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Author Topic: narrow ipe  (Read 5548 times)

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Offline Josh

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narrow ipe
« on: December 12, 2009, 01:56:42 pm »
I am doing a hickory backed ipe bow and due to some mis-calculations with my table saw the board came out 15/16ths wide instead of 1 1/8 inches wide.  Can I still get a stable 55 pounder out of this or should I just make it into a kids bow?  I know someone else posted a narrow ipe bow that they made from a scrap piece but I cannot remember who it was.  How is that one holding up?  By the way it is going to be 66" NtN.  and 28" draw with a 9" handle riser (non-bending)  thanks for the help.   :)  -josh
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Offline Pat B

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2009, 02:03:19 pm »
Ipe prefers being narrow and you can easily make a 55# bow with those dimensions. That much rigid handle might be excessive. I usually go with a 4" handle and 1 1/2" to 2" fades which begin to bend as they "fade" into the limbs.
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Offline Josh

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2009, 02:08:33 pm »
the handle riser is actually 5" handle riser and 2" fades.  Sorry PatB.   :)   9 inches would be very excessive!  ;) -josh
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Offline knightd

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2009, 02:09:23 pm »
Josh, You should be just fine at those dimensions, although, I would recommend a straight reflexed design.  I would not recommend a R/D because at 15/16" they can be quite unstable and want to twist and turn.
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Offline Josh

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2009, 02:11:23 pm »
cool thanks David.  I was planning on gluing up like 1.5 inches of reflex in this one.  hope it holds!  :) -josh
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half-eye

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2009, 02:18:12 pm »
Josh,
      Not the same as yours but here is a "scrap" hickory/epey 51" 60# @ 28 D bow shoots just fine and quick too. This bow is just under 1" wide (cant remember just exactly how much...but she's skinny) Still shooting just fine. So I agree that this stuff dont mind skinny at all.

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Offline Jesse

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2009, 03:03:41 pm »
Josh I made one that was less than 3/4" wide at the widest part. Justin made one that thin that was unbacked as well and his was 60 or 65# I believe. You should be fine but like David said they can get unstable in a r/d style even with wider designs. I made a really fast one that was 1 1/8" with a straight taper to 3/8 tips and a lot of r/d. It was real hard tillering it and keeping it laterally stable at the same time.
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Offline Justin Snyder

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2009, 04:05:41 pm »
I wouldn't add any reflex at all. If you are concerned about the width, adding more stress isn't something you want to do. You can thin the handle down to a point where there aren't any fades to speak of, but the handle has just enough wood to not bend.
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SW Utah

Offline Josh

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2009, 08:08:33 pm »
wow thanks for the replies guys, I feel better and more confident of this one's survival already.  Nice bow there half-eye, looks really short.  And Justin, I am gonna still glue in the 1.5 inches of reflex; I will probably have it all pulled out of the bow before I even get it to low brace anyway.  ...maybe I will just use less than an inch to be safe.   ;D  -josh
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Rich Saffold

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2009, 02:50:05 am »
Josh,

An inch or less is a good idea  ;). I've had some of my bows pick up reflex during tillering and that makes things real interesting especially considering all the chrono testing we used to do on these style bows..The fastest  had very little if any reflex, and they shot the sweetest as well.

Rich

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Offline barebo

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2009, 11:59:47 am »
I really glad that there's an IPE thread , as i have a question -- how do you want the grain oriented in the IPE if you're going to back it ??? Would you be looking for a piece as though you were going to build a board bow, or doesn't it matter as much ?? I want to try one as my next also, and this is a BIG help !!!
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Offline barebo

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2009, 12:40:04 pm »
I forgot to add - would a really nice piece of White Ash work for the backing - I know it's strong in tension.
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Offline Justin Snyder

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #12 on: December 13, 2009, 01:14:24 pm »
barebo, I don't worry a lot about the grain. Most of it is straight enough to make backed bows. I do stay away from knots, but other than that I look for the heaviest, most dense piece I can find. A really nice piece of Ash should be fine. Most guys use bamboo on Ipe because it gets the most out of the Ipe. That doesn't mean Hickory or White Ash or any other quality backing wont work well.

I think I should point out to someone who might be reading about Ipe for the first time, that just because several people have made Ipe bows with a width less than 1", doesn't mean it is ideal. We are talking about using what we have, not cutting it this way on purpose.  It is best to have over 1" width. You can avoid issues with lateral stability, and probably increase performance by adding that extra 1/8" to 1/4".
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Offline Jesse

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2009, 01:44:28 pm »
Good point Justin. Mine was just to use up scrap. I'm making a light womans bow right now and its 1 1/2" wide 30# @ 26 Its really thin from the side but works great. The main thing is to get the backing the right thickness for the weight you want. If you leave the backing too thick you wont have any belly wood to work with. Ipe doesn't like to bend so its gonna be a fairly thin bow one way or another.
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Rich Saffold

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Re: narrow ipe
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2009, 03:27:16 pm »
If you want to keep it slender 1" or less, be of hunting weight, have a reflex/deflex profile in  the bow limbs, and have state of the art speed/performance try this.
http://richardsbowyery.bravehost.com/IMG_8603.JPG

I do agree it is a lot easier with more width like Pat mentions for most bowyers, but the experienced crew here I highly recommend trying one of these. My initial experience using Ipe as the backing  is its easier to keep the stability as opposed to bamboo for the same thickness..Perhaps the flatness of the back is the reason..I have seen some very fast wider limbed ipe bows, and the key is to keep the outer limbs very slender with tiny tips since its such a heavy wood and doing this comfortably takes a bit of experience..

The next one coming is an osage belly with Ipe backing and almost as thin a profile.

I enjoy seeing all these Ipe bows here ;D

Rich
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