Author Topic: White Oak for backing?  (Read 2651 times)

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Offline bigcountry

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White Oak for backing?
« on: May 23, 2011, 09:17:55 pm »
Is white oak as good as hickory or bamboo for a osage or IPE bow?  I have found some straight quartersawn pieces. 
Westminster, MD

Offline toymaker

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Re: White Oak for backing?
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2011, 09:40:07 pm »
I have heard it is, however my last attempt was a Ash backed with white oak.....It cracked during tillering.
The backing was about .080 which may have been too thin.



Offline bigcountry

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Re: White Oak for backing?
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2011, 09:51:51 pm »
Thats disappointing.  Thanks for the feedback
Westminster, MD

Offline Badger

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Re: White Oak for backing?
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2011, 09:58:11 pm »
  I recently started playing around with white oak backing, I did a wo/ipe and a wo/osage. Both seemed to perform as well as anything else but 2 bows I would not call conclusive.

Offline jonathan creason

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Re: White Oak for backing?
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2011, 11:35:55 pm »
I've never tried it, but I know Ken and Rich are both fans of white oak for backing strips.  Hopefully they'll chime in with their results.
Cleveland, NC

"The only thing cooler than bands that gets lots of chicks are bands that scare chicks." - Beavis

Offline ken75

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Re: White Oak for backing?
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2011, 12:55:03 am »
ive only had one failure with it  out of half a dozen bows . it splintered but didnt break all the way through , the backing was removed and belly reused . pay attention to grain swirls thats what got mine

Offline bigcountry

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Re: White Oak for backing?
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2011, 01:32:52 am »
The guy that has some said he had 10,000 BF and much of it is quarter sawn.  I hope to find a few pieces with straight grain.
Westminster, MD

Offline bubby

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Re: White Oak for backing?
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2011, 07:36:11 am »
I've used white oak quite a bit for backing, epe, maple, and in lam limbs on takedowns and r&d bows, with no failures yet, usually get mine out of the center of a double ring board, Bub
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: White Oak for backing?
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2011, 09:30:31 am »
I bet ya white oak backed white oak would make a real nice R/D bow.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline bubby

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Re: White Oak for backing?
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2011, 03:21:50 pm »
yeah PD,I posted a 3 pc bow awhile back and the limbs were w oak-maple-w oak, it shot real smooth, Bub
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