fiberglass core

[Saskquach]

Good day everyone! I have a question about using fiberglass as a core in a laminated bow. I understand that using it only on the back or the belly can strain the wood into failure. Can it be used as a core material without it on the back or belly? I have a piece of maple that is 62"x 1.625"x .625" and another 62"x 1.625"x .125". I was going to laminate the two pieces into a R/D longbow and hope to get 60# at 26" draw. I have some .030 UL red fiberglass that I wanted to use for a racing stripe in the limb and riser and stain the maple black. Will the fiberglass help hold the glued in R/D as well as add stability/longevity to the bow?

[Jason Scott]

Hello Saskquach, using fiberglass on the back and belly does not strain the wood core into failure. It exponentially makes it more durable for a longer lasting bow.

[vanillabear?]

[Apex Predator]

I would think that a fiberglass lam in between two wood lams would still crush the belly lam.

[Jason Scott]

If you don't have glass on the belly but do have it somewhere else, either in the middle or the back it would over power the wood I guess.

[Loren Holland]

Depends on the wood for the belly, if you use Ipe it can take the compression, if you use red oak, you are asking for a broken bow.

[Sal]

I don't think ipe can take fiberglass, its tough, but not that tough. Fiberlglass can overpower any wood.

I've seen bows with fieberglass in the core only, they all followed the string.  I asked the bowyer and he explained that it made them more durable.  I'm not conviced.  He doesn't make them anymore by the way.

It seems to me that if you choose your grain correctly, especially for the back lamination, the bow shouldn't break. The fiberglass would be there just for the ride while making the limbs heavier than they should.

[Saskquach]

Thanks for the replies. I do understand about glass on both belly and back and have seen the results of having it only on one side only, mainly failure of the wood. I was hoping that the fiberglass core only might work as it would be closer to neutral. The maple I was going to use is a bit narrow and is not sugar maple so  thought the fiberglass might help to get the poundage I wanted. Have to think about this    
Thanks again!

[Fernando]

bowyers use carbon as core, a thin lamination. It's almost the same, I guess. There is no problem. the thing is to try and discover what is the best place and thickness. go ahead and discover more.

[JamesV]

laminated glass bows with an IPE core shoot really good and you can put an accent strip if you want. I have built bows ranging from 35lb-70lb using IPE as the core