no lams on belly of riser just glass

[timbermoose]

could some of the glass guys clear the air for me? seen a few pics now of hill bows where there is only glass on the belly side of the riser. i'm wondering, wouldn't this be weaker than having one lam running up the fades? please explain as i'm a selfbowyer that now has 2 glass bows under the belt and gots questions. could it be done on a r/d bow?

[Todd Cook]

I don't know whether it's any weaker or not. I've built 4 or 5 like you described and have never had any problems.

[jsweka]

Nope.  Not weaker at all.
Lots of bows have been built that way - mostly with colored glass on the belly.
I don't see why it wouldn't work with a r/d bow.  Jack Harrison built some of his models that way.

[MoeM]

I`d tend to say it`s even a little better- Howard himself said he had the feeling they`d work better together.
With clear glass a perfect fade is required otherwise it will look crappy... but if it`s well done it can be very nice!

[JamesV]

When I build a light poundage bow like maybe a youth model the lams are very thin so I opt to use only glass on the belly. Has always worked good for me.

[2treks]

This is an R/D bow.

 

This is an American Longbow