Exotic laminate performance?

[md126]

Mitch,   the Schafer I have is actionwood maple cores with clear glass and very fine micarta tips. phenomenal shooting bow. I also have a timberhawk r/c with brown glass (same cores) & it is also very fast, stable and quiet.

Sixby, Big Jim, Kirk (or any other bowyers) do you think one other factor might be stack and/or glass thickness. I think in some designs exotic veneers would effect how a bow shoots more than in others?

[overbo]

I still think glue has to come into play. Different types of wood lams. and how they are prepped has to effect the amount of glue they absorbs.

Has anyone ever weighed types of wood lams. before and after glue is applied?

[Sixby]

Stephen, You are absolutely right. Glue makes a difference. A heavy grind will make a heavier limb. All you need is enough to get excellent adhesion.
I have not actually weighed them and that would not count anyway because glue is expelled when the laminations are compressed under pressure and heat applied.
The only legitimate way to do this would be to take two sets of limbs before layup , One set ground with say 40 grit and another with 6 grit but exactly the same weight. Glue them up and cook them and then weigh them for the difference.
I have never done this but I just grind with finer grit because I am sure there is a difference.

God bless, Steve

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Well here's my take on it... it depends a lot on your limb design.  In very high performance designs where you aren't leaving much on the table, the heavier veneers can make acnoticeable difference if you are carefully testing them on a shooting machine.  Both Sixby and i havevnoticed as much as 5 FPS difference between Ebony and Myrtle veneers at .020- .025 thickness....  

But.....i would have to honestly say ...for the average bow being built today, most archers would never notice a bit of difference.  i don't know too many guys that can see 5 fps difference shooting close yardage anyway.....

For the discriminating customers looking for high performance, It all adds up... The veneers, the cores, and the core to glass ratio matching the the draw weight....It all makes a wee bit of difference. 2 fps here. 3 fps there, 5 fps for veneers... Like brutha Steve was saying...next thing you know you can seriously see the difference.....

Kirk

[LC]

I don't have a dog in this fight as I'm only a home made bowyer making my own bows. What I've noticed is making two twin identical bows from the same press using the same formulas, grinding my own lams, both being the same weight at 28" on my scale, is that two bows made from the same sister wood one can be 5 fps faster with everything being identical! Doesn't mean it's the best shooting bow though! So your mileage may vary!

Personally I'd listen to what well known bowyers tell you about their bow designs!

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Kirk, please clear your message inbox so I can message you!

Or give me your email address? I've got an option for you that you might have not thought of before. We need to talk Brother.

MO