Alternative bow backing

[LunchBox]

Hello to all and thanks for any help in advance.  I am new to bow building and am making my first one, an oak take down made from an old oak table top I had laying around.  My question is can plastics be used as a backing?   I found a piece of faux wood plastic at my local surplus store and it seems to be the proper thickness, is very pliable and doesnt crack when I bend it... can this be used as a backing on my bow?  again thanks!

[Wolftrail]

I think kids bows are plastic or once were.  Try it out, what ya got to loose.  Fred Bear was using aluminum in his bows.

[LunchBox]

Thanks Wolf...you're right what do I have to lose... and if it works I'll be buying the 100 or so pieces they have there that's for sure...

[macbow]

For a oak board bow it will be a experiment.
If it actually adds strength to the back it could easily overpower the Oak belly because oak isn't real strong in compression.

If it less effective as a backing then it adds weight and that will kill the performance of the wood.

Since this Is your first build might be prudent to follow some of the build here.

[LunchBox]

thanks macbow... its pretty light so I dont think its going to add much weight to the bow...then again I am really new to this so I know nothing...

[fujimo]

a lot of those plastics dont glue up very well!
x2 what the big mac says

[mikkekeswick]

Yes likely it will overpower the oak...if you get it stuck well enough.
The first thing would be to find a suitable glue.

[John Scifres]

I would not bother with a plastic of unknown composition.  Buy a $12 hickory backing.

[Pat B]

...or use brown grocery bag paper, a silk neck tie or a linen blouse from Good Will.

[wood carver 2]

Welcome to the forum. Where are you located?
While it doesn't hurt to experiment, it might be better for your morale to go with some of the good advice given here. Once you build yourself a shooter, you can use your new experience to begin trying different things.
Dave.

[wood carver 2]

Welcome to the forum. Where are you located?
While it doesn't hurt to experiment, it might be better for your morale to go with some of the good advice given here. Once you build yourself a shooter, you can use your new experience to begin trying different things.
Dave.

[LunchBox]

Thanks all for the help.   I'm located in South western Ontario.  I bought one sheet of the plastic stuff... I'm going to do a burn test to narrow down the type of plastic but like it has been recommended I'm not going to use it for my first bow build, I'll save it for later experimentation.

[LittleBen]

Originally posted by Pat B:
...or use brown grocery bag paper, a silk neck tie or a linen blouse from Good Will.

Pat knows his stuff, these are all good ideas.

[George Tsoukalas]

Silk, linen and burlap make good backings. Jawge

[LunchBox]

I have so much to learn... are there any books that anyone recommends to read that would go over stuff like this?

[KenH]

The Traditional Bowyers Bible - volumes 1- IV. You can find one of the volumes free, online.  Check them out through Interlibrary Loan as well.

The plastic backing  won't help the strength of the bow at all.  If you can find a good glue, it will prevent splinter rise and probably catastrophic shattering should things go wrong.  Only sinew and some fiber (not cloth) backing add draw weight to a bow.

[LunchBox]

I have been looking online and can't find a free copy, but I will continue to look...this really shows how little I know since I thought the purpose of a backing was just to prevent all of that.