Douglas fur?

[Full Draw Too]

Hi guys, need some EXPERT advice and I know I can get it here!I have some Douglas Fur and was wondering if I could use this for limb core wood? they are cut at 36"x 1.175"x .130

[Wolftrail]

I would say yes, never use it for the back though. Are you building a glass bow or all wood...?

[Full Draw Too]

I'm building a takedown recurve with Glass. My second bow that I just started so I'm really new at this.
Pat
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[Brock]

You can use about anything for limb core if glass laminated....though some are better than others.

Not sure why Douglas Fir would not work....if not a good performer you will know next time.

IMHO...  I would go with a harder wood on the belly core...  How many lbs. are you shootin' for??

[KenH]

Nothing wrong with Douglas Fir for a belly lam -- I use it often when prototyping a new bow design because it's cheap.

Douglas Fur, on the other hand, I can never get combed to look right under clear glass...

[mwosborn]

Originally posted by KenH:
Nothing wrong with Douglas Fir for a belly lam -- I use it often when prototyping a new bow design because it's cheap.

Douglas Fur, on the other hand, I can never get combed to look right under clear glass...

Need a fine tooth comb.    :D

[Full Draw Too]

I'm shooting for 50 lbs. Like I said, I a newby and just statring my second bow...This is a blast and it gets my mind off of my real job of Taxidermy. A guy needs a relief once and a while! LOL
Pat
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[Robertfishes]

The 1.175 width would not work on my 1.75" wide forms..or is the 1.175" a typo? There is a Bowyer in Oregon that has used Douglas Fir for laminated risers and limb tapers.

[Full Draw Too]

Typo, Geeze I never recheck my spelling! makes a guy (not) look like a spelling Bee!LOL
Pat
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[Robertfishes]

The DF wood for your laminations needs to be edge grain cut too. I know you would like to use what you have but if it's not cut edge grain or if the moisture content is too high or low then you may not have a successful bow build.  Not every piece of wood is bow worthy..I have only used red elm or actionboo myself, purchased from guys who sell "bow wood".. 90% of the time it's the actionboo in my bows.

[Robertfishes]

And to add to what I posted....edge grain with little to NO grain run out...I like to flex every lamination to see if it twists before glue up.

[Full Draw Too]

Thanks so much for the info! yep, I can see that there is a whole heck of a lot more to this than expected...But Awesome it is! thanks again.
Pat
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[KenH]

Under glass, the wood cut and grain run out really doesn't matter since you're making a glass-wood-glass sandwich.  

In a wood-glass composite bow, the wood between the back and belly glass only supplies 12% of the strength of the assembly.

The only wood that I wouldn't use is Balsa or maybe Aspen...

[Robertfishes]

Ken, The way my mind works, based on my life experiences outside of archery and first building self bows back in the early 1990's before building laminated bows in 2009...I have to use the best, straightest and strongest materials available to me. You should see me picking out 2x4s at Lowes for stud walls..Years ago the guy working at the store watching me pick out boards said "a good carpenter can make a bowed 2x4 work, so I told him "I never said I was a good carpenter, I only use straight studs"

Robert, That guy is full of chit... Lol...  I would have told him that those boards would build a nice boat...  I ran into a pallet the other day and every other board was dead straight... Needless to say I bought an extra dozen...    

  Back to the 'Fur' issue...     Even though the glass does most of the work there are gonna be stresses with compression and shear especially off the fades and in the working portion of the limb... Fir might work but there is a reason why hard maple has been the choice of wood over the years...  
  Believe it or not I just tried putting a fir lam in my latest bow to cut down on limb mass... I used a bamboo core on the back, fir in the center and maple on the belly... It is a light bow at 30#... I will see how long it will hold up...

[JamesV]

One of the best glass bows I have built was with douglas fur. Old used lumber, very tight edge grain. I love to experiment with different materials just to see. It would get really boring very fast if I knew that every bow built in my hobby shop would be a shooter and stay together.

James

PS. NEVER use cypress for a glass bow.

[Ringbill]

One thing about doug fir is that there is a big difference between CVG (Clear Vertical Grain)and what you get as a 2x4. CVG for the most part is quarter sawn old growth and will be straight with no knots and the rings are close together. It is much stronger than the young wood you will get as 2x4 lumber.