So silly question here,I have come up with while browsing the hardwood stacks looking for a board to turn into a bow.
I know when trying for an unbacked bow that obviously straight grain with no runouts is what you want.
I know that when you have enough run outs that you would want to back the bow with a straight grained backing.
So my question is this.
If you are already planning to back the bow Say with Straight grained hickory, would the worst board, say just a simple plain sawn board still work ok as long as it was from a desirable and dense wood?
Or to put it a different way is there a board so bad that you cannot use it if it is backed?
Probably just over thinking this I know but I was curious..
even a backed board has limitations. The grain should be as straight as possible, but it doesn;t need to be selfbow straight.
Sever grain runout can cause problem even just for a belly lamination.
Thanks Ben,
So out of curiosity what would end up being the problems you might see.
I am thinking that the worse the grain the higher chance that the belly might develop frets, or would it even be a case of the belly could then crush and break?
Would not want to waste time on something that is not a good idea, but at the same time I am just kind of curious as to what happens.....
Sort of that watch a car accident impulse you know...
Dave
Dave, think of it like this; The more runouts or flaws you have in the belly wood the more work you are asking that 3/16" or thinner piece of hickory to do. So, even if it does keep it from breaking, you'll more than likely end up with a poor performance bow.
Dan,
Thanks, now that you phrase it that way it seems kind of obvious. Not sure why it did not occur to me that way before...
One track mind here I guess and I get distracted by silly questions from time to time.
Dave