hard maple limb width?

[John Malone]

Hey guys id like to make an eastern woodland style bow. Hickory or bamboo backed hard maple. Will the hard maple lend itself to this design? One inch wide taper to 3/4 tips, say 66 inches long.

[Bowjunkie]

I've never done it, but I bet it could be done. I wouldn't use bamboo. There's a better chance of it overpowering the maple than if hickory was used. Besides, I don't think the eastern Indians used bamboo in their bows.

Does the maple have an issue that requires it to be backed?

If you do back it with hickory, I'd use a thin piece, say 1/16".

When I think Eastern Indian design, I think selfbow, or maybe sinew or rawhide backed, etc.

[John Malone]

Bowjunkie, I searched for two hours through a huge pile of maple, it was all flat sawn. Looked at every piece of 8/4 and not one piece had a straight enough grain for backing strips. Except a few but they were 16 feet by 12 inches and he wouldn't cut them, beautiful pieces but a lil pricey.
So I got a couple nice 4/4 flat sawn pieces, don't think they would make a self bow. Ive worked with maple but never a bow. So I figured belly lams and backed bows, just wanted to try some maple.
And as far as what the Natives used this would be a Hollywood version.

[Bowjunkie]

That sounds like my usual trip to the hardwood store... lucky to find anything at all. Gotta keep looking though 

[John Malone]

I did find a piece of 8/4 flat sawn hickory that has really straight grain down the edge. At two inches wide, thought about backing strips or slicing of a 1.5 inch piece and trying a self bow from a board.

[Wolftrail]

1 1/2" wide  works for me.