Kodiak Bogan Build a Long

Oh mate she will be

Well I shall proceed with reckless abandon then:d

 

I know what you're saying. The pass-around Yarra was way more incredible in person than the photos ever showed.

 

Well once again the UPS man was sneaky.

Now here is the best way to buy bandsaw blades.



10 x 93 1/2" 3 TPI blades for $67 shipped :d

I have been paying $25 per blade plus shipping

Wish I could get deals like this on the sanding belts.

Oh speaking of the Yarra.

How did the grip feel in your hand?

 

The first set of lams are to thickness .295" so now it's back in the house (where there is AC:d and I can stay )

Now it's time to tape up and mark the center line on the glass.



Thats all for today it is already 100 out side and about 110 in the shop.

When I get home from work tomorrow I will glue up the first limb and while it's cooking I will grind the lams for the 2nd limb.

 

I honestly can't remember specifics other than I enjoyed shooting it so it must have been good. I certainly don't remember it being bad.

I can empathize on the heat. It might hit 80 here today and there's no wind!!

 

Got through work early today

So when I got home I put the limb material in the heat box for an hour to totally dry them out.

While they where in the box I prepared the form, by giving it a good coat of paste wax and covering with plastic wrap.



Then took the material out of the box and placed them on the bench in order they will be used in the lay up.



Putting on rubber gloves to stop the transfeer of bugs to our patient.:d



It's time to mix the epoxy.
I use Areomarine 400 it has a stronger bonding strenght than Smooth On and 1/2 the cost, but it is runny so I have to add about a teaspoon on Cabosil to thicken it up.



The Cabosil does turn the epoxy white but it will dry clear.



So once we have the epoxy thoughly mixed it's time for the screw up opps I mean glue up

Applying epoxy to all joining surfaces.



then flip them onto one another making sure it's epoxy to epoxy.



Now add the bamboo and wedge.



Next comes the Readheart notice I did not apply any epoxy, simple reason for this is if I did then ya'll would get an idea of what it's gonna look like under the glass but ya gonna have to wait.



Now add the final clear glass.



Transfeer the stack to the form add the pressure strip and secure with filement tape.



Then add another layer of plastic wrap, the air hose and the top of the form and secure the bolts.





I use a hand pump for the pressure and add pressure in 3 stages first to 20 psi wait a few minutes then to 40 psi wait a few mins then finally to 60 psi.
The reason I do this is to allow any trapped air bubbles to escape. I also check to make sure nothing has moved at each stage.

Once I have the 60 psi I again double check and make sure nothing has moved.

I then scrap the excess epoxy down away from the laminations, while doing this I check again to make sure nothing has moved it also makes it easier to break off the excess once the limb come out of the heat box.



Once I am sure nothing has moved I place the form in the heat box and take note of the time as it will be in there for the next 4 hours, once the 4 hours are up I turn the heat box off, leave the form in the box for a slow cool down.

Now all thats left is the clean up as you can see I as per usual mixed up more than needed but I would rather have too much than not enough.



Now for a little break and a cold drink and it's back out there to grind the other lams to thickness.

 

"Next comes the Readheart notice I did not apply any epoxy, simple reason for this is if I did then ya'll would get an idea of what it's gonna look like under the glass but ya gonna have to wait."

TEASE! Damn it! I was scrolling down through specifically to see the wetted out redheart!!!

 

:d :d :d patience is a virtue:d :d :d

If your lucky I "MIGHT" pm you a pic of it

 

I'll wait patiently. I'm a bowhunter, it's what I do.

 

Well here is the first one out of the form cleaned up a bit.
I took the tape off to have a look

The belly.



Now the back.





Tomorrow while the other one is in the heat box I will re-tape this one and shape it and drill the holes.

 

Now that there is purty!

 

oh yeah , thats nice , Really liking that grain

 

Looking good Russ and Rob!!!

 

Thanks guy's.

The second limb is in the heat box

 

Just got done shaping the first limb.



Also marked the string grooves.



Thats gonna do me today the mercury has hit 119 in the shop.
I might get some more done tonight seeing I don't have to work tomorrow, they have cut me back from 5 days a week to 3 days a week

 

Now we're getting somewhere. Those chunks of tree from 4 different continents are finally taking on functional shape.

 

What an awesome way to watch your very own bow being made!

Lookin' Good!

 

Here is limb number 2 cleaned up and marked out ready to grind to shape.



Be back in about an hour with the limb shaped.

 

Finally the limbs are now a matching pair

For those who might be interested this is how I grind them to shape.



It takes longer than cutting them with the band saw but the band saw blades are expensive and fiberglass dulls the blades real quick.

Here they are.



Here is the profile of the butt end of the limb.
The Ebony is gonna look great when it is finished.



You can also see why you have to get the wedges paper thin.

I will add that before marking out the limb profile I did cut 1/4" off the butt end.

Tomorrow morning I will do the grooves, drill the holes, put her together for the first time, tiller her and check the weight.

If all goes well I will get the first tip overlay and butt overlay on as well

 

Great progress there Russ! She's really coming together nicely. I'm curious to see how close you came out on the weight and tiller.