Hickory backed bows and moisture.

[Morgan]

I have a hankering to make a hickory backed ipe bow. Have several ipe boards, no hickory backings yet. I was wondering if the way hickory absorbs moisture affects the performance of the bow when used as a backing since there is really not much of the bow that is hickory? I’ll have a lot more questions as I go I am sure since backed board bows is not what I’m used to making.

[Hamish]

I've never noticed any drop in performance over time with hickory backed bows. My guess is because the hickory is working only in tension, and makes up a relatively small amount of the the entire bows weight. Perhaps the loss of performance with high moisture hickory, occurs mainly in the belly, with compression?
I also glue up 1-2" of reflex into the stave, it really helps with preventing set.

[PatM]

Not enough to worry about.

[bownarra]

Doesn't matter because it is in tension.
It would if the hickory was on the belly of a lam bow though - even if it was a thin lam.
Backed ipe is a great lam bow combo here in humid England. The ipe just shrugs off humidity

[Pat B]

I've made many hickory backed bows with many different belly woods and cores and never noticed a difference in performance during high humidity times.

[Morgan]

Thanks guys. Looking forward to trying it. The moisture resistance of the ipe is a huge draw to me, summer and early fall humidity in eastern Oklahoma takes a toll on whitewoods.

[Pat B]

Hickory backed ipe makes a great bow.

[Morgan]

I bought several of those boards 5 or 6 years ago with the intention to make a boo or hickory backed bow, always wind up working with a stave though. Need to hunt me up a hickory to try to get some backing strips off of. I really like narrow limbed bows and think I’ll try one with 1” wide limbs. How do you reckon a pyramid design 66” with limbs 1”wide @ fades tapering to 5/16 or 3/8 at the tips would do? Read it don’t take but just a little bit of ipe to make a bow but Would that be too narrow?