Photos bamboo bow glue-up with rope&wedges

I seem to have a problem getting the photo to be with the text. I tried cutting & pasting , but not successful. Can someone help perhaps? As you see, I'm
using photobucket as an upload to support.SteveT.

It is easy to post pictures from another site. On "post reply" page you must first click on img and than you write lint to that image you want to post (in this case http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e362/ ... G_0528.jpg) and than you click on img*. That is all.

This is interestin way for bow making! :wink:

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Thanks for the help Rapsod. I'll try again. In this photo the lams are glued and I start to wrap the rope around in a spiral. There is a pressure plate on the back and belly side to distribute the pressure. The rope is then spiralled back on itself to form a criss-cross as shown. You need to get the tension right so the wedges compress the lams together with no gaps.SteveT.

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Now I start to place bamboo wedges where the rope criss-cross'. The wedges go on the opposite side you want to make a curve. Using my knee I apply pressure on the bow to create a reflex or deflex in the limb . Tighten the wedges with a hammer , and the curve stays in place. Start at one end of the bow , and work your way along placing wedges in a section , then tighten and move on.

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Here the wedges are all in , and the bow has the desired shape. This method does away with forms and allows you to freely set curves where you want, and shape a bow the way you want. The result is a bow with more "life" in it. Can be used with natural materials like this or for making glass bows. You can always see the glue lines and tighten any gaps, check for straightness and so on. I use this method for all my bows and making the cores too.

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Now the bow has been unwrapped and the edges are filed smooth as I start to shape the riser and limbs. I use a good 2-part epoxy with long working time.(2hrs.) It's called G1, but any good glue works. It takes 1hr from glue-up to being fully wedged and ready for the heat box. I recommend doing dry runs with no glue on lams to get the "feel" of setting wedges and curves. Don't waste materials that way. Use fresh rope each time, but wedges are good for many bows.

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Sorry. This is the photo for above.SteveT.

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My apologies. It's late, and I'm tired. This should be the photo of the finished bamboo bow. The other , is a fiberglass bow I made using the same method. It has a bamboo and hickory core , and hickory ears too. Length is 55" and draw is 45lbs.@ 28". This is a very smooth drawing bow, with no hand shock, and is great for thumbring or finger release. I hope you enjoyed the photos, and would encourage you to try this sometime. SteveT.

nice work. Great method. Beautiful bow.

Thank you very much for these explanations.

I will put a link to this tutorial on the webarcherie website.

Great work

There is good article at:

http://www.dick.biz/isroot/dick/Content ... kyudo.html


You can see a yumi making with that wedge metod.

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Thank-you all for your compliments. Here is a photo of some other cores I make using tropical hardwoods, and the one on the right is all vertical strips of tempered bamboo laminated together. To get more information visit
www.bowsforpros.com SteveT.

Very nice indeed, you must have spent quite alot of time with Jaap in learning this method.
James

Excellent pics and very good explanation...thanks! Think I should give it a try this year......

Steve T. wrote:

I seem to have a problem getting the photo to be with the text. I tried cutting & pasting , but not successful. Can someone help perhaps? As you see, I'm
using photobucket as an upload to support.SteveT.

There seems to be a problem with the original server.
To load them from your own computer, edit your photos so that they are not too big (not mire than 600 pixels horizontal). Then edit each of your original posts and use the 'add attachment' button on the bootom of the editin screen to upload your photo.

S.

This method requires long setting time for glue. I understand the Japanese used some kind of hide glue - I wonder about the glue gelling in colder climates. Or with practice the whole assembly takes only minutes? Perhaps the glue is boiled until it does not gel any more? This however weakens the glue.

Stephen:

Is it possible to block all images wider than 600-800 pixels? It is a pain to read messages like that.

Adam

Hi Adam: The Japanese Yumi makers use hide glue which is heated in a wok, apply the glue quickly and put on the rope. The whole thing is then put under a steam hood to warm and keep the glue from setting while the wedges are put in. "Speed" is the term for doing it this way. With the epoxy I use there is considerably more work time allowed. It takes me 1hr. to glue and wrap and wedge a full bow. If I go faster then I make mistakes
Sorry about the photos being that way. I don't have photoshop to resize , and iphoto will only edit so much. This also is the first time for me sending photos , and I'm learning as I go along. SteveT.

Adam,
At the Hong Kong Seminar a few years ago, Jaap Koppedreyer did a dry run of the assembly in only a few minutes. I think that with practice most bowyers could achieve that.

His wedges were more tapered and wedge-shaped which may have speeded the process up. Also he has been doing it a long time.