Assyrian Bow Improved Pt2

It's hard to say if the addition of a core lam has made this build easier, or harder to glue up... in either event this installment takes us through the rather complicated glue-up process for producing the blank that will become our improved version of the Assyrian bow experiment from a while back. While not glamorous, there are a lot of invaluable tips for any bamboo back and belly bow build and the assembly process associated with success.let's dive in, shall we?
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[@benspeedschannel888]

I can’t wait to see the end result 😎

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@benspeedschannel888 Thank you for watching!!! So far, I think the final results are going to be pretty exciting!

[@christophertracey7201]

Very nice design can't wait for the end result

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@christophertracey7201 me neither! Hopefully, I’ll have her all tillered up on my next day off! One of these days earning money won’t get in the way of making bows lol!!! Thank you for watching!!!

[@stephanwieler1437]

I can't wait for it to be next week. Very nice to see you at work. :)

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@stephanwieler1437 Thank you for following along!!! Pretty sure at this point that next week will not disappoint 🙂

[@stephanwieler1437]

@@meadowlarkadventuregear I am sure, too. :)

[@samfulks4896]

Thank you for the video.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@samfulks4896 Thank you for your time and attention!

[@Timelesstere]

it's a thing of beauty

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@Timelesstere Thank you! Putting a little more thought and attention into this one than the first one which was entirely experimental.

[@Helmbowman]

Looks promising! My favorite design for sure!

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@Helmbowman Thank you! I’m loving this design too! Already seeing more things that I want to refine as I try to perfect it over time.

[@Helmbowman]

@@meadowlarkadventuregear You got me with that instagram post 😂 im glad its just a string that breaks! 😅

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@Helmbowman really wish I had my camera on just a few more seconds!!! That bow hopped right off the workbench! Woke me up for sure lol!!!

[@RedmanOutdoors366]

Looking good 😊👍

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@RedmanOutdoors366 Thank you! I appreciate the view time!!!

[@nadavyasharhochman3913]

I really like the build! personaly I'd use the bamboo for the core, I dont like tillering bamboo but if it works for you thats awsome.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@nadavyasharhochman3913 I don’t particularly care for tillering bamboo over wood either - especially considering the uneven surface of bamboo trying to confuse the eye, but in the instance of these pretty highly stressed bows, I trust that the bamboo will stay together where it’s wooden counterparts would likely fail.

[@knolltop314]

Good luck with tiller!

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@knolltop314 Thank you! She’s coming along!

[@Silver_Semtexagon]

I really want to get into bowbuilding myself, but being in an apartment with limited tools and access to decent wood poses a challenge... Altough i've had my eyes on making a Penobscot bow for a while now and i'm going to give it an attempt! Also, you earned a new subscriber. Could be fun if you tried making a Penobscot bow aswel!

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@Silver_Semtexagon thank you so much for watching!!! The list of projects is a long one - a Penobscot is on there!

[@markboucher7441]

Incredible build! Do you get much sleep at night? I don't have enough years left in my life to get to this level of bow building but certainly the details and principals can be applied to most bow building projects. Thank you for this excellent presentation.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@markboucher7441 lol!!! I don’t get nearly as much time to devote to bow building as I would like! My list of projects easily exceeds the time to do them all!!! Thank you for watching - and hopefully the content can save you a few years of efforts, at least that’s my hope!

[@musaadfelton3909]

Awesome 😁 so I guess this answers the difference between a back and belly bow with a core and without the core. I see the bow kept its recurved shape nicely after the glue up. I don't have a band saw. I'm going to try and make a jigsaw table to cut a nice thin core strip. The only wood I have for a core is meranti. Wood here in my country is very expensive and very scarce to get proper wood because we don't really have wood construction here. It's mostly brick and concrete construction. Most places just sell pine. So I see the meranti seems bad under compression because by just hand bending it, it seems to have some set after just bending it a few times. Once I cut the meranti In a thin strip. I will experiment and see how well it bends and then maybe the bamboo will give it strength as a belly and a back. Maybe the bamboo will take all the compression forces. I will see how it goes. Thank you👍

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@musaadfelton3909 unless the meranti is particularly weak in shear strength, you should be just fine so long as you keep it real thin like around an 1/8th inch or less (3mm) your bamboo back and belly will be handling all of the tension and compression load. Good luck with your build!

[@musaadfelton3909]

@@meadowlarkadventuregear thank you for the advice. Yes I will try to get the meranti wood to that thickness and then just test and see how's the elasticity at that thickness. If it seems too brittle then I will rather leave out the core wood and then just go ahead with a bamboo back and belly. I will just feel my way through the process. Thank you for the advice. Also thank you for giving the mm measurement 😁😅👍

[@philipfairweather3493]

Your planning is inspiring, what if you made the bamboo nodes glued up in a chain centered link front to back? Just thinking too .

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@philipfairweather3493 Thank you for following along! Do you mean something like staggering the nodes on the back and the belly? Truthfully, once you take material off of the belly, I’m not sure if it matters or not so long as the parts were pre-tillered before assembly. I cut out the part of the video that explained the node orientation, but now that you bring it up, keep an eye out. I’ll post up a shorty with the explanation of how and why I lined up the bamboo nodes the way I did.

[@DironMc]

Awesome glue up! Were u using EA40 ?

[@hartmutkleinjung9399]

Yes, he said so during the Video.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@DironMc thank you! And yes, EA40 was the glue of choice here. Need to be able to rely on any gaps being filled without compromising the integrity of the bow. Thankfully, no major gapping issues in the finished blank.

[@hillbilly4christ638]

Something that occurred to me the other day, hemp is being formed into structural members used for flooring and other purposes. They are able to orient the grain longitudinally and they use a soy based formula as a binder. It appears to be very hard. You hear so many things about the strength of hemp fibers. I was wondering if you have any experience with the material and if it would be a good “natural” component for a bow? It is a composite construction method to produce the various products.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@hillbilly4christ638 before your comment, I had no idea that the product you described even existed - so I did a little research… Hempwood is the commercial manufacturer of the product you are describing. I found that the thinnest working veneer that they recommend is .16” which is pretty thick in my world… Additionally, they recommend that the veneer only be used when applied to a solid or plywood substrate which indicates to me that it is structurally questionable on its own. I did however find a manufacturer of hemp technical fiber - Hempflax, that produces bulk hemp fiber that could be combed out and bound in an epoxy or similar resin to make a strip similar to fiberglass used for bows. This is a process that is a little out of my expertise but may be an excellent topic for my friend @Helmbowman to weigh in on with his knowledge of producing composites for bow making. I have come across a couple bow makers, Grozer being the most notable, that is using a “biocomposite” in the construction of some of their bows, but there is little information that would suggest that they use a hemp composite in their backings or belly materials. You bring up a fascinating twist on a natural material that could very well be a new frontier in bow construction… it will be interesting to see where it goes over time. Thank you for the question!

[@hillbilly4christ638]

@@meadowlarkadventuregearthank you for the reply. Now I am thinking on terms of sinew. I wonder how the hemp fibers compare to sinew in strength. Certainly the substance must have some elasticity, which could be found in the bonding agent perhaps. So I am curious if it would serve as a backing material, or could be wound around areas of the bow for strength or just aesthetic purposes.

[@meadowlarkadventuregear]

@@hillbilly4christ638 I’ve not heard of hemp being used much for backing… as I recall - it is stronger and has lower stretch than flax (linen) which is stronger than fiberglass so… It makes an incredible bow string..!