Bamboo back strip

[Manolovis]

Hi
is 5mm bamboo back strip too thick ?
I have made some strip out of a decent pole 4” but with razor edges, 4-4.5mm is the thinnest I can get for 36 mm width bow I m trying to back.i tried to go thinner but the strip doesn’t fit perfectly as it is 1 to 2 mm narrower in some portions...is that big of a deal ?
I might have to add that it is to back a left over bad stave that I had to plane/flatten (so heavily violates ring...)
Cheers
Manu

[mmattockx]

I can't say on the bamboo thickness, but you could thin it more and then trap the back to get some thickness back on the edges.


Mark

[bownarra]

4mm will be ok but just be aware it will add a lot of draw weight.
The backing strip doesn't necessarily have to cover all of the backs width, obviously you should aim for that but if you are using small diameter boo....

[Manolovis]

Awesome thanks I ll try to glue that one I made  anyway then

[Eric Krewson]

Bamboo backed bows can be very narrow. I typically make my core wood wider than my bamboo backing and bring the core wood to the dimensions of the bamboo with a belt sander after glue up. I cut my bamboo very close to the finished bow dimensions before glue up and make ever edge 1/16" thick, this naturally tapers the bamboo.