark 2" and do the same, this is the grip area, go 2" up and down from those mark's and do the same, these are the fades.


at the lines for the grip mark 9/16" each side of the long centerline on both ends, at the fades mark 7/8" each way, at the centerline mark 5/8" each way and then connect the dots

[bubby]

now mark 1/4" each side of the line at the tips, then i use a straightedge to draw the lines that mark out the limbs,like in the pic mark all around the bow/handle at the fades. on pyramids that have an even taper i use a tablesaw to cut the limb thickness, take a square and mark the table with the blade run all the way up, remember to use the guards, i took them off so you can see it better, then set the fence just a hair under 1/2", put the back against the fence and rip untill the fade line meets the line on the table, then STOP

[bubby]

after making the cuts for both limbs you have to square up the cuts to the start of the fades, i use a vice and a handsaw, i've tryed to use a bandsaw for this and screwed up a couple bows, hence, the handsaw, i forgot the glued on handle pc can be as short as 8", i didn't go over the glue up as it's self explanatory, now to layout the fades i have a french curl set for making my radius's, but you can use anything to get what you need, i then cut these out on the band saw

[bubby]

i now cut the profile out on the bandsaw making shure to not get to close to the lines, thats a shure fire way to end up with a kids bow, i then sand down to the lines and round all the edges of the limbs, this will help keep from raising a sliver on a limb, i actually round over all the edges,

[bubby]

now measure down 1/2" from the tip's and make a 45deg. mark, this is for the string nock's, i use a three sided file to start these and then use a chainsaw file to finnish them, don't file across the back of the bow, take your time and make shure these match up
these are all the basic hand tool's that i use, nothin' fancy,
i'll post some more later, gotta go ice my knee, Bub

[lesken2011]

Nice instructive build, Bub. I'm sure this will come in very handy to a lot of folks, including me!!

[coaster500]

Nice Bubby!!!

[bubby]

thank's guy's, i thought i'd show how to build one this way because i think lots more people have tablesaw's than bandsaw's, or atleast access to one, well i put it on the long string, but the long string should be short enough that there's no slack in it, then i exercise it and use a gizzmo to find any flat spot's that need scraped, i feel that a gizzmo is almost a requirement to have, especcially on a non character bow such as a board bow. after you get it flexing evenly about 8" go to a short brace of about 3", and continue to use the gizzmo to check for spots that need scrapedtill you get to about 24-25" on a treethen go to full brace, i like to brace it and leave it sit for an hr or so


this is the last that i use the tree, the rest of the way i strech it out buy shooting it in, i have an arrow with marks on it and i just keep working and shooting till i get to full draw

[bubby]

now i'll ruff in the handle, this is just the style i like, you can do a pistol grip or whatever floats your boat, i allways round the front of the grip like in the pick, with a stiff handle like this i've never had any issue's with slivers raising and it's way more comfy, this bow was drawing 40#@25", so i'll have no problem hitting my target of 50#@29", now it's really just a matter of sanding and finishing the grip area and making a string, and applying a finish, more soon, Bub

[vinemaplebows]

Good job!

[skyarrow]

I'm liking this so far looks super easy il have to try it soon . Iv never done a pyramid bow before

[bubby]

o.k. i got the sanding done, this is gonna be a beater bow so i sanded it smooth but didn't worry about getting all the rasp marks out, so it's got some beauty mark's on her, time to work out the tip's, i like to mark'em out with a pencil and then do the major reduction with my occillating belt sander, then cleen up the grooves and sand

[bubby]

i slapped some stain on her, dark walnut, then i rub on some dark brown rit dye and faded it some
now the floppy rest, cut the leather to the size that you want/need, then put some contact cement on the section like in the pic and fold and clamp. when dry i fold the outer  pcs back on the middle and clamp, this makes it easyer to mount on the bow, glue the back and mount where you need it. i then wrapped the grip with some braided hemp cord and soaked in tb2

[bubby]

here she is a sweet shooting pyramid bow from a maple board, shoots a nice group at 20 yds, no hand shock and maybe a 1/4" of set after 150 arrows thru her. total cost of the bow $6.00 plus the string, i make my string's and they cost pennies to make, i spent 24 dollars on the board and got 4 bows from it.

while i dont condone trying to build a bow super fast because that's when i screw up, total time spent on this build was about five and a half hrs actual work time, and that includes staining , sealing and twisting a string up, hope this help's somebody and if ya have any ? just ask
final stats, 66" ttt, 64" ntn, 50# @29", Bub

[gstoneberg]

You make that look very easy Bub.  I'm usually still looking at the stave after 5 hours.

Good work,
George