Renegade Longbows

SHAPING THE BOW

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The laminations took the shape of the bow form as the epoxy glue cured and hardened in the bow oven. The harden epoxy may have squeezed-out of the outer sides. It's very sharp, so take care not nicking yourself. At this stage the bow is now together in a rough block form.

Now it is time to mark the outline of the limbs onto the bow (still covered with blue masking tape). I use a plexiglass template the shape of the limbs and clamp it in place to trace onto the bows limbs. Be sure you have centered the template on the limbs or the limbs will be crooked.

I use a bandsaw to cut the limbs just marked in the step above. Cutting a little outside the line and getting closer to the marked line in the next step.

Next using a belt sander, sand the limbs down to the line marked with the template above. Notice I use a mask at this stage to avoid breathing any of the wood and fiberglass dust.

Remove the blue masking tape, and see what the limb laminations look like. If you got good coverage with the glue when you applied it there will not be any voids showing throught the clear fiberglass.

Measure and mark where you want your string nocks cut. I use a rattail file for cutting the string nocks because I haven't come across a better way. Go slowly and carefully not to cut to deep. At this point, the string nocks are just for tillering and will be worked more at a later stage.