Choosing the wood and materials for your bow can be difficult. The woods and materials listed below are readily available, and if you are searching for something else, ask and we'll search for it.
Some of these woods would be beautiful in the limbs, but for performance or durability, would be poor choices. I'll be glad to discuss performance differences, call or E-Mail.
The link below is for a company that I will personally be frequenting, that has prime examples of exotic woods.
BELL FOREST PRODUCTS
ULS GLASS - The ULS glass used has "scrim"-a thin layer of woven glass in conjunction with linear glass. This type is stiffer and has more strength for the least mass weight. There are several companies that make glass suitable for bows but "Gordon's" supplies the clearest glass that I have used available on the current market.
Sometimes clear glass in general will be cloudy, have some streaks running lengthwise These unavoidable "flaws" are not very noticeable against a light colored background, but against a dark background, such as walnut laminations, they are more noticeable.
CARBON - Carbon is much lighter than glass for it's stiffness so can increase performance 3-5%. Carbon has a natural "dampening" effect which reduces vibration and shock.
Core-Tuff - can be added in the core to increase stability.
Bo-Tuff - a linear fiber glass used for risers, accent stripes and overlays. Comes in black, red, white, and grey.
Phenolic - The only place I use phenolic is in the limb tips. While being very heavy, phenolic is not very stiff and makes it a poor choice in risers. Many woods are stiffer then phenolic.
ActionBoo - Laminated bamboo that is made for other industries very light yellow-brown proven . In testing this has been proven to be the lightest in mass with the least variation. This is my core wood of choice.
Types of Exotic Wood
Please click on thumbnails below for wood charts ...
African Blackwood
Specific Gravity: 1.20
African Blackwood is an exotic wood native to Eastern Africa, and is also known as Mozambique Ebony or Senegal Ebony.
African Mahogany
Specific Gravity: 0.53
African Mahogany is an exotic wood with a deep reddish brown color. The grain can be straight, but is typically interlocking.
Birch
Specific Gravity: 0.71
Birch is a domestic wood reported to be full of natural waxes that render it waterproof.
Birdseye Maple
Specific Gravity: 0.72
Comes from the U.S. and Canada. Very hard, heavy, and light colored with interesting grain patterns. Birdseye maple is a rare and mysterious characteristic found in hard maple.
Black & White Ebony
Specific Gravity: 0.67
Black and White Ebony is an exotic wood with color that is reported to vary with species, usually uniformly black with light-colored bands.
Bloodwood Specific Gravity: 0.96 Bloodwood is an exotic wood that is sometimes referred to as cardinal wood, for its obvious beautiful deep rose color. Bocote Specific Gravity: 0.73 Bocote is an exotic wood native to Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. Dark brown to yellow with dark grain patterns. Hard and fairly heavy. Bolivian Rosewood
Specific Gravity: 0.84
Bolivian Rosewood is an exotic wood with beautiful, rosewood like wood with black striping on top of a dark brown background.
Bubinga
Specific Gravity: 0.88
Bubinga is an exotic wood from Central Africa. (African Rosewood) It is initially pinky-red, but darkens with age. . Reddish brown and sometimes has lines of dark purple. Hard and heavy.
Canarywood
Specific Gravity: 0.65
Canarywood is an exotic wood that is yellow to orange in color, typically variegated with light to dark red streaking.
Chechen
Specific Gravity: 0.85
Chechen is an exotic Mexican wood with a wide range of color variation from dark chocolate to light butterscotch colors.
Cherry
Specific Gravity: 0.58
American Black cherry is a domestic wood that is usually considered to be in the same class as mahogany for usage in the United States.
Cherry Burl
Specific Gravity: 0.58
Cherry Burl is a domestic wood that is usually considered to be in the same class as mahogany for usage in the United States.
Cocobolo
Specific Gravity: 1.10
Cocobolo is an exotic wood native to Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. Dark red, rose to yellow-brown, with some purple or black. Very hard and tough on tools.
Curly Maple (Hard Maple)
Specific Gravity: 0.72
Curly Maple (Tiger Maple) is traditional hard maple (sugar maple, rock maple, hard rock maple) with a soft and flowing figure.
Curly Maple (Red Leaf)
Specific Gravity: 0.63
Curly Red Leaf Maple is commonly called soft maple, but the name often fools many woodworkers.
Curly Western Maple
Specific Gravity: 0.55
Western Maple, sometimes called big leaf maple, broadleaf maple, or white maple is pale pinkish-brown in color.
E. Indian Rosewood
Specific Gravity: 0.85
East Indian Rosewood is an exotic wood native to the Southern India peninsula.
Figured Bubinga
Specific Gravity: 0.88
Figured Bubinga is an exotic wood native to Africa, and is very similar to rosewood. The wood is hard, with a reddish brown color, and lustrous.
Figured Purpleheart
Specific Gravity: 0.86
Figured Purpleheart is an exotic wood with mechanical properties of the wood similar to those of Greenheart and Oak.
Figured Zebrawood
Specific Gravity: 0.74
Figured Zebrawood is an exotic wood native to the Western African countries of Cameroon and Gabon. It is a hard wood, with a medium to coarse grain.
Gaboon Ebony
Specific Gravity: 1.03
Gaboon Ebony is an exotic wood native to Western Africa. It is an extremely hard, dense, and heavy wood, with a very fine texture.
Hard Maple
Specific Gravity: 0.72
The hard maple is the state tree of Wisconsin, Vermont, New York and West Virginia.
Honduras Mahogany
Specific Gravity: 0.59
Mahogany is an exotic wood that varies considerably in color. It may be yellowish, reddish, pinkish, or salmon colored when freshly cut.
