Poplar riser?

[John Malone]

Hello guys hope everyone's New Year is of to a great start. I will have some very interesting pieces of poplar left over after a table project and was wondering if they could be used as a riser for a board bow. Some are 1.5 by 1.5 I also have plenty of 1/4 thick inch pieces which could be glued up in layers. Poplar is a softer hardwood and I've never used in a high stress application. Say a standard board bow stiff straight handle 3/4 inch board in the #45-#50 range. Anyone ever try it?

[C. Johnson]

I tried it once for a riser in a glass bow.  I had a piece with an attractive olive green color combined with whitish swirls.  Beautiful wood, worked just fine.  Of course a glass bow is an entirely different animal than a board bow.

As a side note, I manufacture my own arrow shafts and I have the best, most consistent results with poplar.

[BMorv]

I came across a really cool green poplar board that I wanted to use as a riser.  I did some research and it seemed that is was generally frowned upon to use poplar in any part of a bow.  I ended up using something else.  
I don't see why it wouldn't work though if you had a thick pedestal for the riser where the fades started on your board.  Try it out and let us (me) know how it turns out    :D

[Roy from Pa]

I wouldn't use it.

[John Malone]

I like the way you think Bmorv. I believe I will try it in the future maybe on a #45 or so. I know its frowned upon as you say and I know it wouldn't make good bow wood but some people say oak is worthless as a bow wood. Of course there could be a good reason for it.
C. Johnson, Ive read that about poplar arrows unfortunately I don't have any thing that long. Put the word out with some guys that cut fire wood so maybe that will pan out?

[BMorv]

Yeah in all honesty, I'm with Roy, I wouldn't use it.  There's just so many other woods that fit the task better.

[John Malone]

Well I haven't busted a bow yet. Maybe I need one to snap so I can get better. lol

[Pat B]

John. for a stiff handle bow poplar should be OK. Not much stress on the handle for a stiff handle bow.

[John Malone]

Thanks Pat. Wood other than oak is hard to find round here so I'm looking to add a lil more character to the ones I'm making. But the oak is good for learning.

[Pat B]

Even though poplar is called a soft hardwood it can get pretty hard as it ages. Just try to drive or pull a nail from an old poplar barn board.

[Wolftrail]

Used poplar a lot in home construction.  On bows I would never, maybe arrow shafts.  Its on the soft side.

[Roy from Pa]

Go for it Johnny, what's the worst that could happen? LOL

[John Malone]

I'm curios, so hold my beer and well you know the rest. Ive used tons of it over the years. But its like Pat said it get pretty hard. Ive taken apart old furniture and I think it may work on a lighter weight bow. Just wondering if any one had tried.

[Pat B]

In a non-bending handle bow there is very little stress on the riser. The fades might give a little but if properly feathered they should give enough and not cause problems.

[John Malone]

What do you guys mean by properly feathered in I'm assuming that's more than make it pretty? When you finish your build along how about some close up pics of the handle area. I'm wondering about taper of riser into the belly in relation to flare start and stop point. I need to research some on the engineering principle behind that. Seems fairly straight forward in theory but I need to get a better grasp on that before I can design my own as opposed to following some one else's layout. Must be some kinda formula?

[BMorv]

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If I would have used ipe for the riser you wouldn't be able to tell where it started.  That was one of my 1st bows, and it could have transitioned even better than that.  The oak is feathered to the ipe.

[John Malone]

Thanks Bmorv, that's a nice one. So you guys are referring more to the angle of the transition into the limb when you say feather it in? It appears to end in the same place the flare ends. It gets thinner in relation to the flare getting wider. I like the way it has a smooth  flow to it. Id like my next one to look more like that.

[BMorv]

Take a look at Kennym's bow build post a few down from this one if you haven't already.  Although I don't build glass bows, you can learn a lot from those guys especially riser design.  See the pic of his riser after he marked out the thickness 1 and 2 inches from the ends.  That riser has been feathered to a feather edge.  You wouldn't be able to tell where the riser ends and the board or lam starts.  
I'm referring to thickness feathering btw.

[John Malone]

Gotcha, if I'm making furniture I can feather a 45 degree angle. Ill check out Kenny again.

[Pat B]

This is where my handle is now. Even though it's far from finished you can see how the riser is feathered. As I'm tillering the limb I work with a rasp and scraper from up on the fade so I get a nice transition.