# Let's build a longbow!



## Apex Predator (Aug 12, 2008)

I glued up another longbow Sunday morning before church. Thought I would share a few photos. 
Here are my lams, glass, and riser laid out. 












Here is my form ready for the glue up. Notice the plastic wrap. I will fold it up over the bow after I get all the lams in place. 






I will pivot these washers out of the way until I am ready to start clamping everything together. 






Here are my pressure strips. The are made from 1 1/2" wide 1/16" aluminum with a 1 1/4" pvc lattice glued to the top and a piece of rubber on the bottom. Notice the cuts on the radius. It helps to conform to my risers. I will lay everything up dry to check that everything fits, especially near the fadeouts. I can, and do, tweak the radius on these before each glue up, to ensure the best glue lines possible. 






Smooth-on mixed up and ready to go. This was the perfect amount for a glue up. I may use a little much, but it's better than too little. 






Here is my first glass piece, that will be the bows back, all buttered up and ready to go. I use a 1" seam roller to spread the epoxy. It works like a charm.


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## Apex Predator (Aug 12, 2008)

Here are all the components glued up ready for clamping. 






A C-clamp goes on the riser first. This must be tightened incrementally, because the glue will take a minute or two to squeeze out. Once the riser is secure I tape down the laminates in several places and make sure my alignment washers are all up and tight. 






I forgot to take a photo with everything clamped up before the oven, but have one as I'm taking it out of the oven. Here she is cooking for 4 hours at 170 degrees in my cheepo oven. I use two 100W, and two 75W bulbs. My garage gets hot this time of year. Four 100W bulbs gets my oven over 180 Degrees. During the colder months I will probably go back to 400 total watts. 






Here she is after cooling down some.






I brought her into the house to cool some more.


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## Apex Predator (Aug 12, 2008)

Let's get this thing out of the press and see what we have. I also wrapped my pressure strips with plastic wrap. This one came right out of the form with no problems. Some of the expoxy worked it's way out of the plastic, but not much. 
















Here she is after cleaning up on my belt sander.
















I just love the looks of osage!


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## Apex Predator (Aug 12, 2008)

I'm getting a little fancier with this one. I decided to use a riser overlay. Here are the riser and tip overlays after cooking in my whirlpool oven for three hours at 170. 






I forgot to show the overlays cleaned up and pre-tapered before glueing them to the bow. 

Here they are on the bow. I used smooth-on and placed a light bulb close to each of the tips and one on each side of the riser. I then draped some aluminum foil over the top of each area. I got them up to 130 degrees and let them cook for four hours. 
















After a little work.


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## Apex Predator (Aug 12, 2008)

Now time to break out the rasp. I did all the riser shaping with this rasp. It took me about 1.5 hours. 
















I spent about 2 hours sanding it down through 220 grit this morning. I am using super glue to fill the wood pores. Here it is with a fresh coat of super glue. You can start to see how pretty it will be when finished. 











Now you folks are up to speed. I started this yesterday morning. Tonight or in the am tomorrow I will finish sanding through 400 grit and apply my first coat of tru-oil. It will take about 4-5 days to apply all the tru-oil. I apply a coat in the a.m. and another in the p.m. about 12 hours apart. Stay tuned for the final product.


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## dutchman (Aug 12, 2008)

Man, that's progress! Looking forward to seeing another good looking bow when finished, AP.


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## Xzuatl (Aug 12, 2008)

I can't believe how fast you do this! You make it look easy.


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## Apex Predator (Aug 12, 2008)

I already had 3-4 hours in it when I glued her up Sunday a.m.  I had to cut out, laminate, and sand the fades on the riser.  I also had to join three of the wood lams pairs into one long piece and lighty sand the splinters off the edges.


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## Redbow (Aug 12, 2008)

Very nice Apex, looking forward to seeing the finished product!


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## belle&bows (Aug 12, 2008)

Redbow said:


> Very nice Apex, looking forward to seeing the finished product!




Me too!


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## Slingblade (Aug 12, 2008)

Marty, do you have any reflex built into the bow or is it a straight hill style bow?  Do you use a locator pin the keep the riser and lams from slipping during clamp-up?  Great looking bow.


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## Apex Predator (Aug 12, 2008)

This one has a straight profile.  I have an R/D form about finished though.  It will be a mild R/D, not hybrid style.  The C-clamp holds the riser in place with assistance from the alignment washers on the form.  I have a pair of those washers on the side of the form at each end, as well as one on the very ends.


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## reviveourhomes (Aug 12, 2008)

Looking REAL good Marty! Congrats!!


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## YankeeRedneck (Aug 13, 2008)

Xzuatl said:


> I can't believe how fast you do this! You make it look easy.


That's exactly what I was going to say, you sir are a master !!  WoW..


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## drhunter1 (Aug 13, 2008)

Apex Predator said:


> This one has a straight profile.  I have an R/D form about finished though.  It will be a mild R/D, not hybrid style.  The C-clamp holds the riser in place with assistance from the alignment washers on the form.  I have a pair of those washers on the side of the form at each end, as well as one on the very ends.



I hear yall talking about reflex and deflex, I'm not sure I know what it means. I think I do, but can you explain what it means?

Thanks


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## Apex Predator (Aug 13, 2008)

This limbs curve back towards the shooter slightly before swooping back past the riser at the tips.  The deflex will make it more forgiving and the reflex will pick up the speed.


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## swampstalker (Aug 13, 2008)

Man, My hat is off to you sir!


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## badcompany (Aug 13, 2008)

Where do we sign up for classes. Another sweet looking bow in the making.


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## gblrklr (Aug 13, 2008)

Another beautiful bow Marty!  What wood is the riser?  Are the R/D bows more work?


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## Apex Predator (Aug 14, 2008)

This one has a bocote riser that is laminated with a strip of granadillo for strength.  The R/D bows shouldn't be any more work, just a little more difficult to lay out due to the curves.


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## Apex Predator (Aug 16, 2008)

Finished this one up.  See "I just love that bocote and osage" thread.


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