thanks very much guys,
jipso; the bamboo back and belly are both aprox. 1/8" thick at the apex of the crown and 1 3/8" wide at the fades. The bamboo is left thicker though towards the tips to stiffen them, as the core is thin at this point. (Or the core must thicken out again towards the tips ..)
I dont taper the bamboo only the core, the core is aprox. 3/16" at the fades . The belly must be heat treated for the bow to work well. Not sure about oak, never tried it? possibly white oak, not red oak....ipe works very well....the core needs to be tuff to stand up to the bamboo
It really though, depends on the quality and hardness of the bamboo...the bamboo is stronger when the nodes are closer also....boo varies a lot, in Japan they only use old bamboo on the belly that has hardened naturaly , if you can get it?
Dave
I'm happy to share any details.....PM or email me for info,any one whose interested