Meranti

[Ozi Sapling]

In my haste to start working on more bows (with no time to wait for timber to dry), I picked up some meranti from the hardware store. Some darker wood (maybe heartwood) and some much lighter pieces.

Seeking some advice:

a/ is this stuff any good for selfbows ?
and if so....
b/ would it be suitable for an english longbow style, or more suited to flatbow ?

thanks

[GlisGlis]

apparently under the name meranti are included many species of the genus shorea (the majority of which are listed as being critically endangered!) with different characteristics

[George Tsoukalas]

Never heard of it. Sounds like an Italian wine. Jawge

[Pat B]

I'll drink to that, George. 

[GlisGlis]

I'd give it more chances as bow wood than as wine. I'm italian and never ever heard of it 

[Hawkdancer]

I'm with George and Pat B! 
Hawkdancer

[sleek]

I know meranti is a good boat building wood, used in marine grade ply wood. It had good rot resistance and doesn't seem to check as badly as other woods. All that is rather vague, but, it's all I know about it. Could help to look up the wood in terms of boat building to learn more about its properties.

[Hamish]

Not a good timber for bows. Too weak and brittle. I'm not saying it can't be done, it would need to be very wide and flat. Not a good choice for beginning bowyers.

What city, state do you live in, I should be able to give you some help sourcing some decent timber?

Try search feature here on Australian timbers, as there are a number of other Australian bowyers, most of the information you need has already been discussed.

Another good resource for Australian bowyers is ozbow.net  . It has a good campfires forum  section.

[Ozi Sapling]

Thanks Hamish

I'm in Adelaide, SA.

Any decent timber options appreciated.  Meanewood is also leaning a hand which is great.

[Hamish]

Otto's Timber, Stepany comes to mind. They have stuff like hickory, oak, ash, maple. Occasionally they have osage orange.




I have ordered from them before, but not been there in person(I live in Sydney). If you live close enough it would be worth a trip to have a look in person.

For board bows, straight grain on all edges and faces of a board is what you are looking for.

[Ozi Sapling]

Thanks Hamish,
Otto is close to home fortunately, so i’ll Check them out for sure. They have an impressive list on their website of timber species in stock at the moment, including Osage orange and all the others you mention.

Can I also ask, what’s your preferred glue for handles, backings, composites etc. A lot of websites reference overseas brands not readily available in Oz.

[Hamish]

Techniglue epoxy from Carba tec is the go to bowmakers strength epoxy in Australia. A glued on riser won't pop off with that stuff. Many other commonly available epoxies, and other glues are not strong enough.


You could use Techniglue for laminations, or backings as well. Most glass lam builders use it for that purpose. Most of the time I use Titebond 3 for all wood laminations.


Very rarely you might come across some urea formaldehyde glue, which is great stuff for bows  but it doesn't have a long shelf life.


Let us know how you go at Otto. Tell them you want to make bows, they will know that you are after straight grained boards. They will probably point you to hickory, which is a good choice.