warbow backings?

[david w.]

what are the backing that people use for backing warbows?  if i make one i would like to make an acurate reproduction

[Marc St Louis]

Traditionally none

[david w.]

o that might be hard for me to pull off i have osage boards. i know they used yew but osage is what i have now and i cant complain with that
the boards are very straight grained the straightest i have ever seen on anything. i might be able to leave it unbacked

[Pat B]

David, Use rawhide.      Pat

[david w.]

ok if i make on i will use that. i have enough osage for 7-10 bows and i will last me a long time and i want to try new things

[Marc St Louis]

If you are using Osage then it wouldn't be an accurate reproduction, I don't think Osage grew overseas at the time.  That being the case why don't you just use a hard backing.  If you use Hickory you can round the back and make it look like a sapwood back

[david w.]

i would need yew but i dont have that much money to drop so osage is the next best thing

ok i was thinking hickory i just wasnt sure

[markinengland]

Osage with a hickory backing looks quite "authentic" and works. I have seen some nice hickory backed osage heavy warbows. I am not sure that rawhide would be strong enough on a warbow. If the wood was good enough to work with just rawhide, in my opinion it would probably be good enough to work unbacked. I have never seen a rawhide backed warbow here. Use good hickory. Most big backed bows that blow seem to go because of failings in the hickory rather than the belly wood.
Bamboo certainly works very well, but does not look quite so traditional. My feeling is that the bowyers of old would have used bamboo if they had it.
Towards the end of the age of the english warbow age, some bows were being made of Pernambua, a South American hardwood. Also at this time some warbows were apparently backed though I m not sure what they were backed with. I suspect that it was the tropical hardwood bows that were backed but no backed bows have been found.
Matk in England

[david w.]

thanks Mark that was very helpful

[alanesq]

What draw weight are you looking for ?

I have made a 120lb at 32" bow from cheap kiln dried ash without any backing so I would imagine you wont have any problem getting this out of your wood ?

[Yeomanbowman]

Osage with a hickory backing looks quite "authentic" and works. I have seen some nice hickory backed osage heavy warbows. I am not sure that rawhide would be strong enough on a warbow. If the wood was good enough to work with just rawhide, in my opinion it would probably be good enough to work unbacked. I have never seen a rawhide backed warbow here. Use good hickory. Most big backed bows that blow seem to go because of failings in the hickory rather than the belly wood.
Bamboo certainly works very well, but does not look quite so traditional. My feeling is that the bowyers of old would have used bamboo if they had it.
Towards the end of the age of the english warbow age, some bows were being made of Pernambua, a South American hardwood. Also at this time some warbows were apparently backed though I m not sure what they were backed with. I suspect that it was the tropical hardwood bows that were backed but no backed bows have been found.
Matk in England

Mark's right about Tudor references to backed bows, ash/yew, but I'm not sure they were necessarily warbows.  Ascham was a gentleman and wrote about brasil bows (sic) etc,  but for the gentry.  If it was wet they did not have to shoot.  This is not a luxury a warbow can afford.
Jeremy

[radius]

david, i like your attitude, in wanting to experiment.  and i agree with marc:  usehickory overtop, should work just fine.  I've noticed that on bows up to 60# at least, the grain on the hickory can be damn wild and still be perfect for use...in fact the only time i've had the hickory fail on me was an edge-ringed piece with perfect parallels from tip to tip.  Will you be using a thick piece of osage, or laminations?  If you use laminations, you can pretiller it somewhat by gluing it up in a jig. 

And someone mentioned bamboo.  I say give'r.  My bamboo backed bows are mega strong, and if they are a bit touchy to tiller under the nodes, they are worth it.  One bow is only 1 inch wide and still draws 70#, at 62" length.  An english warbow, say, 72 or 78 inches long, backed with bamboo, should safely draw over a hundred pounds no problem.

[Rod]

i would need yew but i dont have that much money to drop so osage is the next best thing

ok i was thinking hickory i just wasnt sure

ERC is probably the "next best thing" if you want to use a native wood that looks and handles like yew.
If you can find a good piece that's long enough.
Rod.

[david w.]

What draw weight are you looking for ?

I have made a 120lb at 32" bow from cheap kiln dried ash without any backing so I would imagine you wont have any problem getting this out of your wood ?

60#

[david w.]

thanks for all that other help