The Unbelievable strength of a G-10 reinforced riser

[Kirkll]

 I know a lot of bowyer hate working with G-10 for a number of reasons. It's tough on bandsaw blades, and requires a good carbide tipped blade. The other down side to this material is that it doesn't move like wood does in different humidity and climates. So the materials you marry it to has to be bone dry. Even taking special care, you end up having to refinish one here and there after shipping to a dry climate.... But.... I flat out refuse to give up on this material, and just spend a bit more time before spraying the finish and make sure they are heated to about 90 degrees overnight to make sure that wood is done moving....

The stuff mills very nicely with high speed router bits in the milling machine, and very nice for ILF riser work... 

Here is a Sasquatch Special i just finished up that is a perfect example of why i love this stuff so much.  This is a 21" long riser 66" length that has a 90# draw weight at 31.5".  There is absolutely zero deflection in this riser. The G-10 is stronger than steel in both tension and compression properties. I have another bow just like it that has 110 pound limbs with no worries.

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[Maclean]

Absolutely gorgeous Kirk!

I really like G10 in my risers. It adds a nice bit of weight to the bow in just the right place, which for me adds stability at the shot and dead in the hand afterwards. The bows that I have and have shot with G10 in the riser just feel more solid, and a little snappier when shooting.

Which leads me to my question; I heard somewhere that because of G10's inherent stiffness it flexes less and therefore transfers more of the limbs energy more efficiently to the string/arrow than an all wood riser. Is that true in your experience?

[Kirkll]

Well Maclean…. To say that the G-10 stiffness adds performance would be a stretch in popular draw weights from 40-55# because building from good stout hardwood has minimal deflection anyway if they are not to long and built correctly. Say 17”  to 19” riser lengths…..But you are right about loosing any stored energy completely with a riser that flexes. Heavier draw weights would benefit in performance with it. As well as longer risers …..Yes

The extra mass weight it adds is a great quality for all the reasons you mentioned above, but it also allows you to slim down the riser size and push the grip forward if you like without fear of jeopardizing the structural integrity. You can also shape the grip really small with no strength loss.

Kirk

[Maclean]

Thanks Kirk!

[Homey88]

Beautiful bow!

[Gib]

Another beautiful bow!! Thanks for sharing the information.

[MnFn]

 Very nice! Those grips look perfect to me.

[Sant-Ravenhill]

One handsome bow!

[Tajue17]

I dont like it and actually pulled my deposit from a bowyer a few months ago because he insisted on using it, in a nice way i said im drawing 44# do you really think it will snap In half because theres many bows here that will
call you out on that.   My gripe is i dont care for the strike plate area looking liie a piece of plastic and theres a 1/2" line of the same stuff running up the back and front which looks like a sandwich standing on end.. many bowyers now are lamination kings and my opinion is they're bows are just too busy looking the simple look just isn't there...
 

[Kirkll]

I dont like it and actually pulled my deposit from a bowyer a few months ago because he insisted on using it, in a nice way i said im drawing 44# do you really think it will snap In half because theres many bows here that will
call you out on that.   My gripe is i dont care for the strike plate area looking liie a piece of plastic and theres a 1/2" line of the same stuff running up the back and front which looks like a sandwich standing on end.. many bowyers now are lamination kings and my opinion is they're bows are just too busy looking the simple look just isn't there...

You are not alone on your preference for wood in the strike plate area, as well as the belly ramps and back overlay. Here are a few examples of bows with an offset G10 I beam construction.

You will find very few bowyers that use one solid piece of wood in a bow riser. Especially riser designs with a forward grip location, and center cut, or past center shelf cuts.

. Now there are exceptions to the rule with some long bow designs with shorter, straight  risers and also one piece bows that have fiberglass wrapping the back of the riser. This adds a lot of strength.

But once you get into 3 pc building take down bows with different limb designs and riser shapes, using different materials, you figure out real quickly the value of reinforcement in the riser. A laminated or footed riser is much stronger and has much less flex to it.

You asked “ Are you afraid a 44# bow riser is going to snap just building it from wood?”

Realistically that is very possible depending not only on what wood species you are using, but the riser shape itself, and the grain configuration. Most folks do not realize how much pressure is actually put on the center of a bow riser. Many manufacturers quit using magnesium risers on production bows because they couldn’t hold the weight and snapped.

Using G-10 in a riser allows you to build a very strong riser using much softer woods like curly maple and black walnut with no worries on strength.

For those that do not care for the looks, Here are a few bows with offset G-10 I beams that hides that reinforcement.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yX1ocmJFcNLtRByA9


https://photos.app.goo.gl/HLWeoXsw5MD5Lsdz9

https://goo.gl/photos/mxuQUGwQuUK9GAbq9

Hopefully that helps….   Kirk

[rastaman]

Beautiful bow Kirk!

[Tajue17]

Kirk makes a nice bow