Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: NBK on July 20, 2013, 10:13:00 AM
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What limb core woods do you all prefer other than bamboo? I've had several bamboo bows and would like to try something different for a change. I'm leaning towards walnut, yew or elm but would love to hear some input. The bow will be a dwyer original, ( mild r/d, narrow deep limbs and 68" long).
Thanks for all replies.
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Yew
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Elm, Red or American makes a great limb.
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hard rock maple or birdseye maple is a fast wood and stable. you could also do a combo, i had an Arner LB that was walnut/boo and a delight to shoot.
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Cypress make a good limb. fast and smooth for longbow or recurve
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Yew
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For what it's worth, I have a medium R/D longbow 64" 58@28 I draw 52lbs with this bow. Hickory cores with black walnut veneers, shoots hard yet very smooth with a feel all it's own.Likes an arrow of about 9 to 11gpp.Limbs are 1 1/4" at fades.
Hard maple is another good choice, can't beat bamboo however!
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Elm is said to be one of the best core woods since it has many of the most desirable qualities of weight,strength,flexibility and speed.
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Yew
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Pacific Yew, or you could try Red Elm. I like it as much, if not a tad more than bamboo. Seems to me to be a bit smoother on the draw, but that's pretty subjective.
I owned a Red Elm bow for a short time and it was really nice as well. The bowyer was very high on it as a limb material. Don't think you can go wrong with either.
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Yew is hard to beat, also hard to get, and even harder to get real quality stuff. That said, one should take a long look at red cedar. That stuff recovers real quick and is light as a feather. Heck, ask Dave Johnson what he thinks about red cedar ...it is excellent bow material.
Bob.
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MAPLE
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Dave will tell you that Ash is one of his favorites. It loads quick and shoots hard. Pound for pound it is as good as it gets. I saw some curly ash of Dave's that was really nice. LF
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I have shot a walnut cored longbow and it was very smooth. I would consider a walnut/elm stack myself. Or elm and cedar. Or elm and maple... Elm is very resilient of shock loads.
Joshua
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Red and American elm are my favorites, followed very closely by hard rock maple
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walnut.
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Almost a dead heat!
Any durability benefits or concerns with one vs. another?
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Between the three you mentioned, I don't think it matters in a glass bow. Depends on which you would rather look at, even if from a side view.
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I have a Dauntless from Dave which is Rock Maple center core with White Ash for the other lams not veneers and the bow is a dream to shoot,great arrow cast and smooth to shoot.Talk to him and see what would be best for you,he is a super nice guy to deal with,good luck in your decision.Lou
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I've had bamboo and currently have actionwood and can't tell much difference. Obviously bow design has a huge part to play but in my experience with a good design they can both be quite snappy just like I like it! Everyone will have a different opinion on this one in regards to their past experiences. Shoot what you like the look of!
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Originally posted by BWD:
Between the three you mentioned, I don't think it matters in a glass bow. Depends on which you would rather look at, even if from a side view.
I agree
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Originally posted by Goshawkin:
Originally posted by BWD:
Between the three you mentioned, I don't think it matters in a glass bow. Depends on which you would rather look at, even if from a side view.
I agree [/b]
Curly maple looks very nice from the side
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Here is a bit of reading for ya, I did a test on cores a few years back. The bows made a little different weights, and I didn't have time to properly test with 9 gpp on each one.
Sure hated that, but was donating a couple of em and they had to go!!
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001491#000000
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I love the looks and the way yew performs. I have two Dwyers I bought used and they both have ash in the limbs. One of them has curly ash and it looks good.
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I like maple and elm but sassafras is a hidden gem!
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I have elm and persimmon bows and like them both.
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Elm is smoother drawing, faster and quiter than bamboo IMO in a longbow limb.
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Red elm,I have a few bows with red elm.Excellent core wood in my opinion.Can be used flat grain or edge grain.
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Hey Mike, you know how much I like elm. I don't know how Dave sets up the lams in his Original but I have had some real good feedback from customers when I used a combo of Hard Maple and Elm.
Take Care, Chris
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Not had a lot of experience with different woods mostly bamboo in longbow and yew in reflex deflex, both shot good, but currently shooting 4 lams of Osage and loving it, got rid of bamboo core longbow just to keep it.Both bows shot great but like the feel of the osage!!!
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Imo design plays a bigger part in how a bow shoots. Comparing 2 different woods in 2 different longbow designs tells very little about the shooting qualities. In theory a lighter core will perform better but in practice it may not be as simple as that. I have read of solid glass limbs shooting faster (but more shocky) than wood laminated ones so apparently bending hysteresis loss has something to do with it as well.
