Got a Couple of Questions

[D.A. Davis]

What woods are best for use in limbs?  I know people use Red Elm and Hard Maple, but what else is good to use.  I see that you can get tapers in almost any wood you want, but aren't some woods not good for use in limbs.

Also, is there a way to determine how many tapers and parallels are needed to get a specific pound range?  I know there are a lot of varibles involved like limb width, glass thickness, limb length, whether or not you use veneers, etc..  I mean, for an average bow using average materials, how do you know how much to put into your limb construction?

[Apex Predator]

Action bamboo is popular,and for good reason.  I've only tried elm, maple, and boo.  I've heard that walnut makes a good core wood.  Some like osage, and it's supposed to be fast.  I like to use lighter weight core woods though.

What kind of bow do you plan to make?  Straight, mild R/D, or hybrid longbow?  Maybe a recurve? What length nock-to-nock?  If you give us more details we can probably give you a pretty close guestimate.

[D.A. Davis]

Thanks for the response Apex Predator.  I'm really just geting started.  I'm reading everything I can find and am just absorbing information.  I'm currently sitting here with my arm in a sling after major rotator cuff surgery back on the 4th.  Doc says it'll be 6 months before I can do much with my left arm.  But, I've got a good physical therapist who has experience with helping rotator cuff injured shooters return to form.

I was thinking my first build will be a 66'' R/D longbow.  I would like to get it in the 45 to 50 pound range.  But, I've still to build my forms and everything.  I'm just trying to learn something.

[Apex Predator]

When you are ready you can post a pic of your form and some of the bowyers on here can give you a recommendation on lam stack thickness based on that.  Or you could build your form from a design that is sold as a blueprint, and then whoever sold the blueprint can make some accurate recommendations.

[Bert Frelink]

Walnut is a very under rated limb wood, the trouble is the clear glass quality is not what it used to be and with the darker limb woods shows more of the streaks.
Black locust is tops(in my opinion) for recurve limbs.
Bamboo can't be beat for smoothness.
Good luck on your recovery.
Regards,Bert.