This was passed on to me by PA's editor:
This is the 9th bamboo-backed bow I have made in three years, and for the first time the entire process went smoothly and felt natural.
I did not have a thick enough piece of osage to make the 3-lamination bow I was planning to make without fear of it coming out too light, so I glued in a tapered piece of bloodwood under the bamboo and my first 4-lamination bow was in the jig.
This bow is made of bamboo, bloodwood, hard rock maple and has an osage belly. The riser is made of the same wood combination and is finished with a piece of wenge. I was worried that this bow would be too light for me due to the narrow limb design (1 1/8" at the widest point). However, I think the four lams made up for that. After a couple hundred shots, this bow is holding steady at 50 lbs and 27", and shoots my heavy tapered cedar arrows very well with no noticeable hand shock.
Thanks to Primitive Archer magazine and a good friend and bowyer for sparking my interest in all wood bows. I now enjoy tagging deer with my homemade bows and arrows.
[attachment deleted by admin]
