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backing strength of burlap.

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Mafort:
going to a fair and manning an archery booth in charlestown indiana. they Asked me to build the bows for the range. my question comes due to safety with the bows themselves. how strong is a burlap backing on a red oak board with good grain orientation and proper tiller? i planned on doing three layers for the backing considering i was unaware of the strength of burlap glued with titebond but i didnt want to bog the bows down too badly. These bows are going to be no more powerful than 30lbs @28.

Eric Krewson:
I can't answer your question on backing because I don't have any experience with burlap.

I have a friend who mans an archery booth at a local SCA fair, he makes board bows for attendees to shoot, all of the adult bows are 6' long and low poundage. He makes the bows long on purpose, to stress the limbs less when a variety of people of all sizes step up to shoot them. He had much shorter bows for the small kids to shoot.

I made a lot of kids bows over the years, I bamboo backed every one of them for the safety factor and to prevent future lawsuits, just in case.

Pat B:
Burlap is ok for a backing but there are better options IMO, and 3 layers is too much. That many layers will add too much excess physical weight only slowing the bows cast. Most soft backings are only good to help prevent a splinter from lifting, they won't prevent a break. If burlap is all you have, one layer is enough. Be sure you saturate the burlap well.
 Brown grocery bag paper is another option and will add less physical weight to the bow.

Mafort:

--- Quote from: Pat B on September 25, 2025, 11:23:28 am ---Burlap is ok for a backing but there are better options IMO, and 3 layers is too much. That many layers will add too much excess physical weight only slowing the bows cast. Most soft backings are only good to help prevent a splinter from lifting, they won't prevent a break. If burlap is all you have, one layer is enough. Be sure you saturate the burlap well.
 Brown grocery bag paper is another option and will add less physical weight to the bow.

--- End quote ---
When you say saturate do you soak with water before applying the glue and onto the bow?

bjrogg:
Wish Jawge was here.

I can’t really offer much advice but another option is silk ties, linen cloth. I haven’t tried any of them but I have seen a very sharp Osage that was backed with fabric with a nice pattern.

I’d second PatB. I would think three layers would add a lot of mass and really slow down your bow.

Like Eric says length is a friend when it comes to a bunch of different people who probably have never even drawn a wood bow before.

I guess the only backing I have used was rawhide and it needed to be rehydrated to make it flexible. Then I removed excess water with a towel. Then I put a liberal coat of straight wood glue on both the back of the bow and one side of rawhide. Then put the rawhide on the back of bow and rubbed the bubbles out. It is a pretty messy process that you might not want to do in your wife’s kitchen.

I would think that the burlap would be flexible enough without adding water. But I have never tried it

Bjrogg

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