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Ash warbow planning

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Sherratt:
Hi all,

I have an ash 2*4, about 4 foot long incoming which - all things going well - I am planning to make a couple of bows from.

The first is a plains style gull wing - probably sinew backed. The second idea I'm working out is splicing the remaining wood together, laminating the back and attempting to make an English war bow,

I have a few questions:
What options would make good laminates? I'm in NZ and resources are limited and pricey where I am. I'm thinking white oak on the back
how thick would they need to be, and does this change depending on the backing?
do I need to chase a growth ring for the laminate on the back?
and would I need to laminate the belly?

Thanks,
Sherratt

willie:
Hi Sherratt,

what are your other choices in addition to white oak? Backings are 1/8 - 3/16"  I would look for the straightest grained of diffuse porous woods. you would not need to chase a ring if the backing strips were edge grained.

how many pounds do you want the warbow to pull?

bownarra:
Spliced in the handle is not likely to work out on a heavy bow that will work there. Core lams can be spliced in the handle and i've done elb's upto 60 ish spliced bellies but...

Sherratt:
Maple looks like the other main option, no hickory boards or ipe that I can find. Where I am in NZ options are pretty limited. https://www.citytimber.co.nz/species is my best source of timber in terms of variety and accessibility at the moment - the ceder is western red - everywhere else local seems to be pretty much radata pine and kwila or veneers.

As far as draw weight 80 pounds at 32" will be plenty for now

willie:
I am not familer with the non us species listed,  and the ones imported from the us are not described in very much detail. maple can be good or no so depending on density.  Have you considered harvesting a sapling for the warbow?  maybe an inquiry about NZ woods on the main page will be noticed better by some of the kiwi bowyers

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