Materials choice

[Buggs]

Just wondering.....

Seems to be a lot of discussion about design here. Do any here give credence to material choice?
Grain orientation, wood selection other that cosmetic effects?

[mmattockx]

Over time there has been lots of discussion about core woods and grain orientation. The consensus seems to be the best core woods are hard maple and bamboo flooring and the best grain orientation is quartersawn. I am sure the old timers will be here shortly with more details and info.


Mark

[Mad Max]

What he said

For the riser you want vertical grain back to belly
I use Osage Specific Gravity and Janka Hardness chart as my guide
I want the wood I pick to be as hard or harder than Osage

https://www.bellforestproducts.com/exotic-wood/

[Buggs]

I've always worked from the premise that the back lams should be flat grain, except Bamboo, and belly lams can go either way depending on the species, but generally edge grain.

Maple is good, all around wood. I'm surprised more folks don't use Walnut. It's a great limb wood. It's nearly as strong and hard as Maple, plus it's more elastic and weighs less.

[Mad Max]

I've always worked from the premise that the back lams should be flat grain, except Bamboo, and belly lams can go either way depending on the species, but generally edge grain.

Maple is good, all around wood. I'm surprised more folks don't use Walnut. It's a great limb wood. It's nearly as strong and hard as Maple, plus it's more elastic and weighs less.

Where did you learn you Information from?
Some people use walnut but what Kind Hard Rock Maple (Vertical) is a really good Lam but when I cut them into lams they curve over night, Boo flooring stays straight for me

[kennym]

I've used MO walnut in a few, it is lighter in weight but also makes a lighter draw weight, so may be a draw on that.  It seems a little quieter than other lams when shot, but that may have been just the bow .

Aboo is very repeatable in bow weight which I like.

[Buggs]

Where did you learn you Information from?
Some people use walnut but what Kind Hard Rock Maple (Vertical) is a really good Lam but when I cut them into lams they curve over night, Boo flooring stays straight for me

The Internet 

In reality just about everything I have read in the past is accessible online, if you can find it!

I have accumulated my info from reading books on wood engineering and I collect and read old archery texts.
I did not prepare a bibliography, so you will need to give me a couple days if you need references.
Actually thats not a bad idea considering how much anecdotal and second hand info is slung around these days.

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

I am not an expert and only have a few glass lam bows under my belt. I have cut quite a few lams from hard maple and veneers from other maples and have them in storage. I also have used cherry cores in 2 limbs.

The only time I had a piece curl was when it was cut from  wood not quite dry. Had one I cut at 12 and it curled some. Dried the rest of the piece in my heat box on about 100 for several days and it was around 8. Did not curl then.

Just my limited experience,  but I will try anything!

[onetone]

Buggs - I would be interested in any references you care to share. It is all grist for the mill.

[Mad Max]

Buggs 

Hillbilly I start with 8/4 wide and it moves left or right

[Kirkll]

Yup.... core wood choices can effect the limb. different mass weight, and deflection can result in various outcomes. Then there is longevity to consider.... Some woods have much better compression attributes and are better located towards the belly side of the limb. others have stronger tensile strength and do better towards the back of the limbs. I use a combo and take advantage of those traits myself for a good combination of performance and longevity.

We used to make home made action wood from walnut amd Rock hard maple for hot rods. Good stuff, not cost effective.

But..... You can use what ever ya want, in what ever orientation .... Everyone knows cores don't matter.           Kirk

[Longcruise]

I've used MO walnut in a few, it is lighter in weight but also makes a lighter draw weight, so may be a draw on that.  It seems a little quieter than other lams when shot, but that may have been just the bow .

Aboo is very repeatable in bow weight which I like.

Do you cut your actionboo from flooring or...?

[Kirkll]

I do....or should i say i used too. I'm using a different type of bamboo right now that is a woven strand instead of vertical laminations and the deflection rate is excellent.   Kirk

[Bvas]

Maple is pretty much my standard, with black walnut a close second. I will use the edge grain walnut as “veneers” where they make up half the stack. I will usually use the walnut as parallels and the maple as tapers so there is a higher percentage of walnut at the tips to lighten them up. I also make tip wedges out of walnut for the same reason.

I’ve also used black locust in a couple. I think it performs very similar to maple, maple just a little softer.

[Shredd]

   Core material for me is good ol' Hard Maple...  It's been the standard for years... I look for boards that will give me verticle grain when I slice it... I tried bamboo flooring a couple of times and saw no improvement in performance... But maybe I did not work with it long enough to see a difference or possibly bamboo will improve performance of certain designs like a Hill style bow... Don't know, but I heard from some that it improves performance... I also heard from others that core does not matter as long as is strong enough to handle the abuse...  The late Dale Stahl was one of those people... Nice guy... Talked on the phone with him for over an hour about bow making... Was shocked and sad to hear that he passed.. I was gonna visit with him next time I was in Philly... Come to find out that he was only about a block away from where I used to live... Small world...

[Crooked Stic]

For me the bamboo is real consistent in layup results. Performance I don't know msy need a chrono to see. 
A d right now boo easier to get

[onetone]

Maple is good, all around wood. I'm surprised more folks don't use Walnut. It's a great limb wood. It's nearly as strong and hard as Maple, plus it's more elastic and weighs less.

It sounds like you have used walnut as limb cores and been satisfied with the results? I have a bunch of American Black Walnut I’d like to use for something. For limb cores I use mostly hard maple and boo, both A and natch. Have used red elm, but it soaks up more epoxy adding weight to a limb.

[Shredd]

Buggs....  What is your experience with Walnut???  How many bows have you made with it???  Have you had any failures using it??  If so how many???

[Crooked Stic]

Weight wise edge grain walnut is pretty light. But it soaks a lot of glue to to so I don't know.

[Buggs]

I have made numerous bows with Black Walnut and combinations with other woods and Bamboo It's a classic American wood, easy to come by and relatively inexpensive. No failures, so far!

I have also used soft Maple, Birch, Alder, Butternut, Ornamental Juniper, Sweetgum, etc.....

I have a friend who is an Arborist and gifts me random chunks of wood.