Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Gordon on April 22, 2008, 05:18:56 am
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This is my first attempt at a laminated R/D bow. The backing is bamboo, with a black walnut core and a yew belly. The yew was cut from a log that Joe Klink kindly gave to me (thank you Joe!). The bow is 64” ntn, 60# @ 27”, 1 ¼” wide to the mid-limbs tapering to ½” at the tips. Handle wrap is dyed elk with kangaroo lacing and the bow is finished with Tru-Oil. I’m not entirely satisfied with the result – I glued in too much deflex and I lost more reflex than I had hoped during tillering. So I ended up with some string follow. But I learned a great deal from this bow and I expect to do better on my next attempt.
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/walnut_yew/BBWalnutYew_003.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/walnut_yew/BBWalnutYew_010.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/walnut_yew/BBWalnutYew_011.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/walnut_yew/BBWalnutYew_002.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/walnut_yew/BBWalnutYew_007.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/walnut_yew/BBWalnutYew_006.jpg)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/res0oeio/walnut_yew/BBWalnutYew_005.jpg)
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yeah, i see what you mean. a skilled bowyer like you shouldn't be seen in public with such a lousy bow. send it to me, i ain't proud ;D
seriously, i think it's another fine example of your skill. tiller and finish are immaculate. love the handle and the tips, but i particularly like her at fulldraw. and the reduced early draw weight is probably made up by increased accuracy. i bet she's really smooth on the draw and a pleasure to shoot.
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Holy cow Gordon !!!...looks great, .....what, you 100th laminated bow ? ;)
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......Seriously Gordon, the way you make and finish bows you should get in the business of selling them .....(for top dollars)
Gordon's archery,...hey I come work for you, learn some tricks from the master !
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Another beauty Gordon,you do some awsome work.Love it. :)
Pappy
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Beautiful bow Gordon! Every aspect of it looks good... ;)
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Looks great! Tiller looks to be dead on. Very nicely done.
Tracy
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Looks like another beauty. Good job. Jesse
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Certainly looks like a real "Gordon" to me too. Love the look of the wood color combos also. Since you say you aren't "Entirely satisfied" with the outcome, Gordon, I'm going to lend you one of my dear (really), late Mother-In-Law's wise sayings, always said in a soft, gentle voice, "Well, he can just darned well get happy in the same trousers he got sad in!" (Bless her heart.) :D
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Beautiful bow as usual Gordon! I always enjoy seeing every work of art you make....
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hi gordon! - that is a really nice bow and even with a bit of stringfollow she should shoot just great!
how did you build your riser??
frank
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Gordon-
Dont listen to those other guys. Send it to a guy in Montana. You have my address already lol.
On a serious note, even your self admitted unsatisfactory attempt is better than most of our first string bows. I llike the full drawn shape of her. If you want me to though (still on a serious note here) I could take it up after elk this year.... ;D
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Great bow as always. Joel
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Another beauty Gordon. You, as the rest of us are way too critical about our own work. From where I sit, she looks pretty good. If you hadn't mentioned anything, nobody would know different. ;) 8) Pat
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I like it Gordon,another beauty. God Bless PeteC
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Wow Gordon, I knew you had something grand up your sleave. ;D Incredible bow as expected from you. I love the color combo and I know your not completely satisfied so just bring it over to our Central Oregon gathering and I'll fix it for you. >:D You'll never have to look at that terrible thing again. ;D ;D Just love looking at your bows Gordon ,they are always a treat. Keenan
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Nice contrast in colors, and walnut being fairly low density ought to make it ideal for a center lam. Looks like a good result to me, you certainly aren't pulling all the reflex out of those outer limbs at full draw though.
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Nice. That is an impressive draw weight for walnut and yew at that width I would think.
Dave
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Looks nice Gordon
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I think the posters of laminates for April are saying "Ah Nuts - Gordon Submitted a Bow" :-\
Actually, there are five really fine bows in this category for April. :)
Great Bow Gordon. We'll look at next for when we vote.
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Beautiful bow as usual Gordon.
I've made a bunch of r/d bows and to be honest I find the ones that lay 1 an or so of string follow rested are all around as good or better than the ones retaining 1 or 2 of reflex. You still have great string angle and depending upon how much actual set from crushing, versus how much induced initially, the bows can be as fast as some of the more radical ones. For some reason those deflexed bows which stand like a V at brace make a ton of early weight. I bet it's quiet, and fast with the lower sg cores.
But I know what you mean, when you start out on a project and don't finsih with what you had in your mind's eye.
Nice bow.
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Interesting observation about string angle at brace and its effect on early draw weight. You'd expect that the lower the angle between string and tip, the more tension on the string. But I would almost think it'd make the draw even easier by increasing the lever action.
I do favor a straight-limb profile at brace on those R/D bows.
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A fine first attempt Gordon. I wish my third attempt looked that good. :'(
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Sweet looking bow, Gordon.
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Marius, it does shoot rather nicely. But, to be honest, 60# is at the upper end of my comfort range. But I wanted a weapon that was suitable for elk hunting.
Manny, if I decide to make some money doing this you will be one of the first persons I call for help.
Thank you Pappy and Greg.
I’m not sure on the tiller. I think Lennie has a point about preferring a straight profile at brace. That said, I was worried if I let it bend further, more reflex would pull out. So I just tillered it my usual way by reducing the limb thickness evenly from the fades to about 4” off the tips. It seemed to work okay.
Bernie, I would have loved to meet your mother-in-law. It sounds like she was a real hoot! …and very wise
Thank you Drew and Jesse.
Frank, for the riser I put a yew power-lam between the core and the backing. I don’t know if it really added anything to the bow, but it looks cool.
