I have a piece of bamboo that I have flattened but think I got too thin (1/8" at crown)to use on the osage it was intended for. Would it work on a piece of oak without overpowering it or not being effective.
I know the layout may not be perfect for the oak. 1 1/2' wide at handle area to mid limb then tapering to 1/2" tips.
What do you guys think. Use on Oak or will it work for the Osage and will hickory work on Oak.
I have never tried it. I figured even if you thin it beyond normal you still have the fibers that do the work.
Keep us posted.
if you are intent on using oak , i say go for it. with it being that size , you may not need much oak , just something to belly it up...
hopefully someone has done this. i think the trilam jamesv sent me is raw boo/hick/oak . im not sure if its oak , but it sure looks like it.
maybe you could do trilam...
-hov
How wide is your boo backing strip, 1 1/2"?
For boo backed osage 1 1/4" to 1 3/8" at the handle is all you need for a hunting weight bow even a heavy one.
It'll overpower the oak unless you trap it. It should work on the osage just fine. The "power fibers" in the rind are what do most of the work in tension from what I understand.
Thanks for the input guys.
What exactly is "trapping". I see it all the time mentioned but don't clearly understand what it is and how it works.
Cut your boo to bow shape and then thin it so that it is less than 1/16" on all the edges. This will maximize it's effectiveness and taper it. I have seen a lot of red oak boo backed bows on here. I'd lean towards the osage though.
Trapping is making the cross section of the bow trapizoidal rather that rectangular. Generally it is done to make the belly wider than the back. This increases the amount of compression stresses the belly can take. With woods with not so strong compression a trapped cross section can help keep down set and add to the durability.
How wide is your boo?
/^\\ cross section limb shape with the bottom being the belly and the ^ being the back. Imagine a straight line instead of the ^. This narrows the Bamboo a bit more to avoid crusing the oak.