Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Easternarcher on October 05, 2007, 10:47:36 pm

Title: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Easternarcher on October 05, 2007, 10:47:36 pm
Other than Osage, YEw, or IPE...Looking for something to try...maybe hickory? HArd MAple??
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: snedeker on October 05, 2007, 11:20:43 pm
Bulletwood (Massuranduba), another pretty readily available S. American wood works great.  Boo'usualy considered too much for maple.

Dave
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Justin Snyder on October 05, 2007, 11:22:20 pm
Boy you might as well ask who is the smartest in a quantum physics convention.  >:D  I like osage, but I think any good dense wood will work good.  I'm going to try an ipe when I finish some of the other projects I have going.  Justin
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Ryano on October 05, 2007, 11:50:53 pm
Hickory is a poor choice for belly wood. It tends to fret easily under compression. My brother makes some nice bamboo backed Iron wood (hophornbeam) We've also had decent luck with good hard maple. Been wanting to experiment with Elm but haven't got around to it yet.
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Coo-wah-chobee on October 06, 2007, 12:59:14 am
..................guava er persimmon.........bob
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: medicinewheel on October 06, 2007, 06:17:04 am

gentleman!  -  i just happend to have an incredible experience with ipé which was applied to the belly of a bamboo-backed blackcherry bow in the works: a spot of the ipé-bellywood of only 1/16" in thickness was not glued properly and got folded badly while tillering! it did not show a hint of a fret at all.
i tried to superglue the spot which did work only partially and the bellywood got folded even worse; still didn't fret. - i'd say that's hard to beat...
frank
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Badger on October 06, 2007, 01:29:33 pm
      Ipe is not prone to fretting but it will fret, you got lucky with that piece. I use a lot of Jatoba with boo, also prone to fretting but if you are careful and go wide enough it wont. Steve
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Easternarcher on October 06, 2007, 03:34:42 pm
Hickory is a poor choice for belly wood. It tends to fret easily under compression. My brother makes some nice bamboo backed Iron wood (hophornbeam) We've also had decent luck with good hard maple. Been wanting to experiment with Elm but haven't got around to it yet.

I woulda thought that hickory would work, but I'll trust ya on that.
Iwas just given a 5" dia. log of hornbeam last week by the landowner of the parcel I hunt. I told him, I'd build him a bow as appreciation for that privelege, so maybe boo backed hornbeam then...also, I'm supposed to be getting some elm logs from the parks dept. in town.  I may try elm too.

I'm afraid that IPE, YEW and OSAGE are unheard of around here....I'd have to ship it in, so I think they're out for me.
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Ryano on October 06, 2007, 03:51:38 pm
Im not saying it wont work but there are better choices out there for belly wood. Ive even had good luck with black locust, which can frett easily if misstreated, but with the proper thickness ratio it seems to work good for me.
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Easternarcher on October 06, 2007, 08:36:58 pm
Im not saying it wont work but there are better choices out there for belly wood. Ive even had good luck with black locust, which can frett easily if misstreated, but with the proper thickness ratio it seems to work good for me.

Hey, Ryan, or anybody for that matter....Do you guys have some type of design that might work for a boo backed hornbeam?

Ryan, can you give me an idea of your Jatoba limb design?? I'd like to try another one with boo instead of hickory backing this time.
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: snedeker on October 06, 2007, 11:03:11 pm
Another possibilty that raises its questionable head is black locust.
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Easternarcher on October 07, 2007, 11:02:21 am
Another possibilty that raises its questionable head is black locust.

Yup, I thought of that too. If I could only get my hands on some.... ::)
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Ryano on October 07, 2007, 11:13:07 am
The one's we make are like the ones on Dean Torges's video (hunting the bamboo backed Osage) with a few modifications but thats a good place to start. Just make sure you get you bamboo thin I like 1/8" at the handle(measuring from the crown) tapering to 1/16" at the tips. Remember to keep the belly core at around a 3 to 1 ratio belly to back and you should be fine.
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Easternarcher on October 07, 2007, 12:58:13 pm
The one's we make are like the ones on Dean Torges's video (hunting the bamboo backed Osage) with a few modifications but thats a good place to start. Just make sure you get you bamboo thin I like 1/8" at the handle(measuring from the crown) tapering to 1/16" at the tips. Remember to keep the belly core at around a 3 to 1 ratio belly to back and you should be fine.

So, if my boo is 1/8" at the handle, then the bellywood should be 3/8" at briser fade and 3/16" at the tips?
Ryan, how about the width for Jatoba 1.5" at fade? or more??
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Ryano on October 07, 2007, 01:09:33 pm
Your going to want to start out with about a 7/16" slat and taper from where your riser ends to the tip about a 1/8" this gives you room to tiller as nesasary.(we use a 13"riser block)  This should give you good results for a 66" and down bow. 60#and lower draw weight.
Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Rich Saffold on October 07, 2007, 02:38:06 pm
I have a  68" reflexed r/d ipe/boo longbow which is nearly a 50/50 combination. Badger shot it through the chrono a few weeks ago and probably remembers it ;).. Very few pieces of any wood can easily handle this ratio, much less draw 60+ and be under an inch wide..

Which is why its my favorite.. when I  finish getting it purtied up. I'll post a pic..

 I've also had good success with hickory, elm, yew, osage, walnut,oak etc..I just cant get away with the same limb extremes..Like Bob said I think guava would be a good candidate for this as well..

Rich-no substitute for density ;D


Title: Re: Best belly wood with boo backing?
Post by: Badger on October 07, 2007, 04:45:07 pm
Rich, I dod remember the bow, I liked it a lot very fast and smooth. I use an approx 50/50 ratio all the time. I  think the center of the bow just becomes a core weather it is boo or ipe, boo happens to be lighter so it seems to help in performance.