Ipe Questions

[ShinneryOak]

I have had a heck of a time finding Ipe locally. I ordered it online once from a decking company but got poor grain on those. I found one local place but they only have it rarely and very little to choose from. Is it necessary to get straight grain in Ipe if it's backed? The ones I tried before (unbacked) broke where the grain ran off. I hate to take the luck of the draw again by mail.

[n2huntn]

Rich Saffold, he can get you exactly what you need. Nice guy too.
 Jeff

[jeff halfrack]

try  "bristol valley hardwoods.com"  they are all  about ipe  and  bowyer friendly  , hope I don't get in trouble!  JEFFW

[bryan irwin]

I think if it's backed with boo or hickory it'll be ok.

[markinengland]

If Ipe is backed and not made too thin it can work well with failry poor grain. Thiis leads you towards narrow deep section bows which work efficiently with the heavy wood.

[Parnell]

In my experience, depends on the runoff.  If it's severe, I've had many break even when backed with hickory or maple...

[ShinneryOak]

Thanks all, will keep all this in mind. I'm getting close to finishing my first boo backed ipe (my last piece) which had decent grain. If it doesn't break, I'll post it. Or even if it does break.