Actionboo-vs-bamboo-vs-yew. Interesting.

[shantam]

yes and no EASTERNARCHER,of course all of the tension and compression loads are for the glass.
but what is left to deal with are those shearloads.
thats the job for the limpcore and these loads are
huge in a glassbow,not to speak of a carbonbow.
damm my english sucks.

shantam

[KentuckyTJ]

No worries Shantam, it's much better than our German.

[EASTERNARCHER]

Yeah...Danka!

[Jedimaster]

Smoothest and fastest bow I own has Tonkin cane limbs under clear glass.  Subjectively as smooth and fast as foam limbs.  I have no experience with yew cores but never complained over actionwood and actionboo or maple.  The best to me has been tonkin.  Is actionboo a real product unto itself or just ground boo flooring?  I would have more confidence if it was manufactured for it's intended task than if it was designed for the bathroom floor - LOL.  My thought is that quality control should be stringent for consistency as boo growth supposedly affects the strength and elasticity.  Sounds like you could get a dog from a batch of boo that grew on the wrong side of the hill.

[SlowBowinMO]

The smoothest bow I've ever drawn had an actionwood core with actionboo lams under clear glass with no veneers.  Not very glamorous sounding but man it was sweet.  I didn't have a chance to chrono it though.

[Rick Wiltshire]

Just ordered a new Mowhawk takedown.  It will have a 2 lam core of tonkin with back and belly of yew.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Rick Wiltshire:
Just ordered a new Mowhawk takedown.  It will have a 2 lam core of tonkin with back and belly of yew.

Always good to cover all bases!  :D

[Rick Wiltshire]

Rob,

That is what I figured.  I have one of Vinces one piece bows in all yew that looks and shoots great.  He still has some of the same yew he used on my last bow so I decided to mix it up this time and see what happens.

Rick

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Rick Wiltshire:
Rob,

That is what I figured.  I have one of Vinces one piece bows in all yew that looks and shoots great.  He still has some of the same yew he used on my last bow so I decided to mix it up this time and see what happens.

Rick

Way to go!    

[wingnut]

I'll start by saying that I haven't tried the foam cores.c.c. . . yet.  To date I will put our Tonkin bamboo cores up against any and all for smoothness and speed.  Hard to beat Mother Natures best.

Mike

[Ian johnson]

the smoothest bow I ever shot was a longbow with tonkin bamboo cores with red elm veneers under clear glass

[Jedimaster]

I vouch for Mike's statement on their Tonkin boo limbs.  The bow I referenced as the fastest/smoothest I've shot was my Dryad Orion recurve.  I've shot alot of bows and this one wowed me.  You'll have to get up early and plan on staying up late to try and beat it.

[Holm-Made]

A lot of subjective observations for sure.  It's hard to base judgement on that one bow you had that shot so smooth or so fast.

I have made a lot of bows using the action boo cores.  I have made a lot of action boo bows off my "Osprey" longbow form.  Each bow was a little different even though the riser length was the same, form was the same and the core material was the same.  Some seem smoother than others. Some are a little quicker due to more early draw weight for some reason.  Wood and bamboo are natural products and are all a little different and vary from piece to piece.  Take 2 osage selfbows that are the same poundage,length and design but made from different trees.  Often times one will have a lot more wood in the limbs then the other even though they are the same poundage.  One tree was more dense then the other.  

Both Yew and Bamboo are fine products for laminations that have proven themslves time and time again.  You won't go wrong with either.  Which is better?  My opinion is neither, it's personal preference.

I do know that the natural action boo is noticably more dense than the amber action boo.  I can feel it as I rip the lams on the bandsaw.  It is also my opinion that the natural action boo is a little quicker.  Just my observations, no formal testing here.  Chad

[Night Wing]

This has been one of the best 5 pages (so far) on limb core woods I have ever read. Since I have plans  to purchase one more take down bow, my two limb choices have come down to Actionboo and Yew and it's a tough choice.

[Orion]

Yew has been around as a bow wood for a long time, in self-bows for thousands of years, and it's been as popular as most hardwoods in laminated bows over the past 50 years or so; not as popular as actionwood once was, of course.  Difficult to say whether it's faster than bamboo.  As O.L. pointed out, there's probably more variation in the lamnations of one species than there is between the two species.  Thus, the best yew selected is likely to be faster than the worst bamboo, and vice versa.  Until we have well regulated tests measuring the best of each, which is faster, smoother, etc. it's just conjecture.

[Ian johnson]

I take back what I said about the bamboo bow being smoothest, I just got a Massie reverse handle longbow that has actionwood cores and it is really smooth

[Jedimaster]

I agree that actionwood is underrated Ian.  I had a Silvertip with actionwood cores and it was one smooth operator.  Also, I admire the Black Widows with actionwood limbs.  Enjoy that longbow, it sounds like something special.

[Bowman0202]

Yew is smooth and fast but, better not accidently dry fire a bow of yew.  Bamboo can usually take that.  Not yew. Been there and done that. Had one of my nocks split and bow blew up.  One of my favorites too.  Made me REAL careful to check my nocks since then AND to make sure they are firm in the string when I release.

[Swamp Pygmy]

sorry if this was went over already but it's such a great thread.

what is the difference between action boo and action wood? I understand what the process is I mean what is different between them? is a-Boo faster and lighter and a-wood heavier and more quiet? Or smoother?

Why would you choose one over the other. I understand the consistency is better when its made like that. But when they have the same process done what is the advantage over the other?

[Orion]

Actionwood typically is laminated maple.  Actionboo is laminated bamboo.  Thickness of the vertical laminations may vary depending on the manufacturer, but they're basically the same thing, just different materials.