Wood-Core Ski or other?

[louye]

I am a woodworker and boatbuilder who has long wanted to make a bow, but have been put off by the process of making fiberglass limbs and attaching them to the riser via the "plywood form and firehose" process.

I saw the instructable on using skis as limbs and was intrigued.
Building the riser has been no problem.  Now, I am not sure what type of X-country ski to attach to it.  I have 2 pairs of old Trak skis from the recycling center. One is fiberglass over a wood core.  I did a test drill and saw wood chips coming out of the drill.  However, I can hear little fracturing sounds when I flex it.

The other ski is fiberglass over a some kind of plastic core.  I don't hear any sounds when I flex it and it seems to offer more resistance to flexing.

- Do you generally recommend wood-core skis for this project?
 
- Should I be concerned about the wood-core ski breaking at full flex while shooting?

- Should I find another ski for the bow project or just go with the fiberglass/plastic ski?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

Lou

[Crooked Stic]

I think go ahead and bite the bullit and make a form. If you do use a ski let us know how it works.

[bamboo]

the stack on most skis is excessive for repurposing into a bow---not to mention of unknown taper!!
IMO as a boat builder you already possess the skills to laminate a straight longbow with clamps and/or inner tubes---you don't even "need" a hot box for that matter-- smooth-on is that forgiving!!go for it!

[Echatham]

Tell ya what... You build me a boat and I'll build you a bow. Just pm me your specs and address  

[LittleBen]

I agree with bamboo ... I've built a couple sailing dinghys and it's much more labor intensive and difficult than basic bow building ... plus theres no swimming if your work isn't perfect on a bow. Go for it man. You got this

[louye]

Thank you for your words of encouragement.  I will build a more traditional bow someday.  I have the lots of tools, wood, and epoxy left over from various furniture and boat projects.

How does one determine what size and thickness of Bo-Tuff to order?

What articles and plans do you suggest I read?  

So far, I have only read this American Woodworker article on making a recurve bow.

 http://americanwoodworker.com/blogs/projects/archive/2008/02/05/build-a-recurve-bow.aspx

Thanks again for your advice.

Lou

[fujimo]

you gotta go to the only place to go!!
our bowbuilding shrine
 http://www.kennyscustomarchery.com/
he will help you with anything and everything.
plus all the help you can absorb on here- honestly the time spent building a riser, and then to sully it with ski limbs- seen it done- and its cool in a recyle kinda way- but you wont get the performance nor the aesthetics from them, that you can from proper limbs.
g'luck

[M.Kerry Bird]

I highly recommend bingams projects. They have the blueprints and materials to get you going and have been in the business over 50 yrs.