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I've built and tested bows with all of them, Hickory, elm , maple and yew all faster than boo . Boo feels a bit smoother to me but if I were building a bow I had to depend on for my life it would be good clear edge grain maple. Next would be hickory but maple is more homogenous. Elm has a very coarse interlocking grain. I like it real well but it is a bear to fill and seal the edges of elm on the limbs. I have also had a harder time getting good edge grain elm and hickory compared to maple.
I am not a fan of walnut. Some of it seems to have a property that does not adhere to the glue well. I have seen several walnut lam bows delaminate in my lifetime and it was always the glue line. But there are thousands of bows build that are over fifty years old with maple lams that still are going strong and some of them have hundreds of thousands of shots under their belts.
I believe that Howatt, Pearson , Wing, Bear and all those great bow companies knew what they were doing and its a proven thing.
If you want flatout pretty though. Yew cores look fantastic and so does tigerwood, perhaps the unsung great core wood.
God bless, Steve
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Thanks for your insight Chris and Steve. I love it when bowyers add their perspective.
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Originally posted by longbowray:
Yew
I second that :thumbsup:
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I've become a fan of real edge grain Douglas fir. It has to be the real d fir & not the crap that's sold many places. It's very stiff for its weight.
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I love Yew..That's what I had Kempf put in my longbow but Wavy Zebrawood also looks neat.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/PB190011.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/PB190011.jpg.html)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P8050012.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/P8050012.jpg.html)
Wavy Zebra stained gray to match a gray riser.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P7120014.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/P7120014.jpg.html)
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Thanks joe. Is that coco bolo in the riser of the yew bow?
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Yes..dark cocobolo....here is a photo.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/PB190001.jpg) (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/sf1oak/media/PB190001.jpg.html)
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I have tried most woods at one time or another,but for all round best limb core I find carbonize laminated bamboo the best.It's priced reasonably and easy to find at most lumberyards.It looks pretty good under clear glass too.But I do have to agree with Sixby that edge grain maple for a limb core would be second.
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Hard maple or red elm, or red elm back and belly, maple core. Bob
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Yew might like it.....
(http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr180/two4hooking/20130722_192712_zps06275dd1.jpg) (http://s481.photobucket.com/user/two4hooking/media/20130722_192712_zps06275dd1.jpg.html)
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Black walnut is in two of my longbow limbs
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Any durability issues with the walnut? Bear Heart, how would you compare the walnut to other cores?
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Hard rock maple action wood, bamboo action wood or yew.
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Black walnut has been trustworthy, smooth, and hard hitting in my limbs. I trust it over my bamboo limbs. Andy McCoy at Bezaleel Bowworks, who is building another set of limbs for me right now, said it is his favorite. My first set was carbon on the outside with black walnut cores 54#. My new limbs have black walnut cores with zebrewood veneers 60#.
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For longevity and good all around performance i think i'd go with hard rock maple.... the action wood maple has proven to be excellent in RC bows.
i've built bows with just about every kind of cores you could think of, and had good luck and performance from a lot of them. You can get a softer feel to the draw with softer more homogenous woods. and pretty snappy bows from walnut and zebra wood that have a more brittle nature...... i just think in the long run good old maple is hard to beat.... kirk
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Aside from Sixby, who else likes hickory?
Sixby - What flavor you prefer, Pignut, Shag, or Shell bark?
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No preferance, I just know that some of the quickest glass bows built were using hickory cores. My experience with it has been that the weight of the bow comes in consistantly heavier than it does with the identical stack of most other core woods and that it is extremely tough stuff. But then so is maple and usually maple is lighter in weight.
God bless, Steve
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I too have built bows with a lot of core woods. The fastest recurve I ever built had two zebra lams under clear glass with no veneers. I have had two walnut core bows blow up but both were carbon belly and back. I built two double carbon Osage core LBs that are still shooting but Osage may defeat the purpose of double carbon because of weight. I have never had any problems with maple or elm. Aboo is my go to lam because I like the feel of the draw and it seems to make a quiet bow. It is also very consistent about hitting weight. A lot of old bowyers love action maple and I still know one guy who lays up his own because it is not commercially available.
Bonner
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The bow you are building begs for boo. Boo is strong (fibers run the entire length of the bow) durable and light in mass. A 68" bow would do well by bamboo despite you wanting to try something else. Anything else for a 68" bow is getting "heavy in the limb" IMO. Osage or hickory would be a last choice for this reason.
Yew would be my second choice.
See you at Rib Mountain in August?
Kris
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Kris, good point there. I'll talk to Dave for the final word. Just trying to get something that doesn't need veneers and plain unstained boo just doesn't flip my switch. Probably wont make it to the shoot in August as I'm taking the family on a much needed vacation.
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Dryad Bows used to use "Dirty Boo" it looked really nice! For my homemade bows I have only used edge grain red elm and amberboo tapers.