I did a lot of driving today and had lots of time think about all kinds of stuff. One of the things I thought about was Quatersawn vs Flatwawn wood. They are basically 90 degrees from one another. Since quartersawn is best for backings I was thinking if a Flatsawn board is cut in half and glued together it would be wide enough for a backng. Then this new board could be sliced thin for multiple backers. This picture shows what I'm thinking. I was wondering if this would be strong enough. If I did this I would put the glue line dead center the length of the bow. If I did this would it work for a flat bow as well as an ELB? If this would work how about a trilamb setup with a dark wood pinstripe in the center?
Red is cut lines, purple is glue lines.
(http://bazillionlights.com/Images/photobucket/Flat%20to%20Quarter600.jpg)
I use the same glue up for one piece risers.Haven't tried it for backing. Might try a brake test with a piece. If the glue line holds it could work
Might be a good way to control lateral warping depending on how you glue them up. Sawed out some belly blanks and found them the next day with at least a 1/2inch of sideways bend in them. My bet is that the backing would work quite well so long as the grain doesn't run out at the glue line.
Adam
interested here too.
I sometimes build picture frames for my wife and found when I buy lumber I need to let it acclimatize to my shop for a while before I cut it. If I cut it right away it will always warp. If I give it a few weeks to hit equalebrium the boards I rip to make the frames stay relatively straight.
I use fir and spruce for the frames but I think any lumber is the same.
Also reaction wood comes into play when dealing with sawn lumber.