Scored some ERC lumber, got about 10 almost all heartwood boards 80" long...

[toomanyknots]

Here's a piece of junk I dug up for ya....lol  ...n why isn't it being yanked back further for its length...whoever made that sure didn't know what he was doing..what an idiot 

 http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/44103/hickory-backed-eastern-red-cedar#.UNMrMSRZ6t4


it has some serious knots on the belly and on the sides....ERC needs to be handled differently, and needs to be babied with tlc and patience more than any other wood. Your tiller needs to be good,and I dont just mean the final results. The rule of not bending it past the smallest imperfection till its gone is crucial,and in my opinion it needs lots more gentle exercise to coax and teach it how to bend.

Thanks for the inspiration, definitely makes me feel better about knots. You think the hickory might of had something to do with the string follow? I have heard that a strong backing can over power a softer belly wood. I am thinking I want a nice elastic backing, but as little of an over powering backing as possible for a higher weight bow, like around 75# @ 28" to around 100# @ 32" at the very most probably, so that the belly doesn't get crushed in higher weights. Definitely will go for a 50# @ 28" on the first couple though. Will erc chrysal easy, or is it hard to get it to chrysal, or does it vary drastically from piece to piece like some woods? I have read that erc can make a very nice bow, and I do remember Mark St'Louis's erc warbow. One thing I will definitely do is go as long as is reasonable to reduce set, as with the low weight, I am guessing it is not really gonna matter performance wise if I max out the length? This is what I do with lightly wood longbows/warbows usually, like mulberry and silver maple, and to an extent hackberry. I bought a table saw off craigslist, but after learning about how dangerous it can be to use, and me having no experience ripping backings on a table saw, I have just said screw all with the table saw. LOL I figure I will wait until I can pick up a bandsaw and set it up with a fence to rip backings, and then run them threw a thickness planer to get em ready for glue up. Is it possible to get "glue up ready" cuts from just a bandsaw, or will I need a thickness planer for sure? I have heard that if you set up your bandsaw with a fence to the angle of the drift, then you can get pretty good quality cuts on even 1/16"? I have zero experience with basically any power saw so any advice would be much much appreciated and put to good use, 

"But photos don't do this wood justice."

I agree.

EDIT: I guess I might be pushing the odds at a higher weight with an erc longbow?

[blackhawk]

Looking back when I made it my only intentions were to get that knotty piece to bend n fling arrows,so I purposely overbuilt it,and in hindsight I think I overbuilt my overbuilding it intentions..lol...live n learn. I should've faceted(radiused)the corners of the hickory more like a true Longbow and crowned the hickory some,which is in effect a type of trapping,but not a true trapezoid shape and cross section. And it is a bit too wide in the last 40% of the limbs. And theres a tad too much bend in the handle,but those knots in the outer thirds scared me at the time to get em bending too hard there. I've always wanted to rework this one,but never have and I'm usually not one to change anything after I seal it. Maybe I will n radius the edges a lot more,and retiller along the sides in the outer thirds to get that bending more and reduce mass,and get it out to 28".

It only took a true 2"+ of set..which isn't too bad. But I think I could've gotten less as well. And I think its attributed to the wide hickory backing(1/8" thick backing),a deflexed piece of red cedar prior to glue up,and too much bend in the handle early on in tillering and final full draw.

I've had to plane or sand marks out on any backing I've ripped by bandsaw,table saw,or circular saw.

And I've never seen ERC fret..its really strong and elastic in compression .

Maybe try a maple backing and make an elb with a flatter belly type cross section but still adheres to the elb 5/8ths rule. And 1 3/8" wide till mid limb tapering to 1/2" nocks for starters,and 76" long(pending on what your exact intended stats are as you know)

[ionicmuffin]

blackhawk, it will break if there are things in the wood that may not look too good, if it a solid knot and doesnt seem to have any rot then it should be ok, but if its rotting then its going to give you some trouble. My piece was a long shot, a hope of a hope.

[bubby]

like blackhawk said, i'd use maple or even white burch for a backer, Bub