cracked bamboo backing on hickory bow...

[Ghost308]

I have a Boo backed Hickory bow for over 5 years and never had a single problem with it. When I started to make another one I noticed that the bamboo was sanded all the way to the edge and the other edge was 1/8 thick and for a backing strip that was supposed to be flat it wasn't. I will never buy one from that company again. I don't own and power tools to be able to totally rework my materials before I start, sp from now on I chop down a tree.

[Eric Krewson]

Bamboo specific gravity varies from the upper 30s to mid 80s, hickory is in the lower 70s and osage is in the lower 80s. Bamboo specific gravity varies wildly with age and grain structure. What I use is from 3 or 4 year old clums, definitely not hard and dense, so in my case my bamboo is light and strong and not near as heavy as the wood I back with it.