Let's Build a Trilam! (Finished pics on page 12... Refinished pics on page 13)

[loon]

Nice choice of finish

Well, the bad news is the bottom tip broke off during shipping.  It looks like the overlay delaminated (the wood from both sides of the horn came off somehow) and took a bit of the underlying osage with it.  The good news is the break is mostly behind the knock groove, and after sanding off the old glue, I think I have it glued back together.  I am going to let it cure really good before I test it at all.

Hope it works out..

[bjrogg]

More anticipation, man I really feel for you Jeff.
Bjrogg

[ty_in_ND]

Ugh!!!! Well, just let us know if the fix works out. From what it sounds like, it should be fine...

But still...    I used super glue to laminate the nock overlays together. I'm not sure what I did wrong on that part...

[PatM]

Was it rattling around in the shipping tube?

[PEARL DRUMS]

PVC shipping tube?

[jeffp51]

If you used super glue, then the problem was that the surfaces weren't mated good enough. At least on  the bottom. You left a bunch of ripples on the horn that seriously reduced the surface area.

I suspect the real culprit, though, was UPS and the packaging. Those  foam tips you used were good for side-to-side protection, but the slit you cut for the bow only left about 1/4 inch of padding on the end. One good toss by someone in the shipping chain allowing the tube to land on its end was probably enough to slam the tip against the top of the tube.

That is my guess anyway.

[jeffp51]

With the glue, if there was oil or dust on the surfaces or if the glue is old, that can also affect it. The surfaces on the little piece of maple looked fine, so I don't know why it also popped off.

[PatM]

 Super glue seems like it would get rather brittle if the temp is below freezing and the bow is dropped on end.

[ty_in_ND]

Well, the days that it would have been on the truck in my neck of the woods, the temps were between -5 and 10F (or -20 to -12C)... Lesson learned (for both using SA glue around my home and the packing part... I thought it would have been well protected how it was).  Hopefully it'll be okay, but I'm still a bit embarrassed that you're having to deal with this at this stage in the game.

[jeffp51]

No worries. Stuff happens. Especially with UPS. I think I can save it.

[ty_in_ND]

Well, if it is toast... I totally know how to build the next one to make it better!   

[jeffp51]

Well I am happy to say the trilam lives!  I had to do some work on it.  First I reattached the broken osage with superglue.  Then I sanded off all the old glue from the osage and the horn, and I flattened the surface of the horn, removing the waves.  then I glued the maple onto the top of the horn with superglue.  The tip I glued with a good quality epoxy and wrapped it and let it dry for three days.  A little sanding and shaping eliminated the slight slip (1/64" or so) in the tip on glue up.

I had also planned to put a leather handle on it because I like they way it feels when I shoot.  But when I got the yarn off and had re-worked the grip a little to fit my hand, I could see the figuring starting to appear in the maple, and I couldn't bring myself to cover it back up.  So I left the handle naked.

reworking the tip and the grip left gaps in the finish, so I stripped the rest of it off and refinished with 8 coats of tung oil.  Here are the results

[jeffp51]

Here are the reworked brace and full draw pics.  I am happy to say the bow shoots smooth as silk.  You will notice also Osage Outlaw's arrow trade arrow at the center of the bull's eye in the target (normally the safest place to hide if I am shooting).  I shot several different-spined arrows from the bow, and the centered shelf handles them all as well as I am able to shoot.  There is absolutely no shock in it at all. 

This is an absolutely beautiful bow and kudos to Ty for all his hard work on the project.  I couldn't be happier with it.  The few little things I did were purely cosmetic, but the heart of the bow is excellent work with really nice curves and a great tiller.  I am sure I will enjoy it for years to come.   I can't wait to see the one he makes for himself.

With this post we can officially call the 2016 bow trade completed.  Time to start 2017?

[bjrogg]

That is a beautiful bow, sure glad to see you with that full draw picture. Must feel really good
Bjrogg

[jeffp51]

That is actually my son posing in the full draw. He wanted to try it out too.