Osage board . . . need your ideas

[bushboy]

I would cut a small slat and do a bend test on any store bought hardwood ,be it hickory or not!the wood may look fine but may be damaged by fungus.

[Pat B]

I prefer to use the full thickness when working with board bows so, like Pearlie suggested, you can make good solid fades and won't have to use a power lam. Actually at 1" of thickness you don't need to add a riser at all. You might just add a back lam to the handle area to fill out the back of the handle for a better fit in your hand. I use thick leather for this but cork will work or even a short(4") piece of wood.

[bubby]

with a pyramid bow you can get a rough pre tiller using the method in this build a long if you want to induce some reflex at glue up, I would think limb thickness on the belly wood should be about 3/8", that would give you 1/2" to start, just another option good luck and post pics http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,35312.0.html

[Knoll]

RE backing, here's my plan . . .
Went down to my local hardwood dealer and found straight grained pc of hickory, 13/16 thick. 
Plan is to rip width to 1 1/2, which is same as my osage board.  Don't have a bandsaw, so will  resaw to 1/8" using the table saw.
Then glue that 1/8" hickory (as backing) to the osage board.
Then layout the bow and get to work . . . . . .

OK plan?

Thanks, in advance
Michael

[PEARL DRUMS]

Good plan. Are you gluing it up flat, or adding reflex?

[Knoll]

Good plan. Are you gluing it up flat, or adding reflex?

Intrigued by the Perry reflex approach.  Have done just the glued-on reflex tips so far, so Perry reflex  would be new territory.  So, would need to do the reflex thingy at time of gluing backing on, correct?

Thanks to all who've chimed in.  Got lotsa options for this board or futures!

[GB]

Yes, you'll be bending the reflex into your bow on a form before glueing it up.  The form I use is really basic; just a 6 foot long 2 X 4 with a couple of pillars on each end and one in the middle, 'tho  I've since removed the center one.  The bow next to it is hickory backed osage that I made last year.  Don't remember how much reflex I put in it, but I'm sure it was 3" or less.  It holds 1 1/2" now.  Pretty sure if you do a search you'll find a post with exact dimensions for a form and how to do the glue up.
I don't have a band saw either.  I either use my table saw or hand held jig saw.  Pat and Pearl Drum's advise about working the osage board down before trying to bend it on the form is key.  Make sure you leave enough thickness in the handle area, though. 

[GB]

Actually, to clarify, you'll bend it on the form and clamp it right after glueing the slats together    I always do a dry run first just to make sure that I have the belly wood thin enough to get the bend I want.  On the bow I posted, I ripped the osage board 5/16" at the tips tapering to its full thickness of 5/8" at the fades.  Still had plenty of wood left for a 45# bow.
Geez, must be time for bed...starting to ramble here.   Good luck!

[PEARL DRUMS]

Make something like GB has, minus the inner uprights. It will keep the tip lifted as the glue dries, you would probably get about 2.5"*3" off the form. 

[GB]

Here's my el cheapo form in action.  That's about 3" of reflex (easily done when the wood is only 1/4" thick  )  Like Pearl said, you can just go with the uprights at the ends or space the inner ones so you get an even bend from tip to fade if that's what you're aiming for.  If you really get into making backed board bows, you should check out Dean Torges' Hunting the Bamboo Backed Bow DVD.  Lots of good info in it, and while he uses bamboo, it works the same with hickory.

[Knoll]

So, if fade width is extended to mid-limb or thereabouts before tapering to 1/2" at tip,  do I need to do elliptical tiller or is circular tiller still appropriate?
Reason for asking is that all my bows, to this point, have been tapered from end of fade to tip and circular tillered.  Elliptical tiller would be yet more "new ground".

[GB]

Yes, tiller would be elliptical.

[Del the cat]

So, if fade width is extended to mid-limb or thereabouts before tapering to 1/2" at tip,  do I need to do elliptical tiller or is circular tiller still appropriate?
Reason for asking is that all my bows, to this point, have been tapered from end of fade to tip and circular tillered.  Elliptical tiller would be yet more "new ground".

The following is just my opinion and I've only ever done one DR bow and that exploded, others may well disagree.
Come to think of it, if I were you, I wouldn't read this post
It depends what you mean by elliptical... if you mean more bend near the tips and less near the grip then No!
The way to look at it is... it should be tillered the way you'd have tillered it if it was straight BUT the tips should flex less, by the same amount as they are reflexed (make a similar allowance for deflex on the inner limb). EG, the unbraced shape should be sort of subtracted from the usual tiller.
I usually do arc of a circle. So if I had 2" reflex , I could draw the arc of a circle, add 2" of reflex to that shape at the tips and there's the tiller shape 
Probably an oversimplification, but hey... sue me!
A full deflexed reflex bow has a huge reflex which at full draw uncoils to give a virtually straight limb which is angled towards the archer by the deflex near the grip.
Del

[PEARL DRUMS]

My suggestion is to forget all that tiller shape confusing talk, your building a staright bow with a stiff handle. Regardless of width profile. Use your scraper on edge and run it from from fade to 8" short of the tip, bow drawn to say 12-16" and held static while you do this. Mark the flat spots and make that gap between the scrapers edge and the belly of your bow the same and you will have a lovely tillered, butt kickin' good shooting bow. Promise. If it doesn't balance just right after several full draws, simply pick the strong limb and give it 10 full scrapes. It will balance and shoot like a pro Joe made it.