ipe glue up advice please( glue up #)BROKE ( resurrecting )

[sleek]

I have 4 ipe slats about 1/4 thick 2 wide. I want to boo back them and I think I need a core wood. I have some mahogany slats for at least one core. Rumor has it tight bond III is no good on ipe. Im wanting a 50-55#@28 bow here. Going with stiff handle. Beyond that my first ipe will be a straight d bow with 2"reflex

How thick does the core need to be if my belly slats are 1/4 thick? can i get away with tight bond? How narrow can i go on the bow?

[DarkSoul]

Rumor has it tight bond III is no good on ipe.

That's just nonsense. Titebond 3 works fine on any wood, including ipé, and bamboo.

I don't really like mahogany myself. As a core I'm sure it will work, but there are better woods.
Since you have quite a limited thickness, only 1/4", you'll need a core of sufficient thickness, preferably tapered. Depending on design, I'd make the core roughly 4 mm (handle) to 3 mm (tip) thick.

[Onebowonder]

Sleek - Search the Google for "Nelson UniBond 800".  You'll find the link there to information on the glue I'd recommend.  I wish we had spoken about it a bit more when you were here as I could have given you enough to make up a batch and try it out. 

Comments on Woodweb despair of EVER gluing Ipe, ( http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Gluing_Ipe.html ) but I know it is and can be done in bow building.  Many of the applications that fail are exterior use, and few of us leave our bows setting out in the rain and sun continuously. 

Surface prep is key.  It should be freshly worked and then very well wiped down with mineral spirits or acetone just prior to glue up.


OneBow

[PEARL DRUMS]

TB3 doesn't work bad, but it slips unlike UniBond. Not sure if you remember my "Howard" bow? It was hickory backed ipe Hill styled. After a few hundred shots my riser slipped a bit and I can feel it in my fades. Im going to slice it off and glue it back on with Unibond, no more slipping.

[bubby]

I use tb3 on mine sleek but i am probably gonna order some smooth on or a similar product, with the heat out here i need the extra working time , depending on the length i don't know if you really need a corr maybe a powerlam

[Onebowonder]

Here's a link to a further discussion of surface prepartion for oily tropical woods from the Wood Database guys.  It has some good suggestions about technique for gluing up dense and oily woods.

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/gluing-oily-tropical-hardwoods/


OneBow

[sleek]

Would a rounded belly hurt things?

[DarkSoul]

Not at all. But 1/4" of ipé is not enough thickness to allow for a rounded belly. You'd have to use two of those laminations to make it work.

[bubby]

Sleek i bet that a bow 1-3/8" wide straight taper from fades 62"ttt will be all you need it don't take much epe to make a 50# bow

[sleek]

I have a 3/4" wide bamboo backing strip I am going to use to experiment with on my first bow.  Will try for 62" 45#@28. Gonna splice in limb tips as the ipe is only 52" long. Will do a mahogany core and tight bond III glue because this is what I have.

[sleek]

TB3 doesn't work bad, but it slips unlike UniBond. Not sure if you remember my "Howard" bow? It was hickory backed ipe Hill styled. After a few hundred shots my riser slipped a bit and I can feel it in my fades. Im going to slice it off and glue it back on with Unibond, no more slipping.

I remember that bow pearl. Wonder if a thick long powe lam and a shorter riser with paper thin fades would fix that?

[sleek]

Is 1/4 too thick for the core lam?

[bubby]

Yup way to thick

[bubby]

Try 5/32 to 5/64

[sleek]

Got it down to 5/32. Now, I am splicing in levers to take it out to 62". I wonder if 58" isnt better? I could deflex the handle then reflex the tips. Im not going for high draw weight...