Best Glue For Laminating Bows

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.

Best glue for laminating bows.

Ea 40 clear epoxy adhesive is used to laminate small strips of wood together to form intricate patterns. The laminated block is then milled to shape revealing the intricate design. Some excellent glues for gluing laminations are smooth on cyber giegy and epon versamid. I use smooth on for gluing up fiberglass laminated bows as well as bamboo or hickory backed bows.

Gluing your bow laminations or bow backing is a critical part of the bow building process. 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. I also use it for gluing on tip overlays and back of the handle overlays. When laminating curved wood woodworkers need an adhesive that won t stretch or pull away at the edges.

Some epoxies like loctite 5 minute epoxy are too brittle for bows but smooth on is perfect. You don t want to use any kind of brittle glue on a bow. This is possible because each laminated strip becomes attached to each other via the epoxy thus they remain bent. Regular glues which i find useful are hide glue liquid hide glue titebond aliphatic resin franklin white glue and titebond ii in declining order of usefulness and importance to the bowyer.

Such a glue is urea formaldehyde also known as plastic resin. A laminated bow offers more options as far as wood combinations and design goes. For laminate bows the glue and laminate strips are secured in a mold of sorts which applies a bend to the limbs. All of these glues work well for fiberglass to wood adhesion.

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. As the laminates pieces dry they remain in the shape provided by the mold. Let me explain my rankings. My personal favorite is smooth on but other bowyers may have opposing opinions based on their experiences.

Catalyzed glues which top my list include urac 185 resorcinol and smooth on ea40. 4 oz kit includes enough for 2 bows or 2 glue up joints i g.