Is there a bowyer in the house?
 

Having gotten so fraustrated in not being able to find a left handed recurve and getting outbid on e-bay everytime, I have decided to build my own bow. I just recieved the vedio and blue prints along with instuctions in building it from Binghams. No I have no ideal what I am doing but I am a carpenter by trade and have all the tools for building it as it seems to have more detail than I thought but I can handle that part, but I was just curious if any of you other guys have built one and if you all have some do's and don'ts as far as what materials to use as there is so many factors to include and I don't want to rush it but would like to use it this sept. I want to go with a muti-layer heavy wood for the riser using various stips to elimanate shock, but I am uncertain about the wood to use in the limbs. You guys got any ideals and why? I am more into function than showing it off, thanks in advance for any imfo, Bobby

RE: Is there a bowyer in the house?
 

try the traditional section.

RE: Is there a bowyer in the house?
 

Gib, I thought of that, but I thought it would get more exposure in here at this time of year since its slow there and also in the left handed forum. Thanks anyway, Bobby ;)

RE: Is there a bowyer in the house?
 

I've only built one longbow, so I hardly classify as a bowyer. [&:] It shoots hard and straight though, and isn't too ugly, but I know my next one will be better. ;)

For your first bow, which is really low on the learning curve, I'd recommend just getting some plain old action wood laminations and using brown or black glass. The glass is what does most all the work anyway. Supposedly, colored glass makes for a few fps faster bow than clear glass does. It's really limb design though that decides what kind of performance you'll ultimately get out of it.

For limb tips, try using micarta overlays. They're tough and will stand up to fastflight strings just fine. I'd put a piece of white or red glass underneath the micarta for a little color contrast to make it look good.

A heavy riser will definitely make for less shock and a quieter bow. When I get around to making a recurve, I'll be using that resin impregnated stuff like futurewood or dymondwood. It's not as pretty as exotic woods, but it's darn practical.

Once you get that first bow made, you'll have a better idea of how to make what you want. I'm not saying it'll be a thow-away bow, but odds are it'll have a few booboos. People say my bow looks practically as good as a custom but, to me, there's about a hundred little flaws that stick out like sore thumbs every time I look at it.

By the way, you making a 1-piece or a takedown?

RE: Is there a bowyer in the house?
 

Thanks for the feed back Aurthur. The bow I am building is a 60" recurve with appx. 50 lbs pull. I thought about building a takedown but the Black Widow I have is a takedown and I have hardly ever taken it apart. The Black Widow I have has a split limb but the riser is great so I want to build a set of limbs afterwards for the BW riser after I build this recurve.
I know what you mean how you can see imperfections and not noticed by others as I make knives up and I am never satisfied as I feel like I can always do better. Thanks again, Bobby;)