I loved this build along series! I started making bows when the pandemic started, a great isolation activity. Having had a few successes with straight board bows I have started trying laminated bows with wood backings. I can't thank you enough for putting these build along videos up- so much good information and food for thought. I especially loved the idea of tillering the belly and backing separately before the glue up. Seems obvious in hindsight but hadn't crossed my mind. For the particular bow in this build along it was interesting to see the straight limb with zero tension in the belly wood when strung low- a design idea I that had not crossed my mind. One question I have for a design like this is how much of the energy storage happens in the glue joint, or how much of the work is done by the glue joint vs the belly wood, with a design like this?
I honestly couldn’t say how much work is being done by the glue line. Obviously, the greater the induced reflex, the more stress is on the glue line, since a laminated straight-limbed bow doesn’t benefit much from the glue line vs. just having a stronger back. The greater benefit to the design is that you can have decidedly smaller dimensions and less mass to accomplish a higher draw weight bow - all benefits to efficiency and arrow speed.
Thank you for all of your videos. I'm getting the bug to build my own bow, finally at age 73. You probably mentioned this way back when but in the 20+ some videos I've watched haven't found the answer. What type of string material do you use on your bows, B-50 or some type of non stretch material like fastflite or D-97? Thanks
I’ve used B-50 all along. I started playing around with D-97 in the last couple years because I had some clients that wanted it on their bows. So far I feel like the string noise on the shot isn’t worth the extra 5fps (if that’s what it’s giving me.) I tried it with some recent builds that are lighter poundage than I usually make, and like the D-97 in those applications.
I hi boy I’m Wrap each limb with one inch silk thread equal distance apart starting 4.5” above nock grooves stop below fade out. With this work the bow will be perfectly quiet and never lose its tiller. Also tip overlays reduces performance. Mass weight below 18ozs.
Interesting concept… and I agree that tip overlays add mass in the most vulnerable areas being the tips. The trade off is that we can put a string groove on the back of the bow and narrow the sides significantly which allows significant mass removal in excess of the mass added by the overlays - if you do it right… for reference, this 50#@28” bow weighs in at 16 & 2/3oz. Physical mass.
Well you could add a little bit more material to the side and take that cut for the arrow rest beywond the center. Now of course it comes down to preference. But if you have a center shot bow, it will shoot first of all, all kind of arrows and will shoot faster for less energy. I really like your bows, really nice and well crafted. But for me once i realised how nice an arrow flies out of a centered arrow rest i don't want another bow. I have on my channel a bow wich i made from a chinese fishing rod( those kind of telescopic ones) And my brother filmed me in slow motion with his iphone. I was really surprised how straight the arrow flies from this little bow. Wich is 15 kg draw wight that would be around 33 pounds i think.
All true! The most intriguing part of bow building for me is getting a firm grasp on all of the different design aspects and the trade-offs associated with different approaches. It’s like a recipe, every little detail has benefits and costs - the mix of which is up to you as the “chef”. I believe it is the chief reason a lot of guys can’t build just one. Thank you for your feedback and for watching!
Hi, you started with ~3/8 thick ipe to chase a 50+lb bow, if I'm after a 40lb bow should I start with the same 3/8 or reduce a little, to 1/4"? Also, what do you make your over lays from?
There is a lot more than thickness that goes into the finished weight of a bow. When backing a piece of any combination, you also need to similarly thin the backing strip to keep the ratio in favor of the belly usually in the 3:1 range but even higher in Bamboo combinations with white woods. The longer a bow of similar thickness the lighter the poundage. Narrowing limbs is the best way that I have found to manage weight - and then thinning the belly to manage tiller. I address both of these subjects in the 2 videos that lead up to this one. To answer your question directly, similarly designed (length, width, induced reflex) but thinned to a 1/4” in the belly would probably get you in the 20-30 pound range… wood is 8 times stronger in thickness than it is in width. I cover those topics in my bow efficiency foundations video. As for overlays, I usually use the same combination of wood that I used in the riser of the build if I’m not using horn, bone, antler, or even cow hoof (looks way cooler than you may think)
@@meadowlarkadventuregear thank you, I'll continue my learning progress! I've made 3, but one broke 😢. My current bow is a bit too light and isn't very quick, with a little bit of hand shock. Must try harder (Reminds me of my old school reports)
It’s not uncommon to back with snake skins, so leather could be used if you want, but be aware of some real concerns: 1) leather stretches and breaks in so there is no real tension benefit, and not much for safety either 2) Unless very thin, leather is a much heavier (dense) material than other choices especially for having no real functional benefit - so mostly it only serves to slow limb movement and arrow speed with it. 3) It takes a lot to water seal leather and even then it will take on moisture readily - no good comes with that…. I could probably go on with more issues, but suffice to say that there is a good reason why experienced bowyers do not use leather beyond its application as a grip wrap.
greetings to you sir.hope you are good and well.thank you for sharing your knowledge on utube.i appreciate and love to watch all your bow building videos.i want to send some of my pictures to you.please send your contacts
I enjoy all 8 videos
Very detailed and well presented explanations.
Thank you
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Love your methods as well Sir, lots of experience in preventing mistakes in how you get it all done, thanks for sharing.
masterpiece,beautifull bow.welldone sir
the bow looks nice
Love this bow build, thank you, lots of skill Sir. Beautiful bow, would love to shoot it.
