Hickory belly or Ipe

[davesouris]

Hi all.  realy having trouble getting ipe or osage here on  the prairies.  for an ELB trilam would hickory be a mistake for the belly as well as the back? I have piles of hickory and maple.  Aiming to have 72" nock to nock and 50lbs

[KellyG]

Dave,

Hickory is not a good wood for ELB. The compression is a bit much. I have never made an ELB just regurgitating what I have read.

I wonder if you really gave the belly a good deep toasting if that might make it work better.

[fujimo]

i have got ipe from the hardwood merchants, or  flooring guys.
try P.J. White hardwoods, there is one in calgary that i used to use- dont know where you are!
they also have one in edmonton.

[mikkekeswick]

100% ipe is the way to go. Although I have seen successful hickory bellied elb's.

[Roy from Pa]

Osage or IPE is a great choice for belly wood, Hickory isn't the best choice. Hard Maple is a great backing. A word of caution if you haven't worked with IPE before. It has been known to give some folks a severe reaction, like me..        Wear protection on face and hands and cover your arms and wash up after being exposed to the saw dust. Pine Hollow Longbows, a sponsor here, sells nice Osage wood also. You can buy already cut to width and length slats, or buy rough cut Osage and cut your own material out of that.

   http://www.pinehollowlongbows.com/Backing_Material_Lumber.html

[fujimo]

i think tenbrook also sells HBI and BBI kits, hes online here!
like Roy says osage is an incredible wood!, and very attractive IMHO.

[Roy from Pa]

Yes I forgot about Cody. He does sell IPE bow kits.

 http://www.tenbrookarchery.com/store/c2/Bow_Building.html

[PEARL DRUMS]

Hickory would be okay at that length and weight, but a harder wood like osage or ipe would be better. If hickory is what you have, use it with confidence. Rather than a full round belly, shoot for more of a D cross section.