Author Topic: want to make a mollegabet  (Read 3911 times)

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Offline Newbreedarcher

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want to make a mollegabet
« on: November 18, 2012, 11:53:24 am »
hey guys. since you all were soo helpful with my stave issue, i figured i'd strike the iron while it was hot ;). While my staves are resting in there new home i want to build a board bow. a maple "molly" while the design seems straight forward and all, I am still quite the newbie to bow building. so i was wondering if anyone had some design specs they would be willing to share? the board is .75"X3.5"X70" I will be adding a handle and probably back it with rawhide. that being said, I cant wait to hear your designs! thanks all!

blackhawk

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2012, 12:09:22 pm »
What's your intended draw length and weight with it?

Offline DarkSoul

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2012, 12:50:38 pm »
a maple "molly" while the design seems straight forward and all
A Möllegabet is anything BUT straight forward! This is really no design for a novice. It has highly stressed limbs, with many transitions and short working areas. More of an advanced project than you might think. A Holmgard is much easier and more suited for a novice bowyer that wants to succeed the first attempt.
"Sonuit contento nervus ab arcu."
Ovid, Metamorphoses VI-286

Offline Newbreedarcher

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2012, 01:25:24 pm »
My draw length is 30" I understand I probably won't be successful building one to my draw length the first time. Draw weight is around 50#. Dark, sorry if I mis represented my feelings on mollegabets, I was trying to say they look straight forward and fairly simple design, but I am asking because I know they are not. I know that being a novice I will most likely fail, however, I have always felt that the best way to learn is dive dive right in. Never been one to be discouraged:)

blackhawk

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2012, 02:10:54 pm »
Since your still new at this I wouldn't do any more than a 40/60 lever to working limb ratio. And I'd keep your stave at that length with that long of draw. These are only starting dimensions to get ya going. Mark out a 7" riser section that has a 4" handle and 1 1/2" long fades. I'd keep it simple for now and not glue a handle on,and you can build it up with leather later on if she makes it,but  If you glue a handle on you'll have to make sure you keep the bend away from it otherwise it'll pop off. So if you do make a mark an inch away from the ends of the glued on handle and never scrape past that point. Make your working limbs 2 1/2" wide to start with all the way up till the fade of the lever. Make a smooth transition from limb to lever in the lever fade in 2" down to 1" wide then taper to half inch from there to the tips. You can reduce width in the levers after you have it braced and know where your string tracking is,and leave the levers 3/4" thick untill your out ti full draw,then you'll know how much thickness you can reduce.

Offline kevinsmith5

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2012, 02:44:43 pm »
Go on YouTube and search for "high performance long bow". You're looking for 9 videos by a guy whose screen name is "BoarriorBows". Listen to the man.

Offline Weylin

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2012, 02:45:48 pm »
A personal word of warning. Molly's are a really cool design but like darksoul said they aren't super easy to execute. They small working limbs are under an incredible amount of stress and so they have a much smaller margin of error for an imperfect tiller. I have built about 10 successful long bows and flat bows to the intended length and weight, that still makes me a novice at this but I do have a little experience and guidance to draw on. The last bow I attempted was a mollegabet made from a beautiful osage orange stave which is some of the toughest, most forgiving wood out there. I carefully followed advice from both blackhawk and and others who were quite experienced with the design. I even backed it with some premium kangaroo rawhide. I had some splinter issues due to a tiller that wasn't quite perfect, I fixed the tiller and then after about 1000 shots it catastrophically failed on me. I think you'd be much more satisfied and have a much higher chance of success if you build a straight limbed, bend through the handle flat bow for your first attempt. You will learn a lot about design and tillering and you'll have a much better chance of making that molly work out for you a little bit down the road. That's my two-cents. We'll help you along no matter what you choose but I urge you to consider changing the design. Remember this wont be the last bow you build, they're like a bag of potato chips, you can't just have one.

Offline Newbreedarcher

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2012, 03:19:44 pm »
Oh this isn't my first bow, I have 12 under my belt so far, 7 have survived and still are shooting and 1 was a gift for my little brother. I, too, consider myself a novice at this because I really have learned something new every time I've built a bow. I know the probability for failure on this project, but I just wanted to try it, I have nothing else in the works and I've always wanted a Molly. Thanks for the help guys!

Offline Weylin

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2012, 03:32:17 pm »
Oh,sorry. I misunderstood. In that case, go for it!  8)

Offline BOWMAN53

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2012, 03:38:09 pm »
My first bow was a molle and it was a major fail, splinters and cracks every where. but it sparked my love of bow making. I would make a pyramid bow first.

Offline kevinsmith5

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #10 on: November 18, 2012, 06:30:41 pm »
It's not his first bow....

Offline Arrowind

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #11 on: November 18, 2012, 09:29:13 pm »
Do a search on Half Eye's posts. He is a master especially when it comes to this style of bow.   The how to section has a good Molly build along too.  Molegabets are one of my favorites.  You will love the way they shoot!  If it breaks just try again. Eventually you will have a sweet shooting bow that you will love.
Talking trees. What do trees have to talk about, hmm... except the consistency of squirrel droppings?

Offline JonW

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #12 on: November 19, 2012, 08:47:56 am »
Okay I"m gonna say it. A molle is NOT that hard of a bow to make. My second ever bow was a Molle and so was my third through about six or seven. If you understand tillering go for it. It's just an extra set of fades. I will say the longer the better for the first time. Chris has some good starting tips for ya.


blackhawk

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #13 on: November 19, 2012, 10:13:48 am »
Oops...forgot to mention make your levers 12.5" long..so make a mark that far from the tips,and that's where the fade to the lever will begin.

Offline Newbreedarcher

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Re: want to make a mollegabet
« Reply #14 on: November 19, 2012, 11:00:15 am »
Ok I used your specs to lay out the bow blackhawk! Thanks again to everyone for the advice. I have it all roughed out, working limbs are 2.5" wide X 3/8" I think I should back it at this point. I am going to use rawhide and usually let it cure for at least 2 weeks, so I will try to figure out how to post pictures in the mean time :D. It's funny I'm 25 and am less tech savvy than my parents! Oh well I get it figured out. Thanks again to all of you!