I loved this build along series! I started making bows when the pandemic started, a great isolation activity. Having had a few successes with straight board bows I have started trying laminated bows with wood backings. I can't thank you enough for putting these build along videos up- so much good information and food for thought. I especially loved the idea of tillering the belly and backing separately before the glue up. Seems obvious in hindsight but hadn't crossed my mind.
For the particular bow in this build along it was interesting to see the straight limb with zero tension in the belly wood when strung low- a design idea I that had not crossed my mind. One question I have for a design like this is how much of the energy storage happens in the glue joint, or how much of the work is done by the glue joint vs the belly wood, with a design like this?
I honestly couldn’t say how much work is being done by the glue line. Obviously, the greater the induced reflex, the more stress is on the glue line, since a laminated straight-limbed bow doesn’t benefit much from the glue line vs. just having a stronger back. The greater benefit to the design is that you can have decidedly smaller dimensions and less mass to accomplish a higher draw weight bow - all benefits to efficiency and arrow speed.
Thank you for all of your videos. I'm getting the bug to build my own bow, finally at age 73.
You probably mentioned this way back when but in the 20+ some videos I've watched haven't found the answer. What type of string material do you use on your bows, B-50 or some type of non stretch material like fastflite or D-97? Thanks
I’ve used B-50 all along. I started playing around with D-97 in the last couple years because I had some clients that wanted it on their bows. So far I feel like the string noise on the shot isn’t worth the extra 5fps (if that’s what it’s giving me.) I tried it with some recent builds that are lighter poundage than I usually make, and like the D-97 in those applications.
When you finished the tips did that take care of the vibration?
It sure did!
I hi boy I’m
Wrap each limb with one inch silk thread equal distance apart starting 4.5” above nock grooves stop below fade out. With this work the bow will be perfectly quiet and never lose its tiller. Also tip overlays reduces performance. Mass weight below 18ozs.
Interesting concept… and I agree that tip overlays add mass in the most vulnerable areas being the tips. The trade off is that we can put a string groove on the back of the bow and narrow the sides significantly which allows significant mass removal in excess of the mass added by the overlays - if you do it right… for reference, this 50#@28” bow weighs in at 16 & 2/3oz. Physical mass.
Well you could add a little bit more material to the side and take that cut for the arrow rest beywond the center. Now of course it comes down to preference. But if you have a center shot bow, it will shoot first of all, all kind of arrows and will shoot faster for less energy. I really like your bows, really nice and well crafted. But for me once i realised how nice an arrow flies out of a centered arrow rest i don't want another bow. I have on my channel a bow wich i made from a chinese fishing rod( those kind of telescopic ones) And my brother filmed me in slow motion with his iphone. I was really surprised how straight the arrow flies from this little bow. Wich is 15 kg draw wight that would be around 33 pounds i think.
All true! The most intriguing part of bow building for me is getting a firm grasp on all of the different design aspects and the trade-offs associated with different approaches. It’s like a recipe, every little detail has benefits and costs - the mix of which is up to you as the “chef”. I believe it is the chief reason a lot of guys can’t build just one. Thank you for your feedback and for watching!
Hi, you started with ~3/8 thick ipe to chase a 50+lb bow, if I'm after a 40lb bow should I start with the same 3/8 or reduce a little, to 1/4"? Also, what do you make your over lays from?
There is a lot more than thickness that goes into the finished weight of a bow. When backing a piece of any combination, you also need to similarly thin the backing strip to keep the ratio in favor of the belly usually in the 3:1 range but even higher in Bamboo combinations with white woods. The longer a bow of similar thickness the lighter the poundage. Narrowing limbs is the best way that I have found to manage weight - and then thinning the belly to manage tiller. I address both of these subjects in the 2 videos that lead up to this one. To answer your question directly, similarly designed (length, width, induced reflex) but thinned to a 1/4” in the belly would probably get you in the 20-30 pound range… wood is 8 times stronger in thickness than it is in width. I cover those topics in my bow efficiency foundations video. As for overlays, I usually use the same combination of wood that I used in the riser of the build if I’m not using horn, bone, antler, or even cow hoof (looks way cooler than you may think)
@@meadowlarkadventuregear thank you, I'll continue my learning progress! I've made 3, but one broke 😢. My current bow is a bit too light and isn't very quick, with a little bit of hand shock. Must try harder (Reminds me of my old school reports)
can u cover the back of the bow with leather?
It’s not uncommon to back with snake skins, so leather could be used if you want, but be aware of some real concerns:
1) leather stretches and breaks in so there is no real tension benefit, and not much for safety either
2) Unless very thin, leather is a much heavier (dense) material than other choices especially for having no real functional benefit - so mostly it only serves to slow limb movement and arrow speed with it.
3) It takes a lot to water seal leather and even then it will take on moisture readily - no good comes with that…. I could probably go on with more issues, but suffice to say that there is a good reason why experienced bowyers do not use leather beyond its application as a grip wrap.
greetings to you sir.hope you are good and well.thank you for sharing your knowledge on utube.i appreciate and love to watch all your bow building videos.i want to send some of my pictures to you.please send your contacts
You can reach me at joddy.pettit@gmail.com
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