Poplar

[ccase39]

Is it a decent bow wood when backed with something like Bamboo?

[DavidV]

Nope

[wizardgoat]

Someone a while back posted a poplar board bow. I wonder how it's holding up.
There's gotta be better options for you.

[willie]

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,40095.msg535189.html#msg535189

[jayman448]

i tried. terrible compression. huge bloomin fretts. ive not made too many bows, but id say its not worth anyones time

[willie]

are we talking aspen/cottonwood or Liriodendron tulipifera, otherwise known as tulip poplar? the yellow/greenish boards sold for cabinet work are called poplar , but are an eastern hardwood. not related to the aspen or cottonwood or other related populus

[bowandarrow473]

It is doable but not recommended!

[arachnid]

Makes good arrow shafts though...

[paulsemp]

I  among many others shot that bow. It got passed around at Marshall in 2013  for a good or hour so.It's shot quite well and I believe its still going. I would imagine it does not get shot a lot though. It can be done although I would not. If the only would you access to his poplar I would say go for it but I'm sure you have access to others. Ryan built that Bow to prove a point.

[PlanB]

I've cut eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) in my mill, but it can be really terrible for warping and checking. I've had boards split themselves in half a day off the mill.

But seeing that other thread, whatever poplar that was, made a great bow! I guess as Willie says, it would be important to know just what kind of "poplar" that was in that particular bow.

Though I don't particularly like cottonwood, it is quite a hard wood once dry, and fairly dense too. Least the stuff I have here. Never thought about a bow from it.

[ccase39]

Glad I asked. I found some poplar and cedar boards the other day really cheap but the cedar felt to light and porous and the poplar pretty weak.

[Bryce]

There are 1000 better choices for bow wood.
Some woods lend themselves nicely to bow making, that are both aesthetically pleasing and perform well.
Of the easily accessible lumber, I would recommend maple, oak, and hickory.

[autologus]

Eastern Red Cedar (Incense Cedar) is good bow wood when backed, the stuff that they sell at the big box stores is Western Cedar two very different woods, Western Cedar is terrible bow wood but does make good bow drill kits for friction fires.

Grady