So i know a while ago i posted on here some questions on an i beam riser and woods and their construction. after some debate (and saving money) i have decided that i am going to attempt my first riser with a spare set of limbs i have lying around. The dimensions of the riser will be 16" long x 2" wide x 1.5" thick with an ibeam of .5" running through the length of the riser, with a 1/16" overlay on the very outside of the entire riser. the ibeam will be made of hickory and the outer 1 (or the two other .5" pieces) im planning on making out of maple. My question is would it be ok to make some accent pieces just in the maple out of cherry, walnut, mahogany or other U.S. hardwood with out sacrificing integrity/strength? and my other question is do you all who have more experience in this think this combo would be strong enough for roughly #45-55 of bow weight? I am not sure on the exact weight because I believe I have the correct angle on the riser but I'm new so I'm 100% but the limbs I know are marked for 55 though...but i do know that a lot plays into actual draw weight. I am asking a lot, I know, but due to lack of finances and time (working 7 days a week :bigsmyl:
Any reasonably strong hardwood is fine for a riser fo 1.5" width.
If you want insirance, glue ona strip for fiberglass or phenolic onto the back of the riser. That will help prevent any cracking from starting.
Hickory is extremely strong, and hard maple is quite strong as well.
You have no problems from a materials perspective.
Post some pisc and you'll get more specific feedback about how to avoid problems.
Thank you LittleBen. Ill be sure to post some pictures as i go. unfortunately, it will be postponed for a little bit due to higher necessity, but in the mean time i will post pictures of my other project, a birch bark camoed bow. I'll be using my current recurve for this seems how ive been wanting to camo it, but wanting a natural camo thats also unique. I have birch trees where i live so went ahead and pulled some bark, and am letting dry. I will keep you all posted on how it goes.
sniper
yes you can accent the outer layers and leave the "I" bean solid--I've done a few that way--but only have a photo of one with the accent all the way through--
(http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj319/kittitiny/pinewood004.jpg) (http://s275.photobucket.com/user/kittitiny/media/pinewood004.jpg.html)
purple heart beam /curly maple