Zebrawood

[keekeerun]

I saw a very nice longbow that was made out of zebra wood last week.
It was spalted with little black dots and look like natural camo but very pretty.
Only problem  it was #35@27 =to lite weight for me.
Is zebra wood just as good as yew or osage orange and what wood would you use for a custom longbow or recurve?
Will zebra wood work for recurve limbs just like the other woods.
I made a mistake last night and looked at the Shaffer bow company link posted on this site.
My oh my at the extra offerings and what a nice bow!
I dreamed all night about all those pretty bows with bells and whistles,stripes and colors!
Was just like lil` Ralphie on the christmas story and his red ryder bb gun fever!
I must be at the right place for help,i know you guys have had the new bow fever a time or two..LOL   

[keekeerun]

I have been reading more on the bow woods and building bows.
Inhave a couple questions.
The inside wood on the limbs can be the same on all the custom makers bows but the outside layer that we see like zebra wood or maple,walnut,etc. Is mainly for looks?
Also if a  primitive long bow is made of Hickory are they more likely to crack in time?
How old is a unsafe age to shoot a used bow like say the old Bear Recurves?
Thanks for any advice.

[Alexander Traditional]

I like zebra wood. It looks a lot different with each bowyers finish though.

You're talking about the core wood versus the veneer. The veneer is for looks only,and you could go with no veneer and just colored glass.

I don't know about self bows,but there are a lot of old glass laminated bows out there.

[keekeerun]

Thanks

[Cyclic-Rivers]

My dad has a big chunk laying around.  Probably enough for several risers.  Limbs would not be made of zebra wood just veneers glued over the limb material.   I'm not sure if that is what you meant.  I have a G&L longbow that's zebra wood the core is red elm.

[Pat B]

A well made selfbow, properly handled can last many, many years and thousands of shots.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Pat, have you ever heard of a self bow made from zebrawood?