Honduras Rosewood
Specific Gravity: 0.96
Honduras Rosewood is an exotic wood with pinkish brown or purplish with darker and lighter bands.
Indian Ebony
Specific Gravity: 0.80
Indian Ebony is an exotic wood native to southern India and Sri Lanka. It is an extremely hard, dense, and heavy wood, with a very fine texture.
Jatoba
Specific Gravity: 0.91
Jatoba is an exotic wood that runs from salmon-red to orange- brown. It darkens into a russet to reddish-brown color after drying.
Kingwood
Specific Gravity: 1.20
Kingwood is an exotic wood that is light to dark violet brown with lighter and darker stripes of purple. Hard and heavy, great riser wood but expensive and difficult to get.
Lacewood
Specific Gravity: 0.62
Lacewood is an exotic wood that is light reddish-brown, and is reported to be similar in color to Beech.
Leopardwood
Specific Gravity: 0.55
Leopardwood is an exotic wood with dark reddish-brown color with strong broad rays. This material is straight grained with medium texture.
Macassar Ebony
Specific Gravity: 1.09
Macassar Ebony is an exotic wood with heartwood that is reported to be strong, very heavy, and very hard.
Olivewood
Specific Gravity: 0.80
African Olivewood is an exotic wood that is native to Africa and has a sentimental and religious significance to several cultures and religions.
Osage Orange (Argentine)
Specific Gravity: 0.76
Osage Orange (Argentine) is an exotic wood from South America that is very dense. Also called "bodart," "bodark," "hedge," "hedge apple," "bois de arc", etx.. Hard and heavy, color varies from bright yellow to deep orange, tends to darken with age.
Padauk
Specific Gravity: 0.72
Padauk is an exotic wood that is a bright orange or almost crimson wood when freshly cut, but oxidizes to a darker, rich purple-brown.
Purpleheart
Specific Gravity: 0.86
Purpleheart is an exotic wood with mechanical properties of the wood are reported to lie somewhere between those of Greenheart and Oak. Also called Amaranth. It's purple! Comes from Mexico, Central, and South America. Very hard and heavy.
Quarter Sawn Maple
Specific Gravity: 0.72
Quarter sawn maple is a favorite among instrument makers and other fine woodworkers. It is cut in a way to highlight the fine, even grain.
Quarter Sawn White Oak
Specific Gravity: 0.77
Oak is regarded as one of the most beautiful woods to work with because of its grain pattern and character.
Quilted Bubinga
Specific Gravity: 0.88
Bubinga is an exotic wood native to Africa, and is very similar to rosewood. The wood is hard, with a reddish brown color, and lustrous figuring.
Quilted Western Maple
Specific Gravity: 0.55
Western Maple, sometimes called big leaf maple, broadleaf maple, or white maple is pale pinkish-brown in color. There is very little color.
Red Elm
Canada and the U.S. Also called Slippery Elm, Reddish brown to dark brown. Hard and strong but relativly light weight. Very pretty cut flat grain, an excellent limb choice.
Red Oak
Specific Gravity: 0.77
Oak is regarded as one of the most beautiful woods to work with because of its grain pattern and character.
Redheart
Specific Gravity: 0.68
Redheart is an exotic wood with dull pink to moderately bright red and fades severly with long exposure to UV.
Shedua
Specific Gravity: 0.80
Shedua trees can grow to a height of 150 feet, with trunks 3 feet in diameter. Lumber finishes to a high luster and takes stains and finish. Golden brown with black grain. Hard and heavy.
Snakewood
Specific Gravity: 1.30
Snakewood is an exotic wood known technically as piratinera guianensis, snakewood comes from a small, relatively rare tree.
Spalted Maple
Specific Gravity: 0.72
Spalted maple has dark veins caused by fungi in the wood. This wood is very decorative and therefore very popular with woodworkers.
Superaction Wood Camo
Laminated maple or birch with alternating layers of gray, brown, and green, also available in natural and brown. Extremely strong. As a limb lamination, "SA" has won more tournaments and Olympic medals than any other type of laminations.
Superaction Wood Grey
laminated maple or birch, natural and brown. As limb laminations, "SA" has won more tournaments and Olympic medals than any other type of laminations.
Tonkin Cane
SouthEast Asia. Not a wood but a grass! light yellow-brown depending on if it's tempered or not. Draws smooth and shoots fast,inconsistant mass, also expensive and availability is inconsistant.
Tulipwood
Specific Gravity: 0.96
Tulipwood is an exotic wood native to the tropical region of South America, mainly Brazil. It is a hard and heavy wood.
Walnut
Specific Gravity: 0.64
Eastern and southern U.S. Walnut is a hard, tough wood prized as a cabinet making wood. It is also popular in the United States for gunstocks and rifle butts. Deep dark brown with some black grain patterns. Varies greatly in weight, hardness, and grain.
Wenge
Specific Gravity: 0.88
Wenge is an exotic wood with a natural growth.
White Ash
Specific Gravity: 0.66
Trees often attain heights of 70 to 80 feet, with trunk diameters of 24 to 36 inches. The grain is described as bold, straight.
White Oak
Specific Gravity: 0.77
Oak is regarded as one of the most beautiful woods to work with because of its grain pattern and character.
Yellowheart
Specific Gravity: 0.80
Yellowheart, an exotic wood also called Pau Amarello, can grow to more than 130 feet tall and 30" in diameter.
Zebra
West Africa. A fairly hard and heavywood. Very light, has a slight straw color with dark colored stripes.