Tri-Lam Help

[MW Gray]

Would like to make a tri-lam.  I have BB and cherry.  Any suggestions for other wood to use with cherry?  Should cherry be core?  

- TooTall

[MW Gray]

ttt

[mmgrode]

Cherry will make a fine core. If you can get a hold of osage or ipe for the belly, you will get a much better bow in the end.  Bamboo is so strong in tension that most materials cannot hold up to the compression forces on the belly...however, osage and ipe can. What kind of design, weight, and length are you going for?  Cheers, Matt

[MW Gray]

Thanks Matt.  Osage seems hard to come by around here, but Ipe is an option that some lumber stores said they can order.  With my long draw length (31") I'm looking to build 68" straight Torges style bow in the 55-60 pound range.

Should I keep the cherry thin, maybe 1/8 to 3/16?

[Buck Buckley]

I get all my Osage from Bowstick archery. They carry the stuff from Argentina. Its the only stuff that I use with my BBO.

[mmgrode]

Yes MW, keep the cherry thin if you can help it. 1/8" to 3/16" is just fine. It would also help if you could put a bit of a taper on the cherry lam. This will help to get you closer to tiller initially(really saves time).  31" is one heck of a draw! You won't need to go too thick on the ipe parallel lamination either depending on the cherry lam. For a 3/16" cherry middle lam I'd probably shoot for around 1/4" on the ipe by my estimates.  Let us know how it comes together. Cheers, Matt