Fades

[DC]

I'm playing with this new(to me)handle and now that I've got it clamped up(not glued) the fades look very abrupt to me. I've taken a picture comparing the limb thickness of the experiment and my best bow. You can see on the BB that the "fades" go out almost 9" where the new bow is quite short. This pair of Yew bellies are quite thin, about .300" thick and with the Boo the total limb thickness will be about .450" just out of the fades. 1 1/2" wide, 66" long going for 40#. Do you think it's going to bend too much right out of the fades and maybe for this one I should include a power lam? I deliberately chose my worst pieces of wood for the first one so that if it's a success I should be OK for others. Sorry for the pic quality. I just can't seem to get a clear pic lately. Hopefully you can see it well enough to comment

[mmattockx]

That looks very abrupt to me. A power lam seems like a good idea if you can't redo the riser with longer fades and a larger radius on the riser.


Mark

[bownarra]

When you are doing these 'up the ramp' laminates you should make the riser fades longer like 3" minimum. with a more gradual fade.
A powerlam or tapered backing would be good here.

[DC]

I had already cut out the Black Walnut riser so I didn't want to waste it. I'll use a power lam and modify the riser next time if the belly isn't thick enough. Thanks

[Tommy D]

This looks like quite a neat way to get a little more length out of two belly pieces and saves a splice. I have been cutting my bows out in “pyramid shape” such that the pieces between two adjacent full length bows are wide enough to make another bow if spliced together - it seems to maximise what I can get out of a plank. Might try this instead of a splice on the shorter pieces. Enjoying watching this progress.

[DC]

The Black Walnut and the Yew looks pretty good. I should have taken a pic. I'm gluing the power lam on now so it's all covered in bike tube. It's in the truck hoping for the sun to peak through. It's a bit of a fiddle to get the curve on the riser to match the curve on the  belly lam. It would have been easier if I'd made the riser a bit longer but then you start cutting into working limb.

[Hamish]

Looking forward to see how this one turns out(I think it should work well). Really thinking outside the box DC.

[DC]

Here's a peek. Crummy pic again. I need a new camera.

[bownarra]

That's the job

[bassman]

Nice job on that one DC. You always seem to be busy at it.

[PatM]

That looks great.  I'd be a bit worried about Black Walnut in that scenario though.  I'd prefer a piece of Ipe with a power lam feathering the transition.

[DC]

I wondered about the BW but decided to go for it mainly because I was looking for a dark wood to hide the glue lines That is a power lam on the top. I got the riser to taper in to the belly nicely but then I decided to put on the PL and now I'm going to have to fiddle a bit to get a decent glue line where the Boo, the belly and the PL meet. It would be easy if I didn't have to worry about the thickness of the Yew belly. I have to make it all blend by feathering the PL. My job for the day. Maybe squeeze in the recurves too.

[mmattockx]

I look forward to seeing the whole bow on the tree. Just for curiosity sake, what is wrong with black walnut for the riser block?


Mark

[DC]

I'm not sure. I just shy away from using non bow wood anywhere in a bow. I'm sure this one will not bend much(if at all) being so short but I can maybe see a problem if it reached out into the limb a little further. I asked this same question in another post and never got an answer.  https://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,68217.0.html
Last post.
My gut says you could use a piece of generic 2x4 but I'm not about to risk a week of work on a gut feeling.

[mmattockx]

My gut says you could use a piece of generic 2x4 but I'm not about to risk a week of work on a gut feeling.

I have seen people mention using black walnut for core lams in multi-lam bows, so I never considered it to not be a bow wood of some sort. I would be concerned about SPF lumber failing in compression at the handle if you used it for a riser, but walnut is not at all in the same strength category as softwood construction lumber.


Mark