Take down sleeve build along

[Lee Lobbestael]

Hi guys. I have a bunch of osage billets i cut last fall and I am no good at splicing so I decided to make a take down. I did not want to spend the money on a take down sleeve so I decided to make my own. Here is a build along of how I did it. Sorry I seem to be missing a few pictures. But first I cut a 4" piece of stainless steel pipe and squashed it in a vice so that it had an oval cross section. Next I found a big bolt and nut. I cut the piece of pipe in half. I set one piec of pipe on a waxed paper plate on top of the nut. I then filled it to the top of the nut using JB weld.

[sieddy]

I don't quite understand that process entirely. But it looks genius in its simplicity!

[Lee Lobbestael]

I greased the top of the first piece before gluing the bolt end so that the two pieces did not stick together. I will wrap both sides with leather. Sorry I didnt take more pictures. I hope this picture sequence makes sense. Today I roughed out the bow and the tips were way out of line so I am steaming and bending the limbs into line.   

[alwayslookin]

That's pretty ingenious  never seen it done that way.

[Jim Davis]

Forgive me  for lacking confidence in the strength... It will be very exciting for a second if it comes apart.

[Peacebow_Coos]

Interesting idea, hope it works out!

[Lee Lobbestael]

Asharrow, Yup we'll have to see! Nothing ventured nothing gained. But I feel pretty confident with it. Its rated to 3600 pounds or something like that and I prepped all surfaces well.

[half eye]

Hey Lee, I believe ya got a winner there. I cant speak for the epoxy strength but that bolt and the flat mating surface should hold any bow that a guy would want to draw. Some of the old English longbows were take-down models that had 2 mating surfaces and a single hinge. I like your idea myself.
    Just one guys opinion but I'd shoot it with no qualms at all.
rich

[Lee Lobbestael]

Thanks Half eye. Yeah I feel that most of the stresses will be on the flat surfaces.

[turmoiler]

I like it!!
but I have some questions:
how thick is the epoxy and how many space is left for the wood to be inserted? I suppose that if the pipe is 4" long and you cut it in two pieces 2" long and you fill each piece with 1" of epoxy  to glue the bolt and and the nut, you only have 1" of space of each billet to be inserted.
What kind of grease did you use?

[Lee Lobbestael]

There was about an inch and a quarter left over for the billet to be glued into. They are a tight fit and feel strong enough but you could make the pipe longer if you were worried about it. I used some dielectric grease I had at work but I'm sure any grease would work.

[mikekeswick]

If you have a spare piece of osage from those billets I would check it's moisture content to make sure it's around 6 - 8% before fitting them.