Hickory Backed Red Oak Question

[Wooden Spring]

I know, I know, but it's all I've got in my shop right now...

So I want to glue in a bit of reflex in a flatbow and I'm going to use hickory over red oak. Here's the question - I don't want the hickory to overpower the oak, so would 1/16" thick be about right? I usually use 1/8" when I'm using it to back jatoba, but oak doesn't have nearly the compression strength of jatoba...

Whaddya think? 1/16" 1/8"  Or doesn't matter...

[bubby]

go with the 1/8" and trap the back

[Onebowonder]

go with the 1/8" and trap the back

+1 Trapping is awesome!

OneBow

[DarkSoul]

The thickness of the backing has very little influence in the ability of a backing to overpower the belly. It has more to do with the choice in materials (woods). After all, the surface of the wood is doing most of the work, not the area 1/8" or 3/16" inwards.

You need to trap the back to make the most use of a hickory (or bamboo, for that matter) backing for red oak. Make the back about 3/5 or 4/5 of the width of the belly. And keep the belly flat, while the back can also be crowned a little instead.

[bubby]

that's a great explanation Darksoul, Bub