Ipe for core lams?

[Mike L.]

I scored a 12’ long 4”x4” of ipe.  It seems totally clean, regular density and grain, no knots to speak of… aside from being so heavy as to seem like someone’s playing a trick on me, is it suitable for core lams?  Or is it much too heavy or too oily?  I’ve seen it used in risers I think, pretty boring for a limb veneer.  What would you do with it? 

[Mad Max]

If the grain is straight it would be Awesome for a Bamboo backed Ipe (Vertical grain).
Good and stiff for lams but heavy, I don't know if the stiffness would out weight the weight for performance. But James Parker said it was good
I got a 9 foot 1 x 6 at the classic for $40.00. I cut it to 36"

3 boards on the left, Blond Ipe

[Flem]

You certainly can use Ipe for a core lam. And you are right its heavy as hell and hell on tools. I have used it as a belly side lam in a glass bow. Only made one. I would recommend making Ipe lams substantially thinner than you would for most other woods

[Mad Max]

James Parker makes Bamboo back and Belly with Ipe as the core

[Crooked Stic]

There is way better choice for core on a glass bow.
I have used it for I beams and wedges .
I even had some once that had some grain in it that I made a riser from.

[Mike L.]

I have a ton of maple and yew that I normally use for cores.  I think both are probably better suited to that than Ipe; I’m just looking for ideas for what to do with it, and I wondered if it would work for cores or if there’s some reason why it’s not suited for it. 

[IanBB]

I think a thin core of Ipe with other woods in the stack might be a nice way to add weight without too much stack depth. I'll try it at some point and report back.