GLUES

The epoxy glues used to build a bow limb have to have several important features. They need to have excellent bonding capabilities, have to remain flexible after they have cured, plus they need to be waterproof. Other aspects to consider are shelf life and working-time once the components are mixed.

Wood to Fiberglass Adhesion

Some excellent glues for gluing laminations are Smooth-ON, Cyber-Giegy and Epon/Versamid. My personal favorite is Smooth-On, but other bowyers may have opposing opinions based on their experiences. All of these glues work well for fiberglass to wood adhesion.

Wood to Wood Adhesion

For wood to wood laminating, such as gluing in riser accent stripes, two of the best glues I've found are Urac 185 and Recorcinal, with Urac 185 being the one I use most often. Recorcinal is an excellent glue and is 100% waterproof, but because it is purple in color it can stain some lighter colored woods. Another glue that you will want to keep on hand is super-glue, both the thin, watery variety and the gel. Exotic woods can develop small checks in them which don't necessarily weaken the wood, but are unsightly. The superglue with a thin consistency will flow into these small cracks and not only fill them, but will also prevent them from running further. I once had a very well know bowyer tell me that he would quit making bows if he couldn't use super-glue.