Redheart for a riser?

[mtblucas]

Does anyone have any experience using redheart as a riser wood? I have a nice piece I’d like to use but haven’t heard of it being used in bow making. It’s a pretty light weight wood for a hardwood but should be strong enough for a riser I would assume. It sure is pretty when sanded and finished. What do y’all think? Yay or nay?

[C. Johnson]

I use a lot of redheart.  It works great as a riser wood.  The biggest problem with this wood is that it oxidizes quickly from a bright, watermelon red to a dull brown.

Strength wise, no worries.

[C. Johnson]

[C. Johnson]

[C. Johnson]

[C. Johnson]

Here are some examples of what it looks like.  I couldn't find the pics of the bows where I used a solid piece of redheart for the riser.  You get the idea though.

[mtblucas]

Wow, thanks for the reply! One of my favorite things about redheart is the color change. It looks great before and after. I’ve used it a lot on the wood lathe and love it. Great pics, nice bows! Thanks!

[mtblucas]

My redheart has worm holes! I’d assume on a laminated bow a few small worm holes in the riser aren’t the end of the world as they are in a self bow. Normally I’d leave them to add some character to the wood. After shaping the riser, however, I don’t really like the way they are situated and feel they are pretty unsightly. I’m thinking I’ll take some of the saw dust and mix it with two part epoxy and fill them in. I was planning on using just cheap 5 minute epoxy for this. Good idea or bad? What would y’all do? Thanks for any suggestions!

[kennym]

I think I would fill them with CA til they won't take any more and if you don't like the black dot it will look like, drill slightly , fill with sawdust and put another drop of CA on to finish up.

[mtblucas]

Thanks Kenny. I’ll give that a try.