I am not building a bow literally, but am specifying choices to a bowyer tradesman to build me one.
Question is : limb core choice- is there an all out top choice for speed & durability ? It will be a recurve.
Bamboo ? Osage ? Red Elm ?
Action boo is my vote. Light, quick and affordable. Flat sawn elm makes a sharp veneer in my eyes.
If its going to be a glass bow then I think its just a matter of which one you think looks the best. The glass would be doing most of the work. Bamboo over osage if its an all wood bow.
What does the bower like? I like amberboo or edge grain red elm tapers..
Desert Camo Action Wood under glass makes me tingle all over, then action boo cores under that should make a PDQ bow and will look sweet!
If I had a new bow being built and had my choice of woods and cores, that's what it would be.
I also like the Grey Camo Action Wood for a darker bow.
Thanks. Bowyers seem to be very busy and around here trad. is picking up alot.
I really like action boo or natural boo if it is under colored glass. I really like the looks of bocote wood under clear glass so next one with have a thin bocote parallel over a boo core. If, all goes well?
I'm having a longbow built with Osage over natural boo.. I like the looks of a nice piece of Osage and the speed of the boo..
do a search, Kennym did a bunch of test bows useing different core woods and posted the results.
This may be a question to ask... how wide do you want your bow to be? I know bamboo backed ipe can make a thinner backed bow than say bamboo backed osage. It may not be much difference but it is a bit. I know that if it is a glass bow the glass does most of the work but if it is an all wood glue up you might be interested in a thinner bow than thicker. Just .02 to think about.