Hickory backed osage longbow

[stringstretcher]

I want to build a hickory backed osage hill style longbow.  My draw length is 27 and I want to finish around 45 lbs.  I will be building the bow 66" ntn.  Should a 1/8 thick hickroy strip work fine for the backing?  And should I use parallel or tapered laminations?  What would be a good starting width, I am thinking 1 1/2 inches and tapering straight to the tips to 3/8.  I will probably start with 2" reflex during glue ups.  Open for any and all suggestions?

[HickoryBill]

You should be fine with the dimensions you mentioned. I would use parallel lams if it where me.Is the osage a lumber stave or a tree stave?

[half eye]

Stringstretcher,
        I'm just finishing a 53" Ojibwa....1/8" hickory backer on a white ash bow core. 60#@27" it's less than 1-1/2" wide and only 9/16 thick......dont know squat about osage, but from what I hear it's a lot tougher than ash......so I have to believe you got plenty of wood.  Also believe you'd be wise to leave your backer even thickness and tiller in the belly, especially on a Hill style long bow. But that's JMO....and I have no experience with Osage.
rich

[Pat B]

Charlie, are you set on a lam bow? hickory backed osage will give you an excellent Hill style bow. The 1/8" hickory is good and you could probably narrow the width to 1 1/4 or even less for a 66" bow and 45# shouldn't be a problem.
  In "Hunting the Hard Way" by Howard Hill this is the bow he discribes in the chapter, "How to Make Bows ans Bow Strings".
  For a lam bow were you thinking of 3 or 4 lams(including the backing)?

[stringstretcher]

For the first one, 4 lams includeing the backing.  My osage is lumber boards sanded parallel to a thickness of just under 3/16 so I might have to use 4 osage and the hickory backing.  I have lots of bamboo flooring that will eventually be incorporated in my bows, but for now, just trying to get a good hickory backed flat limb stily (hill) bow that I can make with just a simple form.  Adn do you think that adding the handle on a bow of this type after the limbs are glued up will hold without popping off?  Or should I glue the limb lams, and then glue the handle and put a belly lam on it?