non oily woods?

[Bear Heart]

I have been told that a lot of my veneer choices, such as cocobolo, are oily and may not be the best for veneers.
What dark or redish woods are not oily and make a nice veneer.  I really like black and color contrast in wood.

[TexasStick81]

I'm with you on this and will be following this thread.

[59Alaskan]

I am curious why oily woods are not suitable for veneers?  What types of issues does the oil potentially cause?

[Tim Finley]

Shedua has black streaks non oily and makes a nice veneer. Some oily woods like coco-bolo get so dark they look black and the figure disapears the flaws in the clear glass tend to show more.The oily woods can all be washed with acetone so no problem with the glue adhearing.Bocote is oily but makes a great veneer with lots of black figure.

[BWD]

Imo, yew is in a class by itself, but then again, thats just the way I see it.

[Robertfishes]

I have used east indian rosewood, macassar ebony and figured bubinga veneers with good results.. My first bow build had cocobolo veneers they are a orange red color and have not darkened. I have owned cocobolo bows that were almost black

[WildmanSC]

Waterfall Bubinga.

Bill

[**DONOTDELETE**]

The oily woods can all be washed with acetone so no problem with the glue adhearing.  

I don't know too many bowyer's that actually use a solvent on wood.... Acetone is great for cleaning glass or carbon before a lay up, but putting it on wood is asking for problems. The trick to gluing oily woods is sanding it right before lay up and not giving the oils a chance to come to the surface and oxidize.

The biggest issue using really dark veneers is that it shows every imperfection in the glass, and a lot of times the grain patterns disapear completely. Wenge is a good example.


look at these Wenge veneers before and after lay up. the bow on the right has Wenge veneers that turned totally black. the same exact wood is on the overlay on the front of the sister bow.

 

 

Here is the same figured wenge under glass on a yew limb.....

 


here are some book matched black walnut veneers that turn really dark under glass but you can still see the grain.


 

Here is the same wood without the splice under glass.

 

 

[BigJim]

I've never had a problem with an oily wood. The problem is in the moisture and that is almost always in the riser.

bigjim

[Tim Finley]

I have glued thousands of bows and have washed everyone with acetone it does not bring the oils up as some say but dilutes it and washes it out making the wood dryer less oily. Most coco-bolo will darken with age and the epoxie makes it darker under the clear glass. It varies from board to board its still one of the most beautiful woods .

[2treks]

Sorry Kirk,but that was kinda funny.
 Tim Has been making bows since black dirt was just a light brown color. Right pretty ones at that. I swear he has the worlds best supply of coco and some other woods stashed away in his secret stash place.
You going to Denton hill this year Tim?
Prolly see ya there.

I know of a few bowyers that will wash the lams prior to glue-up. I do not however. Can't argue with the results they get though.
I have used the oily woods but if they are dark or will get dark under glass,I try to avoid them for that reason. I do have a large dis-like for some of them that will bleed all over everything.
I made a recurve with some fantastic coco in the riser. Married it with osage. When it came time to finish sand and clean it up for the spray booth, oh man did I have a time of it. Hard to beat the good ole USA hardwoods IMHO.

But to answer the question in the original post. I would look at,
Shedua
Goncalo Alves
Zebrawood
Black Limba
The Myrtles
Just to name a few,

This feller has some stuff to look at for ideas,
 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=48;t=001919;p=2

CTT

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Well i guess i know one more bowyer now that washes wood with acetone and has "thousands of bows" under his belt....

I wonder how much acetone you've wasted over the years Tim? sorry.... i couldn't help that shot.
(Humor Intended here)

 My hats off to ya building that many bows. To each his own i reckon.... I'll let you know when i get my first thousand completed.

Yup... I'm finally heading to the big event at Denton Hill Tim. i gotta feeling things will be hopping on da ski slope this year... look forward to seeing you.... Kirk

[Tim Finley]

please stop by I enjoy seeing new people as well as old friends....Tim

[Zradix]

Those Kotas are some pretty bows.
But I guess they better look good after 4-5 bows a month for 40 years...or something like that.

That top Kill-um has some real pretty wood.

[YORNOC]

Another great looking limb without possible issues is red elm stained to match cocobolo.
It looks fantastic.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by Tim Finley:
please stop by I enjoy seeing new people as well as old friends....Tim

Hey Tim,  What is the name of your company? I'm kind of the new guy on the block in the bowyer's circuit, and still getting to know all the players. I'd enjoy meeting you.... Kirk

[Zradix]

http://www.kotabows.com/

[Bear Heart]

Is Koa considered to be an oily wood?

[59Alaskan]

From what I read the concerns over oily wood in veneers is around appearance not functionality.  While appearance is important I was interested in any concerns on functionality.

[YORNOC]

Originally posted by Bear Heart:
Is Koa considered to be an oily wood?

Ohhhh boy....curly Koa!  Thats a killer limb!