Walnut lams??

[kennym]

My brother wants to build an all walnut lams D/R longbow(60",about 50-55#).

What does anybody think about this for limbs,I've heard its good for limb lams but see very few bows built with it.  Any replies appreciated!

[dino]

I have a Tomahawk longbow custom built with walnut lams and action boo core.  Awsome bow!!  Also have a Great Plains recurve with walnut limbs.  One of my favorite woods and is very often over looked because it doesn't sound exotic enough I think.  Natural camo and looks good under glass too as well as a good shooter.  Take a look at curly walnut too, looks awsome under glass too! dino

[bentpole]

Kenny if you go on OL's web site and the wood shed web site you'll see what they say. I beleive it's something like "heavier pieces make great risers but what is overlooked is that it makes great limb lams "My hunting partner Bucky has two Mahaskas over 11 years old with walnut limbs one was caught in his flooded basement for three days with no ill effects shoots as well today as the first day he received it. I also had a Mahaska with walnut limbs as far as I'm concerned it's real tough stuff shoots smooth hits hard. Hey they've been making gun stocks out of the stuff for years! Go for it pal.

[Bodork]

I made a r/d longbow with walnut cores and curley maple veneers and I really liked the way it shot. Sold it 'cause it was lighter draw weight than I wanted.

[Van/TX]

I've heard that walnut lams as a core are very fast.  Billy Rice told me that.  He wouldn't lie to me.  He tested...Van

[Chris Wilson]

I had a chekmate hunter II a while back with black walnut limbs.  It was a very nice shooting bow.  I like the feel so much that I ordered black walnut limbs on my new one.

[kennym]

Thanks a bunch guys. We built a crude lam grinder yesterday on my belt sander,slow on setup but accurate as all get out, We have a bunch of walnut between us and he wants an all walnut bow with clear glass. Y'all just helped with what I thought I recalled!!

[Crooked Stic]

Walnut is an excellent limb wood. The only draw back is that the darker colors will show any cloudiness in clear glass.

[Ric Anderson]

Crooked Stic is correct, it makes a great shooting bow.  The only draw back is that because it is so dark, air bubbles or slight flaws in the glass will be more noticeable.  Heat the lams slightly right before you spread on the glue, then again after the glue is spread.  You may have to add a little more glue at this time.  This will help the glue (Smooth On) penetrate the pores which in turn helps force out some of the trapped air.  This greatly helps reduce the chance of air bubbles.  I use a hair dryer to accomplish this task.