whats stronger in compression?

[Ifrit617]

Hey guys,

I have a experimental "concept" bow planned for this summer and was wondering whether Osage or ipe is stronger in compression? This bows belly will be working HARD. Let me know what you think.

Jon

[Joec123able]

In my experience Osage is very strong under compression but ipe I can't say anything I've never used it I know I've seen a lot of bows with ipe bellys tho

[toomanyknots]

From what I have read and heard, not from personal experience or anything, ipe would be typically stronger in compression. Hard to say though, I have had osage that was not very good in compression, and I've had some great osage that was rock hard and friggin invincible in compression. Invincible. Sam Harper, on his poorfolkbows website, states that lighter color ipe has chrysalled on him, and he recommends the darker colored ipe. Good osage is very good, I don't know.

[Weylin]

I don't know what kind of bow you're building and I'm not an expert on these sorts of things but i'd advise you to take more into consideration than just compression if you're doing an extreme bend. It seems like qualities like elasticity would be just as important if you're asking that much. Maybe Osage doesn't quite match ipe in compression but maybe the elasticity is better enough to make it the preferred choice for an extreme bend, even if the ipe is backed. I'm just throwing ideas out there, I'm interested to see what others say. It might help to know what you have in mind, unless it's a "top secret" project, of course. 

[Ifrit617]

Sorry Weylin, guess I should be more specific. There has been various threads on here over the years about making horn style bows without the horn. Some have done it, others have failed miserably. I'm going for a slightly different approach. I'm not sure if you remember when it was posted, but a while back Matt Wirwicki posted a coral snake skin backed shorty composite bow that was 36" long, a little over an inch wide and drew 23"...

I'm kinda want to see if I can make the same bow, slightly scaled up in length, say 40" long, heavy sinew backing, 1 1/8" wide, pyramid front profile to 5/8" tips and around 40#@22"... I'm not really looking for dimensions, as I have enough experience to come up with those, and this is purely a fun experiment. I'm only looking at compression for now since I will be heavily sinewing this bow, and plan to do most of the tillering by adding sinew along the back, with minimal scraping of the belly.

What do you guys think?

Jon

[adb]

I honestly would have a hard time deciding which was better, and I've made plenty of bows outta both. I think ipe is harder and has a higher SG, but if I had to choose, I'd choose osage every time. Unfortunately, I often have to use ipe over osage, because I only have decent access to ipe.
I know you can make more bow with less ipe. The dust is shitty, however. Gives me a rash.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

I don't know what kind of bow you're building and I'm not an expert on these sorts of things but i'd advise you to take more into consideration than just compression if you're doing an extreme bend. It seems like qualities like elasticity would be just as important if you're asking that much. Maybe Osage doesn't quite match ipe in compression but maybe the elasticity is better enough to make it the preferred choice for an extreme bend, even if the ipe is backed. I'm just throwing ideas out there, I'm interested to see what others say. It might help to know what you have in mind, unless it's a "top secret" project, of course. 

+1. I don't have any experiance though.

[Pat B]

Chris Cade(Mechslasher) made a hornless horn bow a few years back. I'm not sure what Chris used fir the belly though.You might try a search for that.
 In my experience both ipe and osage are very strong in compression but ipe seems a bit more brittle and can fret badly if overstressed, at least in my experience.

[bubby]

Jon I think i'd go with the 'sage, epe is some great stuff but osage is more elastic from what I've used, plus it's really hard, at least for me to read the grain on epe, Bub

[blackhawk]

If its gonna be shorter and highly stressed I'd use osage over ipe.....in my experiences with both I'd say ipe is not as elastic as osage and can fret easier than osage...that's my two cents

[Ifrit617]

Osage it is then.

Thanks.

Jon

[Badger]

  I would go with osage. Strong in compression just means it is stiffer and resists bending more. Elasticity is what you are after. Strong and elastic are both qualities of osage.