Wood choices with bamboo

[twitchstick]

I'm thinking of doing a bamboo backed something this winter. I know a lot of people use ipe but I don't have any. I have a few hard wood boards kicking a around and was wondering what wood would work better with bamboo. I have some cherry, maple, red oak and some hickory boards. Personally I think the cherry would make a nice looking bow. Thanks

[Roy from Pa]

My first choice is Osage, but the hickory would be my choice of those you listed. Then hard maple, not cherry though...

[PEARL DRUMS]

Yew is a good one right next to osage. Cherry will explode into pieces, odds are.

[LittleBen]

If you must use what you already have, then it's hickory hands down, then hard maple, then red oak .... But we're pretty close to being in the gutter at that point IMO.

I probably own more ipe than anyone but Tenbrook who sells the stuff, and I can tell you that it's really not terribly expensive if you can find it locally. I've taken to buying 10' 2x4s of it. You can rip slats off the side of the board and they're 1.5" wide, which is probably too wide and should be narrowed after glue up. Those 2x4s run about $60 and you can easily get half a dozen bows out of one if not more.
A 1x4 or 1x2 of ipe in a 6 foot length can't cost much, again if you can find it locally. You can try deck contractors, they may have "scraps" that are enough to get a bow out of.
As I mentioned Tenbrook also sells ipe with or without bamboo slats for very reasonable prices. He's a sponsor here and when you consider its been hand selected and cut for grain, it's really a bargain.

Then there's osage ..... Wonderful golden yellow osage .....
Bamboo and osage makes such a beautiful and solid performing bow it's probably worth the trouble to track down a piece. Especially if you're only making one bow.

Good luck! Keep us posted as you build!

[Roy from Pa]

Word of caution with IPE. It's a good hard wood and makes a good bow. But it is oily and has been known to give some folks a severe reaction. It really messed up my immune system. If you ever try it, be sure to wear protection. Eye's, hands, and a good respirator. And wash up before going into the house or being around other people. Especially young children.

[Mad Max]

Roy DOES have a Tender spot.    

X2 on ipe and osage and Tenbrook

[halfseminole]

Osage gave me a serious allergic reaction.  Like "can't touch it again" reaction.  Any wood can.  Be careful with any wood you're not familiar with.

[eflanders]

I respectfully disagree about black cherry.  My favorite laminate combinations are: Hickory, Black Cherry and Black Walnut.  If the lams are knot free, nearly any Midwest-based hardwood will do nicely if you use them in the correct lam position. Make sure you know what woods are good in tension and what are not accordingly.  Hickory and Cherry makes for a beautiful and very functional all-wood lam bow in my experience.

[mikkekeswick]

Yep I've used black cherry as well. It does have a tendancy to 'explode' if you are making a selfbow but backed it's fine. Trap the back and you'll end up with a wonderfully light in the hand, fast bow.

[Roy from Pa]

I'd use cherry in a core lam, but wouldn't put much faith in it for a self bow or a belly lam. There are much better choices for belly material.

[mikkekeswick]

It all depends on design Roy  

[Roy from Pa]

Show me a cherry self bow picture and I might agree with you, Mike.    

[mmgrode]

Of the woods listed, hickory would be a decent choice. Hickory would potentially work well in the dry Utah country and holds several wood bow flight records.  However, do keep in mind that hickory pales in compression strength compared to bamboo's tensile strength.  Make the hickory belly plenty wide, thin the bamboo backing to knife edge, trap the limbs, heat treat the belly and you've got a good chance for a shooter. Don't do these things and you'll have a limp noodle... hickory can take LOTS of set if you're not careful!

I've only built one cherry bellied bow and it was backed with hickory.  I'd be willing to bet the right piece of straight grained, clean black cherry with a thin, trapped bamboo backing would make an excellent bow.  I might try just that this winter.

With all that said, I use osage for nearly all my bow building nowadays(primarily bamboo backed tri-lams).  It almost never lets me down, is predictable, durable, and beautiful.  For all the effort you put into building a bow, use good materials!!  

As mentioned, ipe can be good for use on narrow, conservative designs.  The issue I have run into with it concerns its density.  With ipe in my normal R/D designs the limbs end up too narrow for durability(I get limb twist). Width of limb for osage works well in my designs.

[Carson81]

Like others, I would be reaching for the hickory. I like to thoroughly heat treat hickory bellies on self bows because it seams to reduce its susceptibility to moisture, and I live in the PNW. I have not done this yet with a bamboo backed hickory, but if you could get your hickory slat reduced and tillered before glue-up, you could heat treat the belly thoroughly. I think you would find some benefit to it.

Yew and bamboo is magical. I will be offering some yew belly slats on the website soon.

[Carson81]

Like others, I would be reaching for the hickory. I like to thoroughly heat treat hickory bellies on self bows because it seams to reduce its susceptibility to moisture, and I live in the PNW. I have not done this yet with a bamboo backed hickory, but if you could get your hickory slat reduced and tillered before glue-up, you could heat treat the belly thoroughly. I think you would find some benefit to it.

Yew and bamboo is magical. I will be offering some yew belly slats on the website soon.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Originally posted by Roy from Pa:
Show me a cherry self bow picture and I might agree with you, Mike.      

Still wouldn't agree Roybert. I've seen and shot a bow from a poplar board. That must mean it's a great, light in the hand bow wood that is fast! Right? NO! It means anything can be coaxed into bending a few times, but don't expect much and don't expect longevity from it. Matter of fact the few hickory backed cherry bows I seen are tillered wonderfully and after 500-1000 shots started to fret. It's junk bow wood unless its sandwiched between glass and glue when wood properties don't really matter anymore.

[Roy from Pa]

Yupper...