Potential flight bow

[PatM]

Ipe/bamboo/sinew with spliced in Elm recurves. 50 inches t-t.
I just applied the sinew yesterday so it it will be a while before any bending takes place. You can faintly see the v splice under the fairly clear glue/sinew matrix. Other photos show handle area and mid-limb

[adb]

Will sinew do anything over bamboo?

[PatM]

What do you mean by "do"?

[adb]

I mean will it add performance and hold together?

[wood_bandit99]

It would pull it into reflex and if applied very thin like he did it would add very little weight to the limbs

[PatM]

I want to maximize drawlength which is why I used bamboo plus sinew. The sinew is actually thicker than it appears although it will shrink down quite a bit.
 The bamboo already reflexes the bow and the sinew protects the bamboo and adds further reflex.  I'm trying to store energy through the whole thickness.
 Al of these materials are very heavy but the bow is very narrow so the strength of the materials should make them be efficient due to a thick cross section having greater potential energy storage IF the materials can take the strain.
 The sinew is very thick over the handle and then tapers out to the base of the recurves.
 Here's the handle/fade area.

[Joec123able]

Ohh wow should have a gorgeous profile when complete

[J05H]

I really like the look of this bow. Can't wait to see her finished. Gonna have a great full draw profile.

[Lukasz Nawalny]

Looks realy great. Ipe belly and sinew give great performance.Ipe is some horn substitute for me. Last time I make similar bow, but with bending recurve ipe/maple sinew.  Only 38 lb at 28" shoot 270 yards with flight arrow. You can expect great results with 50 lb + draw weight. In classic composite with horn core wood  is almost out of work. I experiment with ipe composite and I see that thickness of ipe should be not big , best results give 2-3 mm . It is strange but Ipe thickness have not big influence on draw weight, but give a lot of extra mass. I regulate draw weight in such coposite by middle layer wood thicknes and shape of bow

[mikekeswick]

Looks realy great. Ipe belly and sinew give great performance.Ipe is some horn substitute for me. Last time I make similar bow, but with bending recurve ipe/maple sinew.  Only 38 lb at 28" shoot 270 yards with flight arrow. You can expect great results with 50 lb + draw weight. In classic composite with horn core wood  is almost out of work. I experiment with ipe composite and I see that thickness of ipe should be not big , best results give 2-3 mm . It is strange but Ipe thickness have not big influence on draw weight, but give a lot of extra mass. I regulate draw weight in such coposite by middle layer wood thicknes and shape of bow

You should use maple for the core of composites, certainly nothing much more dense. Ipe has horrendous gluing properties for natural glues.....The Turks had it all figured out 

PatM - yes the thicker the limb (all things being equal) the faster it will virbrate. Thick/narrow will outshoot wide/thin even if the cross sections are optimal for each wood. Frequency of vibration.

[Badger]

  I like the design very well, the only problem that might occur is adding sinew over bamboo, did you scuff up the bamboo? things don't like to stck to the surface. The fibers on bamboo are very sensitive to being violated by things like heavy sanding. Maybe th sinew will hold it all together. Looking forward to the results, should do well if it stays together.

[SLIMBOB]

Interested in the results.  Keep us posted.

[ssgtchad]

That's a really nice sinew job. I haven't any experience with sinew,  in the picture it looks like the sinew is  overlapping the joint between the ipe and bamboo, which I would protect the bamboo from splintering if it had been sanded.  How thick is the sinew, did you make your glue,  and what type did you use  sinew, hide, or fish bladder. Can't wait to see the results thanks for sharing.

[PatM]

The bamboo is sanded and scored longitudinally and acts as little more than a core that is holding some reflex. It should be well protected by the sinew. The sinew does just cover the edges but doesn't actually go around onto the Ipe.
 The bamboo is also in two pieces with an overlay at the handle to cover the joint and then feathered out.
 The Koreans use a bamboo core but they do flip it so the inside of the bamboo is on the back.
 The glue is just Knox and the sinew was all put on in one go. Can't tell for sure the thickness at this point but I would say about 3/16 at the handle tapering out to the tips.
 

[PatM]

Slightly better view of the v splice through the drying sinew/glue. Bamboo underlay on belly of v splice.