Best Glue For Laminating Bows

But before a persons gets to the point that the benefits of laminating are outweighing the extra troubles a laminated bow creates you have to do some serious experimenting and to expect some failed bows.

Best glue for laminating bows.

For laminate bows the glue and laminate strips are secured in a mold of sorts which applies a bend to the limbs. Wood to wood adhesion. My personal favorite is smooth on but other bowyers may have opposing opinions based on their experiences. When laminating curved wood woodworkers need an adhesive that won t stretch or pull away at the edges.

Such a glue is urea formaldehyde also known as plastic resin. The bond created by the ea 40 clear epoxy adhesive is so strong that it easily holds these tiny laminated strips in place under the rigors of shooting a bow. The laminated block is then milled to shape revealing the intricate design. All of these glues work well for fiberglass to wood adhesion.

I also use it for gluing on tip overlays and back of the handle overlays. Some excellent glues for gluing laminations are smooth on cyber giegy and epon versamid. You don t want to use any kind of brittle glue on a bow. Some epoxies like loctite 5 minute epoxy are too brittle for bows but smooth on is perfect.

Let me explain my rankings. Gluing your bow laminations or bow backing is a critical part of the bow building process. Trilam one 2oz part a resin one 2oz part b hardner specially formulated 2 part glue for laminating bamboo various woods linen silk and other natural materials as well as fibreglass with the strength you need. Ea 40 clear epoxy adhesive is transparent after curing.

Use bow building glue that can handle the stresses of a bow s limbs. Ea 40 clear epoxy adhesive is used to laminate small strips of wood together to form intricate patterns. As the laminates pieces dry they remain in the shape provided by the mold. 4 oz kit includes enough for 2 bows or 2 glue up joints i g.

I use smooth on for gluing up fiberglass laminated bows as well as bamboo or hickory backed bows. Catalyzed glues which top my list include urac 185 resorcinol and smooth on ea40.