Chewbacca Bowcaster Finished
- Thread starter wuher da brewer
- Start date
Hey Evan
I felt motivated enough to work on my BC tonight and It´s getting somwhere...finally!
Will have to smooth out the frame this weekend and decide where to cut the front, but that´s about it.
Don´t want to hijack your thread but would really like to hear your opinion on what I´ve done so far...if you´re fine with it I´ll post some pics within the next days!?
Markus
I felt motivated enough to work on my BC tonight and It´s getting somwhere...finally!
Will have to smooth out the frame this weekend and decide where to cut the front, but that´s about it.
Don´t want to hijack your thread but would really like to hear your opinion on what I´ve done so far...if you´re fine with it I´ll post some pics within the next days!?
Markus
Very cool! 
thumbsup
thumbsup
Please, feel free Markus. It was Macklin's thread that originally inspired me. I tried to keep it going for a long time, but in the end it was just me posting.
Anybody know what happened to Macklin? He kinda disappeared after all the work he had done blueprinting parts.
I sent him a few private messages in the years since he started the thread, but I only ever had the first one answered.
Wow, looks good. Very shiny finish. You definitely need to remove more in the area that houses the prod. I can't tell what you've done to the arrow knock/sight mount area, but more than I did - at least it looks like you did.
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I actually cut out the whole of the front area thinking that this might be how the original looks under the side plates. I was hoping to figure out some other way of attaching the side plates.
Was this a bad idea? Evan/Markus, what do you reckon I should try? I thought I might glue in a piece of sheet metal or styrene that would be mostly hidden behind the plates.
Was this a bad idea? Evan/Markus, what do you reckon I should try? I thought I might glue in a piece of sheet metal or styrene that would be mostly hidden behind the plates.
Hi Evan
I left the front section in it´s current state until I figure out how to make the front-sight assembly and what bow to use.
The finish is just temporary, since I wanted to check the frame for any areas that still need some attention and I couldn´t make these out with the grey primer on :unsure
As I can see all of us started with the metal bow, that came with the safari. You decided to custom make a new bow out of aluminium, Marcus went with the original for now (so do I). The curvature of the metal bow is perfect IMO, but the stamped metal is inaccurate.
I was thinking about purchasing a barnett commando replacement bow and "carving" in the correct curved shape to it´s lower edge. But while you can get a "regular" bow for about 30 Euro, these bastards charge 90 Euro for a Commando fiberglass bow :eek
Any other ideas where to get an accurate replacement bow????
Marcus:
Your Safari frame looks great so far.
For accuracies sake I would have to remove the section on mine as well, but I left it -as you guessed- to make attaching the sideplates easier.
Anyway, even with a completely hollowed out frame you should be able to get these on properly. Think about drilling/ threading holes opposite to the detailing of one plate. Use some longer screws e voila. Will have to check if the placement of the sideplate-detailing is pretty much mirrored on the left/ right, which would make things much easier
Markus
I left the front section in it´s current state until I figure out how to make the front-sight assembly and what bow to use.
The finish is just temporary, since I wanted to check the frame for any areas that still need some attention and I couldn´t make these out with the grey primer on :unsure
As I can see all of us started with the metal bow, that came with the safari. You decided to custom make a new bow out of aluminium, Marcus went with the original for now (so do I). The curvature of the metal bow is perfect IMO, but the stamped metal is inaccurate.
I was thinking about purchasing a barnett commando replacement bow and "carving" in the correct curved shape to it´s lower edge. But while you can get a "regular" bow for about 30 Euro, these bastards charge 90 Euro for a Commando fiberglass bow :eek
Any other ideas where to get an accurate replacement bow????
Marcus:
Your Safari frame looks great so far.
For accuracies sake I would have to remove the section on mine as well, but I left it -as you guessed- to make attaching the sideplates easier.
Anyway, even with a completely hollowed out frame you should be able to get these on properly. Think about drilling/ threading holes opposite to the detailing of one plate. Use some longer screws e voila. Will have to check if the placement of the sideplate-detailing is pretty much mirrored on the left/ right, which would make things much easier
Markus
I left mine like yours Markus, and just used self threading screws in the corner details.
