Easy way to make a laminate bow

djthompson

New member
Alanesq,

the use of a router is genius. Could you use it to shape the back?

Do you have a separate router table and saw table? Interested in your set up.

I ws thinking about getting a hand held router but you sound like you don't think that will work?

Love your bows. D
 

alanesq

New member
I would think you can do it with a hand held router but there is more risk of it going wrong
If you clamped the stave to a table edge so the router sits solidly on the table and stave then I would think this would work well

It shouldn't be difficult to make your own router table of some kind - its just something which holds the router solidly upside down with a flat surface so you can run the stave along it (you need to be careful when using a router though as it will eat fingers given any chance so its probably not something to be recommended)

I have not tried a router on the bows back but I would imagine it will work ok
the back only has to be rounded a small amount and the Hickory I suspect is likely to splinter so I didn't risk trying

this looks like the router table I have
Silverline Router Table [SIL-633894] - ?47.25 : Horizon Tools and Ladders | Buy a Tool or Ladder Online

BTW - The saw I have is a cheap and cheerful bandsaw (the sort you get for under ?100)
 

Skyfox

New member
Its Ipe, Purpleheart and Hickory
135lb at 32"
78" between nocks
28mm wide by 25.5mm at the handle / 16mm x 16mm tips
Sidenocks
@alanesq: Hello, I know your post is years back, but as I have just tried, slightly unsuccessfully, my first laminate bow, I would like to ask about the approx. thickness of the different laminates you have used.

Mine was beech wood, 180cm x 25mm x 6mm for the back layer and 10mm for the belly layer.
I glued them with hide glue and Perry reflex of about 10cm at the tips.
 

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Skyfox

New member
Before it broke I measured 24#, but that was before the fine sanding. It must have been around that when i shot the 3 arrows nicely at a brace height of about 10 to 12cm.
Then it broke when trying to brace it properly, unfortunately too late to measure again😅
 

osprey

Member
I'm planning on trying alanesq's method soon. Hopefully using the wood types he used if I can get hold of them. I was curious about draw weight because he mentions his being around 135lbs which is way higher than I want. I doubt if I could pull that let alone hit anything if I did :) .
Are you going to have another go? Let us know if you do, I'd be interested to know.
 

Skyfox

New member
I will definitely experiment further soon. Because drawing the bow had such a good feeling to it that, it was really fun. But beech wood and high draw weight might not go together well. Will post again wenn i did something new.
 

Skyfox

New member
I am trying it again with the same setup, beech wood laminates glued together with hide glue and achieved again 10cm of Perry reflex. This time with better glue, additional helping hands for glueing and wood with a better structure. I planned in a thicker grip, to be able to shape it later, but make the bow overall slightly slimmer. This time the draw weight is planned to be in the mid 20ies as it should become a bow for a teenager.
 

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