# DIY bow press almost finished



## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

spent about $70 building this , but still need to purchase fingers, only took me a couple hours to build , started with a 5000# square tubing back and purchased about 4 feet of 1 3/4 steel tubing , only used about 2 feet of it,


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## Moper361 (Oct 11, 2014)

Nice job on your bow press Kaveman ,do you by any chance have a template for the fingers ?? I was thinking of making fingers the same as yours but i chose a simpler option but would still like to make a set of these that i can use also in the future.


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

yes at work , i will send them to you on tuesday


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## Pittstate23 (Dec 27, 2010)

i like it. simple, but effective


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## shinobi3 (Jun 20, 2009)

Did you follow a certain thread to build this?? Would love the plans


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

i bought a 8000# square tubing jack and some 1 3/4 " square tubing to make everything else, the only thing im waiting on is the square tubing plugs and the handwheel and handle, i got my ideas from all over this website , it olny took me a day to put it all together once i had all the material


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

Have my hand wheel attached but I think I'm gonna purchase a bigger one this one is 7 inches and it's a little small, what do you guys think?


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

Here's a better picture of the handle when you compare the handle to the size of the press


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## lunger (Sep 2, 2006)

Looks great ! I like how you offset the legs seems like this would balance better.

I am building one similar. I am still at the assembly stage. I got the majority of the parts from the scrap pile at work. Including the tubing, acme rod and wheel. The wheel is similar in size to yours. Why do you feel it is too small?

I made my fingers like seen on a You tube vid. They look good but will have to wait and see how they work. If not I will have some made.


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

its size is ok , i always question everything i do, my press body is 2 1/4 inch tubing , i was thinking a 8 inch hand wheel , not like a inch is gonna make that big of a difference, just in my head


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

and the offset made sense because all the weight is on the front


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## B.Hunter (May 4, 2009)

Very nice. U did a great job on it.


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## dirtysouth_24.7 (Oct 5, 2015)

Where did you get the 8000lbs trailer Jack?


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## Jufrio (Sep 18, 2012)

I think the 7" wheel is plenty big. It amazes me how LCA charges 400+ for these things....


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

ebay for the square trailer jack, only 50 bucks and free shipping, only got $140 at most into this, and 1/2 that was fingers , its cost LCA mabey $40


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## 4 Fletch (Jan 25, 2014)

Kaveman44 said:


> its size is ok , i always question everything i do, my press body is 2 1/4 inch tubing , i was thinking a 8 inch hand wheel , *not like a inch is gonna make that big of a difference*, just in my head


Who says?


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

4 Fletch said:


> Who says?


thats true


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## hemiller3 (Aug 30, 2015)

good job..looks great.


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## crankn101 (Jan 26, 2007)

Can you post a link to the jack you bought? 

I want to make sure I get one thats compatible with one of those wheels.


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## 4 Fletch (Jan 25, 2014)

Kaveman44 said:


> thats true


Ask a girl who's had a guy with one inch more than you. 

And I very much like the press BTW. Regardless of the crank size. I'm not a size queen.


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/eCustomhitc...ash=item2103b4ea09:g:adwAAOSw4SlV7wlo&vxp=mtr

is the one i used


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## Gobblergetter23 (Mar 11, 2009)

I have a Trailer Jack That I would sell. I bought it from Harbor freight any takers?


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## spedelbrock (Jun 18, 2013)

Looks great... I'd buy one from you..


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## Army3244 (Sep 1, 2014)

Kaveman44 said:


> I have almost completed my bow press ,all I need is a pair of fingers ,I borrowed these from a friend of mine and have my hand wheel and handle already on its way and i need some square tubing plugs
> View attachment 3028866


Nice press, I'm almost finished with mine. Just curious, I've seen two styles.of fingers. One set is longer than the other. Not sure which one I should go with. Is one better than the other? I'm assuming the longer set just gives a little more clearance for the cam ,not sure, this is my first press build. My son and I are both shootig Chillr's. I have the shorter set laid out on a 1/2" steel plate but not sure if I should go longer. Any info on this would be very helpful, thanks


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

went with the longer ones so it will fit the bigger cams


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## oubackman (Feb 14, 2006)

It's simple physics, but the larger wheel will make it easier to crank the bow in the press... bigger is better.


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## caspian (Jan 13, 2009)

personally I wouldn't bother. larger diameter also means more travel for a revolution and the leverage of the smaller wheel will be more than adequate. the wheel on my EZ press has the handle falling to the bottom under gravity while using my draw board. if a couple of ounces of mass is sufficient force then there is no need for additional leverage.


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## chrisben (Oct 8, 2014)

How wide can you open this with the Trailer Jack? Looks like you have an extension on the end?


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## kc hay seed (Jul 12, 2007)

i left the square tube plugs off mine,it make for a good place to put tools when working on the bow. you did a good job on your press congrats!!


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## that1guy27 (Jun 26, 2015)

OP looks great!!

I'm surprised who know who hasn't shown up yet lol.


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

it does have an extension arm , it opens to like 50 something inches


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## Tall-Tines (Jan 17, 2015)

Looks awesome I'm going to have to make one


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## bowhntrchris (Jan 23, 2013)

Just made one exactly like this. Bought fingers off of 92safari..


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## j.d.m. (Dec 28, 2005)

Did you look at the threaded rod? Is it a normal acme thread? I would think so being an 8000# jack.


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## Kaveman44 (Aug 29, 2015)

i didn't , just welded straight to the jack, sorry


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## Buckhunter28 (Aug 24, 2012)

Nice


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## GrayTech (Jan 29, 2013)

Kaveman44 said:


> Have my hand wheel attached but I think I'm gonna purchase a bigger one this one is 7 inches and it's a little small, what do you guys think?
> View attachment 3056682


Should be fine. I used a 5" wheel on mine and its OK. 
Next is a draw board/ shooting machine adapter...


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## GrayTech (Jan 29, 2013)

Moper361 said:


> Nice job on your bow press Kaveman ,do you by any chance have a template for the fingers ?? I was thinking of making fingers the same as yours but i chose a simpler option but would still like to make a set of these that i can use also in the future.


Here's another idea for fingers. I used 5/8 x 1½ aluminum bar.
















Just finishing up the draw board/shooting machine attachments I built for my press. Kept everything modular so its interchangeable.


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## BoHunter0210 (Oct 3, 2011)

I like it. Good work!


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## S.Dobbs (Jun 27, 2008)

Looks really nice!


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## mwtwrig0 (Sep 13, 2014)

Tagged


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## dooki3 (Nov 5, 2015)

What about a table clamp but sideways to compress the bow? Just a thought.


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