Hazel is abundant around here, and reportedly good in tension with less than stellar strength in compression. Anybody tried adding a horn belly to this wood? I think i'm gonna try it.
It should work out fine. I've never put horn on a bow belly but understand the principle.
With heat treating(tempering) the belly you can increase the compression strength of hazel. It is a good candidate for tempering.
I really like the look of rainman's (i think!) horn-bellied osage bow, recently shown. i will definitely heat temper the hazelnut wood.