Board bow backing.....?

[Can Hahaka]

I've completed 6 red oak board bows. Of these 4 actually throw arrows and 2 will heat the work shop.  :confused:  

I've been using dry wall tape and want to try linen backing. So, what is the scoop on using the linen. Same number of layers (3)? Same gluing compound - tiebond II?

Just wondering?

[macbow]

I go along with Dave. I haven't found any advantage to the paper, flax or cloth backings so far. It seems if the bow is going to break it will break.  I haven't been real happy with hickory either.

Bamboo is another story.

Most of my experience has been with lighter weight kids bows.
Ron

[Pat B]

Linen is insurance against lifting a splinter on the back of a board bow just like the drywall tape. Glue it down with TBIII just like you did with the drywall tape. Only one layer in necessary. Extra layers can be added but you are adding more physical weight to the limbs that will slow down their recovery and can add hand shock.

[AKmud]

Originally posted by Can Hahaka:
I've completed 6 red oak board bows. Of these 4 actually throw arrows and 2 will heat the work shop.   :confused:  

I've been using dry wall tape and want to try linen backing. So, what is the scoop on using the linen. Same number of layers (3)? Same gluing compound - tiebond II?

Just wondering?

I started the same way you have with Red Oak backed with fiberglass drywall tape. (Sam Harpers build along)  If I can make a suggestion, try changing to hickory or ash.  I just completed two board bows from hickory and one from ash (all unbacked) and they were much easier to work with than the oak 1x2s I started with and you use a LOT less glue.  

They tillered better and I got much stiffer bows (1 each - 45, 50, and 55#s).  If you have a source for hickory or ash boards, I'd give them a try.  They weren't any more expensive than the oak either.

[ishoot4thrills]

Did I read somewhere where spliced together ax handles or long shovel handles can be a decent source of hickory for making bows?

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by ishoot4thrills:
Did I read somewhere where spliced together ax handles or long shovel handles can be a decent source of hickory for making bows?

I read the samething.. I think it's in one of the TBB books.

[Mark Baker]

I've done a pick-axe handle bow, and it made a shooter....but for board bows, a hickory backing is the most economical, and easiest to obtain and work with backing.  I've used them on a number of wood combos, and can consistently build bows in the 70 plus pound range that perform as good or better than any stave bows that I've built.  

I've found that hickory backed maple is an easy to get and work combo and will produce great bows in heavy weights.  Also purpleheart, Ipe, yew, osage, and many other woods.  But the maple is readily available as well, and works great in combination with hickory.  

Bamboo is also a great backing, and performs perhaps even better than hickory, but is harder to work and much more expensive, especially on a "learning" budget.  

Making  your own hick bckings is as easy as sawing them out of a straight grained board on a table saw.   They glue up well with Titebond 2 and 3....

No better way, IMO, to learn tillering techniques and to get the "feel" of it all before moving on to more expensive materials.

[Pat B]

Wood(and boo) backings add performance. Cloth(silk, linen,etc) and paper only add insurance. Two different creatures all together.
   If you are new to building wood bows and you are learning on boards, these "insurance" backings will help to hold down splinters that can occur on the back of the bow because the grain has been violated by the sawing process. With a well chosen board,with good grain and few if any runoffs no backing is needed at all. I have seen unbacked red oak board bows, pulling 65# that shot hard and well. It was the expertise of the bowyer that accomplished this and not necessarily the materials used.
   With wood(or boo) backings the backing should be appropriate for the belly...and vise verse! You CAN build a boo backed red oak bow but in my opinion they are not appropriate for each other. I have made quite a few hickory backed red oak bows that are very good bows. Ash, maple or elm would probably be a better option for red oak and other lighter belly woods because they are not as strong and "fit" better with a not so strong belly wood. Choosing the appropriate backing material(boo or wood) for the appropriate belly wood will give a new bowyer a better chance at success. I personally like hickory backings instead of boo on bows I make. Not that one is "better" than the other but I am more successful with hickory backings. Boo is cool looking, exotic and makes a more fancy looking bow but in my hands, hickory is more appropriate. Hickory backed bows are plain looking but for me, a more durable choice and easier to construct.
   I don't care how a bow looks if it performs well for me. The "looks" can be added later to any bow combo. Snake and fish skins, cherry bark or just a fancy dye job will dress up a hickory backed bow beautifully. If the bow doesn't shoot well, or the belly is over powered, "looks" don't get you too far down the road.
   I'm not trying to say the way I do things is "the right way" at all. I give what has worked for me over many years of building wood bows so others can enjoy the pleasures of making and shooting wood bows. There are as many successful varieties of building methods as there are folks building them. Read everything you can find on the subject and find what works for you. Then you can fine tune it to your liking. The most important thing is to make a successful bow. Once you learn the nuances of wood bow building you can add your own personality to it to make it look the way you want it to look.
   Frustration probably kills more wood bows than the materials used in them. Try not to make it more complicated than it has to be...but remember, just because it is simple doesn't mean it it easy!

[trashwood]

it is fun to get two of your granddad's old silk ties (or maybe you are the granddad)and use them for backing a board bow.  ya get your bow painted and backed at the same time.

rusty

[Mark Baker]

Pat nailed it really....have fun with it all, and remember it is a learning experience.  It took me many years to be able to consistently put out good bows....a lot of trial and error when there was'nt great resources available like you have here.  There is a lot more to building bows (even simple ones) than just slapping a backing on a board and we all find that out in time!   But in the end, it sure makes it a lot sweeter when you have a good success.  

Pat mentioned matching the backing with the wood choice on the belly, and I could'nt agree more.  Same with the thickness of the backing.