Onward and Upward!

[skarhand]

So I am near completion of my first bow, and I am excited about starting my second. There are a ton of things I have learned during the creation of this bow and I can't wait to implement them in my next. My goal is to make a "me" sized bow this time so my son and I can shoot together.

Here is my biggest question. Should I just make another simple oak board bow using the same method as my first to really "get the hang of it" before I try something new, or should I be easily able to roll into something different?

I would just dive headfirst into another oak board bow, however when I went to my local Lowe's I had a hard time finding a really good board like I did the first time. If I do try something different it needs to be something else I can obtain easily and reasonably priced as I don't have a large bow budget at the moment.

P.S. I hope to post some final finished pics of my first bow later this evening.

[bubby]

try and find a hardwood yard, I just picked up a 12' pc of 4/4 hickory a ft wide for $30, that will make a few bows

[koan]

Unless you already got a seasoned stave, I would do another board. Do you have a Menards? They carry hickory, oak, maple, aspen, mahogony, just to name a few... I personally would go with hickory if ya want a hunting weight bow. They sale a 1"x2"x6' hickory board for $5.99 and thats almost a bow already. I look for edge grain but its tough enuff you can get by with less than stellar grain. Hickory is quite strong. My 2 cents... Brian

[skarhand]

So I found a local lumber mill that has loads of wood, and their prices seemed great. I could buy  a piece of oak there that would make 12 x full sized bows for the same price that I paid at Lowe's for a single 1x2x8, LOL. They also seem to have a very large selection of wood types. I plan to go back this weekend and really dig through their piles.

I tried using the search feature to find it, but I thought I remembered reading a thread that listed woods that were good to use and woods to avoid, but I can't seem find it. What I really want to try is to contrast a dark wood with a light wood backing. I saw a couple pictures of Ipe with Hickory or Bamboo backing and they looked awesome.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate anywhere local that carries Ipe, I am not sure I am ready to tackle bamboo yet, and hickory was the one wood the lumber mill had very little of. So that shoots that down for now, lol.

I guess my main question is, what woods are good, better, best for different applications:

Unbacked
Backed
Use as backing

I am sure this has been discussed here a lot, so feel free to just link me anything that might answer these questions as well. Thanks guys.

Skar

[koan]

If they have White oak, i would go with that. You can usually find Ipe most do it yourself places now... It will be inda decking materials.. Do a little research 1st cuz round here in Mo. it goes by different nicknames and it aint cheap.... Brian

[Del the cat]

While you are doing board bows keep an eye out for trees/logs/staves that you can cut and have seasoning, 'cos by this time next year you will be hankering to try a stave.
Del
(we do like a good hanker...)

[koan]

Del, +1

[tallpine]

A tip on selecting boards for board bows. Buy wide boards, that way its easer to lay out your bow with better grain orientation and ovoid many of the run offs. You will get some waste but it makes finding suitable boards much easer and increase your chances for success > Dan

[bushboy]

I personally don't like walnut in board form,never tried a stave but it's very pretty.backing wood that's easy to find is ash,hard maple,hickory,elm(my favorite white wood)and white oak.elm makes for a great belly wood,osage is also all around awesome.keep in mind that a little wiggle in the handle and tips is ok cause they don't bend much.riff and quarter are my favs!couple of pics

[skarhand]

Can Titebond III be used to glue on a backing, or do I need to use an epoxy?

[koan]

Titebond 3 works great but keep in mind it has almost no gap fillin properties. Your mating surfaces have to be purty near perfect... Another thing to keep in mind is your clamps... Figure how many clamps your gonna need then go ahead and get 10 more, lol. Nothin worse than glueing and clampin your bow up and findin out you aint got enuff clamps... I have used TB3 on wood & cloth/silk backings... Brian

[adb]

Titebond 3 works great but keep in mind it has almost no gap fillin properties. Your mating surfaces have to be purty near perfect... Another thing to keep in mind is your clamps... Figure how many clamps your gonna need then go ahead and get 10 more, lol. Nothin worse than glueing and clampin your bow up and findin out you aint got enuff clamps... I have used TB3 on wood & cloth/silk backings... Brian

Don't use clamps. Bicycle tire inner tubes work much better and are way cheaper. Sandwich your backing strip between a clamping board and the belly wood. Put wax paper between the layers if you're worried about the clamping board sticking.

[koan]

Havent tried the innertube thing yet. I know you have to be careful not to starve the joint with clamps( a highly debatable subject) I have also had success with the cord & wedge system. I got 2 glue ups to do... I will give the innertubes a shot... Brian

[dbb]

I used innertubes on a early BBO,first try the tension pulled the bamboo sideways,then got the tip to wrap "both"ways and that solved that.
The bow was rubbish tho 

[koan]

Adb... Im gonna beat skarhand to the question, lol.. When using innertubes do you start inda middle and wrap to the tips? And do you tie it off or clamp it at your stoppin point. I got a giant tractor tube im gonna cut into strips if its still good.. Skarhand, sorry to highjack your thread but i think we can both learn somethin here .... Brian