No Weld Bowpress

This is not an Item I sell. I'm posting it here for do it your self folks to get the instructions on how to build it.

here it is on archery talk too: https://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2167188

Not having a welder is a serious liability when trying to build a bow press. After looking at the pipe clamp press on the archery talk forums I decided a better solution would be to mount the same sort of fingers on a trailer jack. This gave me the benefit of having enough travel to completely disassemble a bow and yet it was inexpensive and relatively easy to build. Best of all it required no welding. I did a lot of experimenting with steel fingers using grinder cutting wheels and a bench grinder but what I finally settled on was this design that is made completely out of Aluminum. I prefer aluminum to steel because it can generally be milled using the same power tools you would use for in a wood shop. The finger design was completely cut out using my chop saw a hack saw and a drill press.

Here is a list of tools and materials you’ll need:
> Chop saw or table saw.
> Drill press
> Hacksaw
> Belt sander (Optional if you want smother finishes.)

9/16 drill bit

1/4 drill bit

#9 drill bit - for holes that the 10-24 bolts fit through

#7 drill bit - for holes to be threaded with 10-24 taps usually come with the correct drill bit.

#25 drill bit - for holes to be threaded with 1/4-20

F – drill bit - for holes to be threaded with 5/16-18

5/16 drill bit

5/8” drill bit - for counter sinking the screw holes

3/4 drill bit - with a 1/2” shank so it fits your drill press chuck.

5/16-18 Tap and Die

1/4–20 Tap

10-24 tap

And here are the materials you will need:

4 – 5/15-20 x 3.5” bolts Socket head

8 – 1/4-20 x 1/2” bolts flat Allen head

4 – 1/4-20 x 1” bolts Socket head

4 – 10-24 x 1/2" flat Allen head

10 - Washers for the 5/16” bolts

4” x 4”x 1/2” x 12” long Aluminum L angle

1/2” x 1/2” x 1/8” x 12” long Aluminum L angle

3” Square Aluminum tube with 1/4" wall thickness 12” long

1 3/4” Square tube 1/8” thickness walls 18” long

2- 3/4” x 1” compression spring I think McMaster-Carr #9657K314 will work but I bought mine at Lowes.

4- 1/2" X 1/4" Bushing with a 5/16” center hole

Spray paint can with the color of your Choice if you want it a pretty color…

Step 1:

Swapping out the crank to the opposite side of the jack so that a clockwise rotation compresses the bow. This is optional but make the operation a lot more intuitive.

1) Remove the screw and grease fitting that hold the plastic end cap in place

2) Using a nail or a punch and a hammer pound the retaining pin out of the gear and crank. Extract the pin from the inside of the jack as it drops out.

3) Leave the gear in place and pull the crank out.

4) Drill a whole with the 9/16 drill bit about 5/8” from the end of the crank

5) Slide the crank back in on the opposite side of the jack and replace the press fit pin through the gear and into the new hole you just drilled.

6) Return the black end cap and grease fitting to the end of the jack.

Now when you crank the handle clockwise it will compress the jack.

Step 2:

Creating the insert that fits into the end of the jack. You can use the foot that comes with the jack by cutting off the base but I found that it fits a little sloppy and isn’t really long enough to handle the longest bows. So I use the 1.75” Square Aluminum tubing.

1) Set your table saw up at a 45 degree angle and chamfer each corner of the insert back about 1/8” This allows it to slide into the jack base.

2) If it fits real tight you may need to remove burs on the inside of the jack with a file.

3) Drill 4 holes 3” apart starting 4.5” on center from the end of the insert.

Step 3

Building the finger Assembly

3.A Cutting and drilling the fingers.

1) Using your chop saw cut the 4”x 1/2” Aluminum L angle in 4 pieces that are 3/4” wide. If you don’t like the rough finish cut them marginally wider so you can sand or mill the finish smooth.

2) Cut one side of the L angle to 1.75” long.

3) Setup your drill press with a clamp so you can drill all four finger with the F drill bit (the one for 5/16-18 tap) in the exact same place on each finger. By drilling all 4 exactly the same you ensure that the hole is consistently in the same place. Note when drilling metal you get a much cleaner hole and there is a lot less wear and tear on the equipment if you lubricate the bits and parts as you are drilling with cutting fluid or WD40 will also work.

4) Enlarge the hole on 2 of the fingers with the 5/16” drill bit

5) The two fingers that were not enlarged, using the 5/16-18 tap cut threads in the hole at the base of the fingers.

6) Again with a clamp on your drill press set so you can drill a consistent hole using the #24 drill bit (the one that came with the 1/4-20 tap) drill a hole in the foot of each finger centered 5/16” from the end

7) Using the 1/4-20 tap cut threads in each of these holes. Use plenty of cutting fluid or WD40 so avoid breaking the tap.

8) Using the number #7 drill bit drill a hole in the finger centered 1” from the top that you can use to bolt the limb shelf onto.

9) Using the 10/14 tap cut threads into the limb shelf hole.

10) Using the chop saw cut the 1/2” x 1/8” L angle to 3/4” wide pieces

11) Using the #9 drill, drill a hole in the center of one side of each of the limb shelf pieces.

12) Using the 10-24 screws bolt the limb shelf to the fingers.

13) Thread in the 4 -1/4-20 x 1” bolts into the fingers feet

Your fingers are now complete!

3.B Making the finger bases and assembling the fingers.

1) Using the chop saw cut a 3” long piece from the 3” square tube.

