Platypus bow

[superdav95]

Well I’m no really sure what else to call his “thing” other then platypus.  It’s essentially a reverse Penobscot bow…sorta…?  I had a dream about this bow actually strange as it sounds and I could adjust the draw weight by slipping in these removable belly slats.  Crazy I know I know…. So I decided to spend my afternoon dismantling one of my bamboo bows to try it.  Well with some trepidation and safety glasses I drew it back and it actually shot very well.  No weird noises or clicks or vibrations out of the ordinary compared to my others.  It shot hard and fast.   I thought to myself well let’s keep shooting.  Put about 100 shots through it and no signs of any issues with the belly slats.  My idea with this hair brained idea is to have slats that can be removed and added depending on what draw weight your wanting.  These slats would have some sort of felt material on the underside glued to help with vibrations and potential noise.  I would ideally have them friction fit in place in the concave area/void between the handle and the main limb at the handle for each limb.  These slats would be sized according to weight/thickness and be swapped out as a set/pair.  Some design issues obviously would need to be resolved yet but this proof of concept at least says to me is possible to have a bow that can be made adjustable almost on the fly.  These particular belly slats I had a baked in reflex in them as can be seen with bow strung up.  I wipped these slats up in about 30mins from scraps left over.  I also glued mine in with my hot melt glue as part of the limb when re assembling the bow to test the idea.    The white cordage is just old construction poly twine I use for little projects like this as temporary binding in case things blow up. It happens unfortunately.  Let me know what you guys think?!?!  My wife wasn’t around for any pics or video of me shooting it but I’m pleased with the result.  Thanks for looking

 Cheers

Dave

[superdav95]

Some more…

[Bob Barnes]

Crazy cool Dave...I'll be watching for sure... 

[Del the cat]

Nice work, it's fun to do different stuff... I mean we've only been experimenting for about 60,000, so plenty of stuff to try
It's a bit like a truck leaf spring 
Maybe add a thin piece of leather to stop the ends of the slats wearing the belly?
Del

[GlisGlis]

that's a very interesting test and i think Del provided an excellent hint
At first my concern was that a longer and/or stiffer slat would work only partially due to the bad tillering provided by the two contact points
But... by copying the idea of the truck leaf springs using many overlapping slats could be the way!  A much more distributed load and better tillering 
I'll follow you with great interest

[Weird dude with a bow]

Nice experiment! now, what if you don't try tu supress friction and noise? this bow could sound like the typical hollywood movie bow when drawn

[superdav95]

Thanks guys.  It’s a weird one for sure.  Del, yes there is a small section of felt at the contact points but leather or suede would work too.  I love the experiment of it all and yes the leaf spring is a great visual as to a working concept.  I was even thinking that maybe longer and shorter slats will need to be tested.  GlisGlis,  the contact point on this working prototype is minimal I can lift up on the end with my fingers.  It actually bends quite nicely with the main limb surprisingly.  If I go with stiffer slats it may become more of a problem so will require more testing.  Bob,  yes it’s crazy and pretty cool 😎.  Weird guy,  I was thinking too that this seems like something from Hollywood and kinda gimicky that you might see in a movie.  It’s so crazy it just might work!  🏹.  Thanks for following along on this crazy journey.  Dave.

[Pat B]

Interesting, Dave. Without experimentation where would humanity be. Keep it up. 

[Badger]

    I love it, cool to see people still experimenting.

[willie]

    I love it, cool to see people still experimenting.

+1

[Aaron1726]

Cool stuff!  Awesome concept.  I know it's not primitive, but teflon tape (not the pipe sealing kind, but adhesive on one side, teflon strip on the other) might help on the contact points.  Works wonders on slingshots to prevent band wear from the friction over the forks.

[superdav95]

Thanks guys.  I like to experiment and not all work out but it is fun and passes the time.  I’m gonna get to work and get building a working functional version.  Thanks for following along

[Selfbowman]

I’m with Del on the truck springs. I like the way you think outside the box Dave!

[bassman211]

Made your style of  bow year ago ,and it came out way to low in poundage, The slats were cut to thin. Today I built to inner slats for the bow ,and got the bow to 38lbs, and  got the limbs balanced. I am happy with the weight , and performance  for a short 38 lb. bow. It is a fun shooter now. You have found a way for me to use up those thin slats, and it was fun getting  the limbs to  balance. Good idea.

[superdav95]

Made your style of  bow year ago ,and it came out way to low in poundage, The slats were cut to thin. Today I built to inner slats for the bow ,and got the bow to 38lbs, and  got the limbs balanced. I am happy with the weight , and performance  for a short 38 lb. bow. It is a fun shooter now. You have found a way for me to use up those thin slats, and it was fun getting  the limbs to  balance. Good idea.

Awesome bassman.  Glad it worked out good for ya.  More to come on this build soon.  I’ll post updates soon.