thining boo

[butch]

how do i thin 2" wide strip down to 1/8" to apply onto a 2" wide board bow. i have a 10" disk / a 1" vertical belt / and an orbital sander . have not thinned boo before. thanks.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I use a block plane, be careful with your depth setting. Once I get close I switch to a sanding block and 80 grit to finish it off. Wear a dust mask, boo dust is nasty and very fine.

[Lee Slikkers]

Pearl, what do you use to rest/lay the boo on and deal with the crown?  I assume if you are planing with a block keeping it "square" and level is fairly important?  Does it splinter worse with the block vs say a belt sander approach?

Thanks~

[PEARL DRUMS]

I use wood spacers bewteen the nodes and bar clamps lightly snugged down over the nodes, just enough to keep it from sliding. I have tried jointers and sanders and ruined my boo each time. Thats why I do it by hand now.

[Lee Slikkers]

Gotcha...haven't worked with Boo yet and was likely gonna start with the sander or joiner but maybe i won't know.  Don't have a block plane but guess it's a good time to look for one.  Thanks PD~

[dbb]

There is more to be careful about boo than the dust.
If you thin it down to"nothing" it creates a wickedly sharp edge,i cut my hand pretty bad straight through a leatherglove doing that.
Nice stuff but handle with care

/Mikael

[Stingray45]

With that Pearl I had a quick question with thinning the boo. Last time I thinned any down I did it when I was visiting my parents on my Dad's jointer. I had good success except naturally the boo is thicker at the nodes. Is it alright for it to be thicker there at the node? Or should try to thin it down there as well? The only thing I worry about is then I won't get a good seal when gluing up because it isn't flat. I typically set the jointer really low, I think it probably took us 20 or more passes to get it down but I'm fine with going slow because it's probably still faster than I could do it by hand and more uniform. I have a distinct feeling I'd hack it all up with a block plane.

~Barry

[PEARL DRUMS]

The glue side of the boo needs to be flat as a pancake and not cupped at all. Leave the node area thicker, no big deal there.

[Primitive1]

Cutting through the bamboo nodes (back/rind) is equivalent to cutting through a knot, you leave end fibers exposed and they will more than likely lift.  You can remove the rind to more readily have the bamboo take stain etc...but be careful near those nodes!  Cheers, P1.

[butch]

can anyone answer the original question on will a 2" wide boo still reach across a 2" wide board after its thined to 1/8" thick. maybe i should use hickory instead. also whats a strong lbs. to exspect out of a straight grain red oak board 70"ntn. bendy handle, 40" 2"wide, and 15"from the tips tapered to 3/8" nock. presently pulling only 40 lbs. at 22" draw. i want to get to 28" and 60 lbs. thanks   

[Pat B]

Butch you won't be able to thin boo enough to go on a 2"wide  bow.  ...and IMO red oak is not a good choice for a boo backing. Boo is very strong in tension. You want to use the strongest in compression wood you can get for the belly of a boo backed bow.
  Generally if you reduce a boo backing strip to 1/8" at the crown at the handle the boo strip will not be much wider than 1 3/8".  You can trap the belly(make it wider than the back,trapizoidal cross section) and get a little more bow width but not much.
  Hickory on the other hand makes an excellent bow backing, not quite as sexy as boo but a good backing none the less.

[butch]

thanks pat. i was hopeing you were around.

[makenzie71]

Butch you won't be able to thin boo enough to go on a 2"wide  bow.  ...and IMO red oak is not a good choice for a boo backing. Boo is very strong in tension. You want to use the strongest in compression wood you can get for the belly of a boo backed bow.
  Generally if you reduce a boo backing strip to 1/8" at the crown at the handle the boo strip will not be much wider than 1 3/8".  You can trap the belly(make it wider than the back,trapizoidal cross section) and get a little more bow width but not much.
  Hickory on the other hand makes an excellent bow backing, not quite as sexy as boo but a good backing none the less.

For the sake of argument...all of my bamboo backed bows have turned out really well.   

I use a block plane as well.  How thick is the crown?  If it's over 1/8"...might get away with 3/16"...then I have to go with Pat.  If it's too thick it will overpower red oak in a heart beat.

[Pat B]

I know a red oak bow can be backed with boo but for the sake of argument red oak is not the best choice for a boo backed bow...and especially for someone that is not even familiar with making a boo backed bow. Use the strongest in compression wood you can find!!! 
  The areas under the nodes will be a bit stiffer than the rest but getting proper tiller with a boo backed bow is all in finessing the tiller even though the nodes will affect the bending shape of the limbs.

[makenzie71]

I know...I was just picking...I started out with heavy glass, though, so figuring out how to make bamboo work on the red oak wasn't too different for me.  I agree with you, it's not ideal, especially for a first or early go.