2) Now turn it sideways and with the shop saw cut the tube so that you have a U channel with 1.25” side wall. You’ll need to cut the other side so it too has a 1.25” side wall. You should now have 2 pieces that are 3”x3”x1.25”

3) Using the 5/16 drill bit drill a hole in the 1.25” wall 2.125” from the end and 5/8” of an inch up from the bottom. This is the hole that the 5/16” bolts\shafts will got through to hold the fingers in place.

4) Using the 1/4” drill bit drill 4 holes in the base so that the finger base can be bolted to the insert and the Jack. Holes can be drilled 1/2" From the end and 1. 25” apart on center

5) Clamp the finger plates in place on the insert and on the jack frame and drill the mounting holes with the #24 Drill bit.

6) The 8 holes you just drilled now need to have threads cut with the 1/4-20 tap

7) Using the 1/4-20 bolts mount the finger bases to both the insert and the Jack.

8) Add a washer to the 5/15”x3.5” bolt and then lace it into the finger base now add the finger with the enlarged hole.

9) Add another washer and both plastic bushings

10) Slide the spring over the plastic bushings and then add another washer.

11) Compress the spring enough to slide the second threaded finger in-between the last washer and the outside finger base wall.

12) Rotate the finger shaft bolt to thread it into the second finger, thread it through until the bolt head is flush with the outside of the finger base. Now add a washer on the far outside of the finger base and thread on the shaft nut.

13) Make sure the finger shaft bolt rotates freely and then with a hammer mushroom the end of the bolt to prevent the nut from coming back off. A little epoxy wouldn’t hurt either.

14) Now by rotating the shaft bolt you can adjust the width of the fingers.

Step 4:
Cutting down the pin so that it fits in the jack when it is resting on the table.
Using a hack saw cut the adjuster pin to 2 7/16" long

Once you have done this to both ends of the press your press is now done!

Get the Wobble Out

One of the issues end users have reported is excessive side to side wobble. We'll give you some suggestions on how to minimize this but it may still take some experimenting on your part to see what works best for you. The number one thing to understand is that you want the spinner as close to perpendicular to the string as you can get it. Below are some images and tips to help you get there:

first lets look at what could be wrong.
Image ( A ) shows the bobbin with the pay out hole on the inside with loose serving tension this causes the bobbin to sit at an angle to the string.
Image ( B ) Shows the bobbin with the pay out hole to the outside of the Spinner with moderate tension but the bobbin is not completely pushed into the NW Spinner.
Image ( C ) shows the pay out hole on the outside with enough tension that it pulls the bobbin in at an angle, this is the worst setup because it can cause inconsistent wrapping.

crooked

Below are two scenarios that have worked for us.

Image ( D ) Shows the long portion of the bobbin flush against the wound serving and the pay out hole to the outside of the Spinner. This is achieved with moderate serving tension and can be applied with nearly no wobble.
Image ( F ) Shows the bobbin with the pay out hole to the inside of the Spinner with significant tension. The higher tension actually mashes the bobbin tight enough that you get a nearly 90 degree angle well close enough that wobble is insignificant.

We use Method ( D ) when installing large diameter center serving adjusting the tension as tight as possible without causing the bobbin to tip over. However on the end servings where we use smaller diameter thread and we want a really tight wrap we use ( E ) this does introduce a slight wobble but the end results are tighter and less prone to movement.

We hope hope this helps you get the very best out of your NW Spinner.

Pats String Jig

My String Jig:

although not for sale, I'm willing to show my string jig setup for your use. Feel free to copy any of the parts you see and make your own. The benefits of my jig are the ability to stretch the string without removing the string from the jig. it's also a lot easier to make micro adjustments to the length and remove tension on the string when building. Less tension makes it easier to rotate the posts and more tension is helpful when apply end serving and other build tasks.

Properties of a good string jig are solid construction and adjust ability. Most incorporate a separate tensioning mechanism so you can twist and stretch the string to at least 300# before you apply your servings. If you are not interested or lack the facilities to build your own "Little Jon" aka Deezlin makes a nice unit as well as Munch on archery talk.

Here is how I made mine and why:

Oh and here are the drawings that could help potential builders

I started with a Harbor Freight jack. from there I added some uni-strut. I converted the lower part of the jack into a tensioning device complete with compression spring. It is inserted into the jack and held in place with the post. As you apply tension to the string with the crank the spring compresses . Based on the amount of compression you can determine the amount of weight being applied to the string. I bolted the jack and unit-strut in place on the bench and got to work. for more info or to add a comment about the jig you can check it out on Archery Talk at this link: http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1374668

Click on the Jack to see the harbor freight listing.

I've included a drawing of the tensioning insert, click on the image to enlarge it. Also included are some photos of the completed tensioner complete with the posts.

On one of the posts I incorporated a string twister. With this setup I can complete the full string without ever removing it from the Jig.

I had my brother mill me out some heavier duty posts and plates. The less flex you have in your jig the better. As you wrap thread around the posts the they add additional pressure to the jig. If it flexes it will cause your first wraps to become loose. inconsistent thread tension causes all sorts of problems and should be avoided.

By the way, with a few other attachments the jack also functions as a bow press and a draw board.

NWSpinner Size and Clearance

The size of the NWSpinner is 3.75"

From the center of the string to the edge of the spinner the NWSpinner is 3.75". In all three cases Bearpaw, Beiter and Emerald II the bobbins are 3.25" from the center of the string to the widest point of the bobbin. This point happens to be the tension knob on all three Bobbins. So the Spinner is only 1/2" larger than the largest point of the bobbin. I have a lot of people ask me how tall do their posts on their stretcher need to be in order to use the NWSpinner the answer is about 4" minimum this give you a 1/4" clearance.