You could try spring steel instead of aluminum or fiberglass. It will be harder to get it to take the curve, but far more permanent.
You could try spring steel instead of aluminum or fiberglass. It will be harder to get it to take the curve, but far more permanent.
Just a bump for any ideas/ sources for an accurate bow to replace the inaccurate spring-steel bow, that came with the safari.
BTW:
Do we have any informations about the height of the bow on the BC?
The width is pretty much identical on all the currently availables but the height variies. The regular ones you can get are about 24 - 26 mm with a thickness of 10mm (in the middle), while the Barnett commando has a height of 31mm.
Markus
BTW:
Do we have any informations about the height of the bow on the BC?
The width is pretty much identical on all the currently availables but the height variies. The regular ones you can get are about 24 - 26 mm with a thickness of 10mm (in the middle), while the Barnett commando has a height of 31mm.
Markus
i'm having a hard time picturing what you're talking about without images.
Plus, we need to get on the same page as far as terminology so we can communicate easier. I've been calling the recurved bow part, the prod.
Plus, we need to get on the same page as far as terminology so we can communicate easier. I've been calling the recurved bow part, the prod.
Sorry Evan, my bad...I will try to post a comparsion shot later tonight AND to use the same terminology from now on :$
(Hey, I´m happy being able to "communicate" in english, but sometimes I´m "lost in translation" when it comes to specific terminology :lol )
Markus
Forestmoonstudio
Sr Member
How long would you say the bow is? I am talking about the bow arm that the balls connect to. I am doing a scratchbuilt one.
I believe mine was cut at 30".
Markus, did you get that comparison shot?
Markus, did you get that comparison shot?
Working on it
Didn´t have any time to work on my projects until yesterday evening...but since I won´t be able to get any reasonable priced replacement parts here in Germany, I decided to cannibalize my old BC :wacko
Will post a pic of the Safari/ Commando/ BC "prod" very soon.
Markus
o.k., here´s a compasrion of the different bow/ prods.
1. Barnett Commando, height in middle section 30 mm
2. WIP pic of the BC (from bapty?), check out the profile of the prod which looks just like the Barnett prod. BUT the height in the middle, where it is attached to the bow, seems to be at least 5 mm larger than the Barnett.
3. Steel prop from the Horton Safari, see the signification curvature of the underside?
4. Chronicles pic of the BC, pretty much the same profile, but not made out of stamped steel.
Sorry, can´t describe the differences any better.
Markus
1. Barnett Commando, height in middle section 30 mm
2. WIP pic of the BC (from bapty?), check out the profile of the prod which looks just like the Barnett prod. BUT the height in the middle, where it is attached to the bow, seems to be at least 5 mm larger than the Barnett.
3. Steel prop from the Horton Safari, see the signification curvature of the underside?
4. Chronicles pic of the BC, pretty much the same profile, but not made out of stamped steel.
Sorry, can´t describe the differences any better.
Markus
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Mine is 37 mm with a taper to 16 mm on the ends.
I suppose the prod in the second pic could be the one in the 4th pic, but its hard to tell from that angle if that particular taper (the slope on the underside) is there. It looks like there is a taper. It is encouraging to me, because thats about how I expanded my front section of the stock on the Safari to receive the new prod I cut. I still think you should cut your own, rather than try to source something. The only thing I think I could improve on with mine is the bends. Maybe you can show me how it's done.
I suppose the prod in the second pic could be the one in the 4th pic, but its hard to tell from that angle if that particular taper (the slope on the underside) is there. It looks like there is a taper. It is encouraging to me, because thats about how I expanded my front section of the stock on the Safari to receive the new prod I cut. I still think you should cut your own, rather than try to source something. The only thing I think I could improve on with mine is the bends. Maybe you can show me how it's done.
Kurtyboy, I think I'd cut one saddle shaped plate instead of two kidney shaped plates like this crummy picture I made. You could use a small block of wood kidney-shaped to fit between the plates to screw into.
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