Bamboo backed Rosewood Bow

[Marc St Louis]

This is a bow I just made for a fellow in WY. He was looking for a short bow to take on a hunting trip to hunt Bears in Canada this Fall.  He was also looking for a bow that would resist humid conditions. I showed him some of the bows on my site and he chose an R/D design in Rosewood with a Bamboo backing.  This Rosewood comes from SA and is quiet an attractive wood with dark and light streaks in it.  It's also a very oily wood.  The bow is just over 59" long with limbs 1 1/8" wide tapering to 1/4" nocks.  The bow pulls 55# @ 27".  I glued in just over 3" of reflex in the bow and it has kept about 1" of that.  I've shot the bow a few times and it shoots quite well with good speed.  Should do the trick for Bears and whatever else he wants to hunt.  Here's a few pictures

[John K]

Looks great Mark ! I really like the tips !

[Badger]

  Looks like it was perfectly executed Mark.  Can't say enough, outstanding all the way around! Steve

[jwillis]

Great job, Marc.  Gotta love rosewood.  Jim

[Hillbilly]

Wicked looking bow Marc, and purty, too.

[medicinewheel]

great bow with superb tiller (as always on your bows)!
is that endless string made of fastflight??
frank

[Marc St Louis]

That is a FF string Frank.

The handle on this bow is Walnut, White Ash, Bloodwood and Rosewood

[mullet]

  I like it Marc, it looks fast and sleek. That wood combination really looks good together. Being that short does it bend in the handle at all?

[adb]

Oh, Man!! That's a beauty! Excellent work on a challenging design. A short R/D is a hard bow to get right, but you've nailed it, as usual. Nice wood. Is rosewood kinda like ipe? Where do you get it?

[Marc St Louis]

It's a stiff handle bow Eddie.  There are 4 laminations in the handle and there is also a power lam between the Bamboo and the Rosewood.

Rosewood is not quite as dense as Ipe.  It does have high compression strength but is a bit brittle in tension. Makes an excellent combination with Bamboo.  I got this wood from A & M woods in southern Ontario.  Price is a bit high but worth it to me.

[Kegan]

Wow!!! Marc, that's not fair, you make it all look much too easy !

[Marc St Louis]

Well it's not easy but it's not that hard either  .

[bobnewboy]

Time for a dumb question - what is a power lam exactly?  Can they be made of different woods to the back/belly, or should they match up somehow?

Thanks, Bob

[OldBow]

Typical High Quality Bow from Marc.
Serious candidate for June Laminate Bow of the Month.

[Marc St Louis]

Bob
It a thin lamination that goes between the backing and core or it can go between the core and handle, I prefer the former.  It job is to stiffen the handle area so that it does not flex.  It can be any wood you want to use