I do have your address Nathan and am looking forward to doing some fishing in your area. Don’t be surprised if I turn up on your doorstep!
Thank you Joel and Pete.
Thank you Pat, but some folks would surely have noticed. And I know I can do better now that I have a little experience under my belt.
Keenan, I will bring it to the Central Coast gathering. The guys in my group can’t wait for that. Will any of your folks be there earlier in the week?
Lennie, I’ve seen both straight and slightly reflexed profiles at full draw. Being new to this, I’m not really sure which is best. I was at John Strunk’s shop the other day and I noticed he keeps the reflexed areas a bit thicker on his r/d bows. He said he does that to keep the reflex from pulling out. I thought that might put undue stress on the inner limbs, but his unbraced profiles looked fine. So much to learn…
Thank you Dave. Do you think the bow might have benefited from wider limbs? I was worried that if I made the limbs too wide the backing would overpower the belly.
Thank you Yooper.
Don, it seems that the entries for the laminate category are getting better each month. At this rate it won’t be long before it is as competitive as the self-bow category.
Thank you David. I did have a result in mind, but I’ve learned that the wood sometimes has its own ideas and it is best not to fight it too much.
Thank you Dano and Hillbilly.
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Gordon, I'm with what David (DCM) said 100%, and I intentionally have most of my bows which leave my hands look like the tiller on your bow..It is hard visually to accept initially, but when judging by shot quality it changes things ;D..
Of course it's a beauty , and a great mix of woods to look at..
One little trick I do on tri-lams is to first glue the belly and core up into an r/d profile, and when its dried then I glue on the belly, but I amplify the arc a bit more perhaps getting the tips into reflex on this glue up..I have got my highest speeds with this trick, but also the sweetest shooting bows.
Rich-
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Great bow Gordon!....Brian
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One little trick I do on tri-lams is to first glue the belly and core up into an r/d profile, and when its dried then I glue on the belly,
Did you mean to say that you glue the backing and the core first? I'm a little confused by your description - would you mind clarifying?
Thank you Brian.
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Thats a pretty bow Gordon. One of the fastest long bows I ever made has the same unstrung profile as that bow. ;D
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Gordon-
Great looking bow. I'm glad it turned out so nice.
Bryan
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Ryan, I don't know how fast it is, but it does seem to bury an ash arrow deeper into my bail than any of the other home-made bows on my rack.
Thank you Bryan. BTW when are we going hunting? I can't wait to see you stick a turkey with that new bow of yours. There are turkeys out there, right? ;D
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Great looking bow Gordon, but we wouldn't expect less from you. Justin
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I think the width is great as is. My point was that it was a good outcome.
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Do you think the bow might have benefited from wider limbs? I was worried that if I made the limbs too wide the backing would overpower the belly.
have you considered traping the limbs? as in making the belly wider then the backing? or using higher crown bamboo? just a thought
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Gordon you should shoot that thing through a crono. Im really curious to know how fast it is. We both have r/d laminated bows drawing 60#@27". It would be interesting and educational to see the difference in performance. Jesse
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Nice blend of woods and I could look at your full draw pics all day, what a tiller!
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wow gordon you are one of the best bowyers i have ever seen
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Another beauty, You do some amazing work.
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Justin, thank you.
Marius, I trapped the backing somewhat, but probably not enough to make much of a difference. I imagine that sooner or later I will explore more radical approaches.
Jesse, I don't own a chrono, but maybe it's time to get one so I can more objectively evaluate my designs.
Thank you Shaun, David and Rick for the compliments - I much appreciate it.
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Gordon, Oops,. I glue the belly and the core up first, and when dry, I amplify the arc in the limbs a bit more and glue it up with the backing..
Rich
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Bow turned out well Gordon. You did a fine job
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Sweet bow Gordon, when I build a multi-lam bow I try and make the middle lam .125" almost all of the multi-lam bows will hold more reflex than the simple two lam bows. The Yew wood that I've had was around 5-6% moisture and will hold more reflex than my Osage bows and boy does the Yew bows shoot, they're so light in the hand that at first you think they're going to be a kids bow:) Also your tiller and attention to detail is excellent. I'll send some pictures of a baleen bellied bow that I'm finishing up.
JD
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Thanks Rich, I figured that's what you probably meant. I will have to try that.
Thank you Marc.
JD, that seems about right for a middle core thickness. I'm really interested in your baleen bellied bow. I can't wait to see the pictures.
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Man, I'm missing a lot of stuff - don't have time to read through all (am at work). That bow is drop dead gorgeous - first attempt? Is there nothing you aren't good at? ;D..
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Is there nothing you aren't good at?
Yea, hitting what I'm looking at ::)
Thank you for the compliment Paul.
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Is there nothing you aren't good at?
Yea, hitting what I'm looking at ::)
same here >:(
hey, maybe that means i'll become as good a bowyer as you one day.......NOT ;D
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a fine looking bow.
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excellent looking bow gordon. i actually prefer a bit of string follow in an r/d. itll still deliver the arrow with force but feels better in the hand
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A little string follow certainly makes the bow nicer to brace. My first Boo backed bow holds about 2" of reflex and I about get a hernia when I try to brace it without a stringer.
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Gordon, a few of the guys who post on this forum display genuine talent and craftsmanship: you are one of them. I am reaching through time and space to try to absorb your skills...better watch out!
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Thank you Radius. I appreciate the sentiment behind your words, but there are a lot of folks who post on this site who are extremely talented and I find myself constantly in awe of what they create. I feel priviledged to be a small part of this amazing community that we have created here.
Thank you again for your kind words.