rawhide backed board bows

[bubby]

I was wanting to back a board bow with rawhide and was wondering what type of material would be a good choice for a 50-55# 29" draw, 66"t/t

[George Tsoukalas]

You mean wood choice? Jawge

[ChristopherO]

Rawhide is the material to use for a rawhide backed bow.  Deer or goat rawhide is nice and thin whereas cow rawhide is thick and heavy, though that can be thinned with sandpaper.  Some folks use dog chew bones, made of, none other than, raw hide.  Soak in water to soften and unroll.  Those are pretty thick, too.

[bubby]

I was really wondering what would be the best wood choice, hickory, oak, epe and maybe some design help. I've been using ferret's pyramid layout on hickory board bows unbacked and those bows have been great, but I think I would like a narrower profile.any help is appreciated

[George Tsoukalas]

You can rawhide any wood. I've only rawhided yew. On boards I've used silk and burlap. I only back if I have to for some particular reason. I prefer unbacked. I've backed yew to protect the back from nicks and knocks. Jawge

[George Tsoukalas]

Another option is to make it a little longer if you want it narrower for hickory. But yes, bubby, you can rawhide hickory. Also, wood like osage and yew can be narrower. Jawge

[mwmwmb]

at a local shoot i saw an sweet looking rawhide backed osage. It was wrapped with string (about 1/4" spacing) during the application and it looked like the belly of a snake skin.

[bubby]

thanks, Jawge I was under the empression that some woods like epe need backing and I thought rawhide with a dark wood would look good. If it don't need it, it don't need it.

[ChristopherO]

Ipe may need backing if the grain violations are sufficient for it.  That is why most ipe boards are backed with a thin hickory or bamboo slat.  The rawhide should not overpower the belly of most bow making woods where as bamboo or hickory backings too thick can be too much for the belly to handle.  
I'm working on a hickory backed bow with a tempered boo core and a thin osage belly.  The hickory was too thick to start with and it caused a great amount of set to the core.