Sheesham/Indian Rosewood

[doulosparachristos]

My local hardwood dealer has stopped stocking Ipe (unless I want to buy a pallets worth) so I picked up a bit of Sheesham/Indian Rosewood. I noticed that this stuff is pretty dense and weighs and feels a lot like Ipe to work with. Has any one else used this stuff before? My intention was to back it with White Oak or Hickory in an ELB layout; any advice or warnings? thanks.

Roy

[toomanyknots]

From what I have read here and there on the web, rosewood will work. This guy has some rosewood (laminated) elbs displayed here: http://www.greenmanlongbows.co.uk/GALLERY%20Laminated%20longbows.htm

[mikekeswick]

Beware there are a few 'rosewoods' out there. A cocobolo belly would be amazing

[Prarie Bowyer]

I used to buy my Ipe online.  About $40 for asingle decking plank delivered to my door. coudl get about 6 bows from it if doing tri lams and 3 if solid Ipe.  Companies that deal with Ipe decking.

[doulosparachristos]

I wish I knew about that decking thing along time ago ;( it would have probably saved me a few bucks. Well here it goes; I hope I get to post some good pics soon, and not a broken bow and a black eye.

[toomanyknots]

I used to buy my Ipe online.  About $40 for asingle decking plank delivered to my door. coudl get about 6 bows from it if doing tri lams and 3 if solid Ipe.  Companies that deal with Ipe decking.

I would be very scared ordering any wood online. You are a braver man than I!  I recently, like 2 days ago recently, drove about 60 miles round trip to pick up a board of ipe. I had me and the warehouse guy up 40 feet or so on top of all the 5/4 x 6's digging threw the stack for a good straight grain piece. (Yes I climbed right up the darn thing, screw your forklift,  ) I found one, wasn't particularly dark, but the grain was nice and clean and straight, so I was happy at the time. Didn't notice till I got home that there was a big ol crack in it.  It ended up killing only about 1 1/2" wide by 1/2" thick, as I ended up resawing the piece, and getting half of the section that was clean, which I will use for a flatbow, but still it sucks as for 65 bucks a board I really wanna get everything out of it as I can. I should of just bought the 3/4" thick and made trilams I was thinking after I got home.

[mikekeswick]

Also due to ipe's popularity a lot of ipe isn't necessarily what we think of as the primo bow wood ipe. There is a much softer 'version' being sold now, it tends to be a more chocolatey brown - beware.

[lesken2011]

I buy my ipe and massuranduba online from a decking supply place. The shipping is as much as the material, but I request clean, straight grain, and so far I have had virtually no waste. The boards have been so straight, I took a chance the last time and bought a 2X which is 1.5" wide to rip along the side. So far, so good, no warping.

[toomanyknots]

The shipping is as much as the material

That sucks so bad.

 

The boards have been so straight, I took a chance the last time and bought a 2X which is 1.5" wide to rip along the side. So far, so good, no warping.

Yeah, I have noticed zero warping and very decently straight milled boards since I started working with ipe. It seems so stable that I am using it for my templates currently. The worst warping I have had was from a piece of bloodwood. Sending a length through my bandsaw was like peeling a shaving with a drawknife, it just curled apart when cut if you can picture what I mean. I still have a good bit of that board left, I don't know what to do with it but handles and overlays. Even the thinner pieces are so warped I don't want to use em as cores for fear it will cause twist in the bow. I mean they are twisted like curly fries.

Also due to ipe's popularity a lot of ipe isn't necessarily what we think of as the primo bow wood ipe. There is a much softer 'version' being sold now, it tends to be a more chocolatey brown - beware.

I see a lot of lighter ipe in the stack usually, but it is mixed in evenly pretty much with very dark pieces too. The darker pieces seem a lot heavier to me. By version, do you mean different species, or just lesser quality ipe? 

[doulosparachristos]

yeah this happened to me once as well, i asked to see the Ipe and i was taken to a pallet of chocolate colored wood that looked similar to Ipe until i grabbed a board and felt how light it was in the hand.  The gentleman said it was Peruvian Walnut and tried to convince me Peruvian Walnut and Ipe are the same species.

[toomanyknots]

yeah this happened to me once as well, i asked to see the Ipe and i was taken to a pallet of chocolate colored wood that looked similar to Ipe until i grabbed a board and felt how light it was in the hand.  The gentleman said it was Peruvian Walnut and tried to convince me Peruvian Walnut and Ipe are the same species.

Never heard of "Peruvian Walnut" before? Weird, I will have to google this stuff... 

[DavidV]

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/peruvian-walnut/

Huh, seems the stuff has half the SG of Ipe and isn't even rot resistant. I would assume decking companies don't get the two mixed up so there's a start.