Epoxy Question...

[Wooden Spring]

I have recently glued up a hickory backing onto a beautiful piece of jatoba that I'm making a 30ish pound pyramid bow for my niece, and I used Titebond 3. In the end it worked out with great glue joints once it was cut out, but I noticed the hickory starting to peel up just a bit along the edges of the plank - my guess is that the water based glue caused the dry wood to swell just enough to lift at the edges, so I want to try an epoxy next time, but Bow Grip 100 is hard to come by for me in decent quantities.

I'm an amazon.com freak, and I found System Three T-88 in a one quart kit... Has anyone used this stuff on bows? I've used it before for non-bendy applications (boat building) and its bulletproof, but I wanted to check with folks that have been gluing longer than I have...

http://www.amazon.com/System-Three-Structural-Expoxy-Adhesive/dp/B005H1PLOM/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1378985168&sr=8-20&keywords=epoxy

[PatM]

It's ideal for bow making. Use it.

[Wooden Spring]

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet...   

[adb]

What are you using to clamp your lams with TB3, and what do your mating surfaces look like? I have had zero issues with TB3 for many years. If there's a problem, it's usually not the glue.

[ErictheViking]

I am with adb with titebond III. the curled up edges on you backing was probably from not using some form of plate to evenly distribute the clamping pressure. i use 1.5ft long 1/8 inchx2inch aluminum plates recycled from projects at my work. the edges on an 1/8inch piece of wood will lift up if not held down with a plate of somekind or I believe adb uses rubber banding cut from innertubes. the procees of wrapping the two pieces together keeps the edges from lifting. epoxies are great especially for joint splices and gap filling applications but if you have two flat well matched pieces of wood titebond is so easy to use, cheap, and has a long shelf life(if it is stored properly) I rarely use epoxies.

[adb]

I am with adb with titebond III. the curled up edges on you backing was probably from not using some form of plate to evenly distribute the clamping pressure. i use 1.5ft long 1/8 inchx2inch aluminum plates recycled from projects at my work. the edges on an 1/8inch piece of wood will lift up if not held down with a plate of somekind or I believe adb uses rubber banding cut from innertubes. the procees of wrapping the two pieces together keeps the edges from lifting. epoxies are great especially for joint splices and gap filling applications but if you have two flat well matched pieces of wood titebond is so easy to use, cheap, and has a long shelf life(if it is stored properly) I rarely use epoxies.

ditto.

[Wooden Spring]

Iv'e got about (50) 2" squeeze clamps that I distribute throughout the length of the bow, so I figured that I had decent enough clamping pressure. I don't have access to a metal plate, so I think what I'll try next is wrapping the whole thing in electrical tape. It's rubber, it stretches, it doesn't slip, it's cheap and disposable, and it holds with an awesome amount of force when stretched out...

I tried the rubber band method before, but unfortunately I had a really bad Mel Brooks moment with it. As I was wrapping the bow up, a piece of it actually snapped and when it sprung back, it laid out a nice red mark across my cheek. I swear, it was worse than the time that I gave the WRONG answer to the question "does this make me look fat?"

[adb]

  Love the rubber band story. I've had it break on me too when it gets a bit old, but never whacked in the face!

I use a piece of wood as a clamping board. About 3/4" thick and 2" wide and whatever length I need. Cheap and easy. It certainly doesn't have to be metal. So... I clamp my backing strip between the belly wood and the backing board, and wrap the whole business with inner tubes, leaving about an inch between wraps for air to circulate. One thing I've found that helps to make your inner tubes last longer, is to bevel the edge of the clamping board.


I've found multiple clamps give way too inconsistent pressure. Electrical tape would probably work, but it is one time use and it probably won't provide much pressure.

Cameroo did a youtube video of a glue-up. I taught him, so that's what I do! Check it out. 

[mikekeswick]

Forget the tape and clamps - inner tubes are the way.
Just goto your local bike repair shop and ask them to keep the old ones they gather. Best clamps you'll ever get for free.
I've done a few glue-ups in my time  and i've tried just about every method imaginable.

[Wooden Spring]

Forget the tape and clamps - inner tubes are the way.
Just goto your local bike repair shop and ask them to keep the old ones they gather. Best clamps you'll ever get for free.
I've done a few glue-ups in my time  and i've tried just about every method imaginable.

OK, but I'm wearing a helmet this time!

[bubby]

don't cut them into strips, just cut them in half, I cut out the length with the stem, they last a lot longer and I haven't had one break, and you don't have to get them super tight, tight enough that the glues runs out ahead of the tube, one time I was trying to glue in a recurve and sucked it down with a tube, in a few min. I hear a loud crack, it actually broke the epe belly wood