Using wood veneers for lams

[Scotsman6783]

New to bow making.
I came a cross a wood veneer supply company that sells wood veneers at great prices. Product line includes every bow wood I've.seen mentioned except osage. I am waiting for a response from a sales rep on thuckness but the standard is usualy .03.
Veneers are sanded, umfinished, and have no paper backing.
I was wondering.if anyone.has used something like this before and if so what kind of results were achieved?

[rmorris]

I try to keep my laminations between .050 and .080 including my tapers but I have used the veneer product you talked about as veneers with good results. You will use an excessive amount of glue if you try to only use veneers.

[heartlandbowyer]

Matthew

There are plenty of guys who use veneers with no issues not sure how many grind them or buy them though. I've seen saures veneers used a few times they are around .024 I think and they had no problems with their bows

[Scotsman6783]

Awesome. Thanks for the tips.
Posed the same question on another forum site and was told they wouldn't work due to being kiln dried. That seemed odd to since people make oak self bows out of lumber yard stock, which is kiln dried.
I will post up a the thickness when i hear back. I will also post up the company name ( with moderator approval) so others can check it out. They claim they will handle any order size so you wouldn't have to buy a 1000 sq ft r some crazy quantity.

[Scotsman6783]

Update. To all this. Thickness of the veneers on this site are 1/4, .023 give or take.  Usable but you could glue multiples together, it would just take more time and a lot more glue.

[Trux Turning]

I've use them on a few bows as a thin veneer over a core of thicker lams. They do come 1/42" thick and need to be thoroughly covered with glue to the point of saturation. As a veneer they have worked fine.

[7 Lakes]

They work great on the back and belly of a bow.  I rough them up just a bit first.

[Crooked Stic]

If you are talkin glass bows .023 would be fine. 1/4 is .250. Anyhow you want to drag some 120 grit across them just to knock the oxidation off. And use plenty of glue on them both sides. Let them soak it in as much as possible.

[7 Lakes]

1/42" is pretty much standard for veneer, that's .0238" Use it as the belly and back lamination.  Using it in your stack will cost you in glue.  

1/4" is .250" this would not be considered a veneer for archery applications but a very thick (too thick) lamination for a glass bow.

[Scotsman6783]

Thanks guys. Being costly in glue seems to be the general consensus. I suppose as a dress up it would work. I have access to equipment to cut red oak stock down to size for lams. I could make a glass backed red oak bow and put a nice hardwood veneer on the belly and back, for looks. Something like blood woo, curly maple, etc.

[Erwincm]

Dumb newbie question - When you say "Use it as the belly and back lamination. Using it in your stack will cost you in glue.", are you saying veneers can be adhered to the outside surfaces of the fiberglass laminates? In other words, not part of the core laminations? If yes, will the thin veneer crack since it's in tension and farther away from the limb centerline than the core lams?

[Robertfishes]

Veneers go under clear fiberglass and are typically less than 0.040" thick. The tapers in the center of lamination stack are usually no thicker than 0.120" at thick end (butt end) and no thinner than 060" at butt end.. most of my veneers are 0.020" and I have some up to 0.035" thick. I have seen a carbon backed bow with a very thin cocobolo veneer glued on the outside.

[Erwincm]

I assume the taper and/or parallel thickness would have to be reduced by the veneer thickness to maintain the predicted limb weight? If not, how much more pull would a .02 thick veneer add to the limb?

[Trux Turning]

Yes you do have to account for the thickness of your veneers in your lam stack- they become part of the total.

[Robertfishes]

An extra 020 of total stack adds about 20lbs to my one piece 58 inch recurve and about 7 pounds to my D/R longbow. I measure my total stack in the center of bow. Total stack includes glass,veneers, and tapers..I do not include any power lams thickneses in my total stack number.