Can I get away without a backing on this one?

[sleek]

I wouldnt recurve and hence make a more stressed design of an already questionable board. You are asking for trouble with it breaking. It very may well survive @35# but still, its not going to be your bow. I know somebody who had to have stitches in his head from a bow that blew up, even after he owned that bow for ten years. If you give that bow away, make sure its got rawhide on it and you shot it a lot!

[George Tsoukalas]

If you don't find a straight grained board with possibly 3 or 4 run outs, walk away. If you must use it do back it. I would have never taken it out of the yard. I'm pretty picky about boards. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html

[bubby]

I wouldnt recurve and hence make a more stressed design of an already questionable board. You are asking for trouble with it breaking. It very may well survive @35# but still, its not going to be your bow. I know somebody who had to have stitches in his head from a bow that blew up, even after he owned that bow for ten years. If you give that bow away, make sure its got rawhide on it and you shot it a lot!


sleek I thought he was talking about a different build, Bub

[Shiloh]

Why dont you want a backing?

I was just wanting to try something a little different, but there's always more boards.

[Shiloh]

Also, I'm not recurving this one, I'm just thinking of future projects.

@George: I've made succesful bows with more grain run-off than this one, each one backed with either linen or drywall tape. Mine rarely go above 50#, so I've found that for the style of bows I crank out proper tillering and good, tight grain are more important, at least in my case.

[sleek]

My misunderstanding, I'm sorry...

[Shiloh]

No problems. 

[Carson (CMB)]

Does shellac have tensile strength? Because that is what is required on the back of a bow. Compression or shear strength will be useless on the back of a bow. While shellac might act as a glue, it does not offer tensile strength. According to your theory, a layer of wall paper glue would even function as a bow backing, right? Shellac could be a good finish for a bow, but it does not serve as a functional backing.

Dark Soul.  I am not saying shellac is a backing material, but I do think it can increase the tensile strength of fibrous material such as wood.  For example, last night I finished a couple dozen arrows with shellac applied with a paper towel. This morning I took the dried out shellac'd paper towel and attempted to rip it.  It took significantly more effort to rip this paper towel than one without shellac.  I am not saying it is a backing material, but sanding a board bows back and applying a number of coats of shellac is better than say, a back left a bit rough and finished in oil.

[DarkSoul]

Well, then I respectfully disagree with you

A paper towel soaked in oil is easier to tear than a paper towel coated with shellac, right? So that would mean an oil as a finish for a bow would actually weaken the wood?

[Maxspin]

Shiloh,
Lay out your bow on this board. Looks like the worst of the run out is on one end. Not a great picture of the other end of the board. If you went with a 68” bow you could 4” off of the worst end and  get a bow out of this board.

If were me asking the question on whether to back it or not….. The advice from several experienced bowyers has been to back it. I would follow that good advice.
1” x 2” x 6’ only gives you 1.5 inches. Red oak is recommended to be 2” wide. You have already extra stress with a less than optimal width on this bow.

Keith

[Carson (CMB)]

Well, then I respectfully disagree with you

A paper towel soaked in oil is easier to tear than a paper towel coated with shellac, right? So that would mean an oil as a finish for a bow would actually weaken the wood?

That is fine.  I am not trying to be an advocate for shellac "backing".  I just felt that if the bow was not going to be backed, then it is a good idea to sand the back very smooth and that coating the back with a strong bioadhesive polymer, such as shellac, would provide some level of splinter lifting prevention, i.e. backing protection.

[PEARL DRUMS]

The 1-2#'s of pressure a splinter may generate would rip through 3 coats of shellac as if it wasnt there. I have seen splinters push through sinew wraps and hide glue and that tell me shellac wont do a thing in prevention or holding of splinters.