We just got a 10,000$ load of Ipe delivered to the deck job we're working and there should be enough to make a few bows left over when we are done. I'll probably have to make the general contractor a bow in order to get some of the leftovers.
Anyway, what I'm looking for is info on the qualities of ipe so when I go to make a bow from it I won't break the first half dozen.
Any info would be appreciated. Glues useable, dimensions, degreasing/ acetone before glueing,anything you think might be useful information for a guy just starting out with Brazilian Walnut.
You heard that joke? A blonde lady's reading the newspaper on a bus, the headline states "Brazillians injured in soccer riot" . She turns to the guy next to her and says "How many is a brazillian anyway?"
http://www.geocities.com/salampsio/ipe1.htm
Great build along here, not sure if it's what your looking for, but it's got some good info.
haha...funny Joke. I'll be sure to tell it to my blonde wife (the one with a 4.0 GPA Master's Degree). :readit:
Anyway, I have not used Ipe yet, but I'm planning to use it in a tri-lam with bamboo backing. As far as I know it's rediculously dense and heavy, has a high modulous of elasticity (springy), and it nearly indestructable. It seems that using it with a backing like Bamboo or Hickory is the best way to get the most from it.
-Brett
Thanks Chris,I needed a good laugh this morning :biglaugh:
I will make sure to show the wife when she gets home,She is a true blond and loves blond jokes too.
Tracy
Thanks You-daho. Got alot of info from yer link there.
002, You could just as easily tell the joke with "compound shooter" in the place of the blonde woman I guess.
10K worth of Ipe huh? what will that cover? About 48 square feet? :)
I've got some sitting in my barn from a deck we did a couple of years ago. That stuff is so dense it doesn't float. it's also hell on tools and screws. If you don't pre-drill every hole you'll have a lot of scrap for bows before they are done. Trust me.
Good luck, I'd love to see what you come out with.
I've built a half a dozen or so with ipe.Great wood.Prefer it over osage. Just as strong if not stronger and no early wood to speak of. For a 60#,64"NTN Bamboo or hickory backed R/D I go 1 1/4" wide at the fades to 1/2" tips.7/16" tapered belly slat will get you that weight and more.It seems to like narrow and not thin. The only failures I've had was when I thinned the belly on a trilam and lost it at the bottom of the deflex.The darker wood seems to be stronger than the lighter stuff.Urac works well for glue. I don't degrease it before glueing.Haven't had a glue failure.
Good luck!
Yeah, they figgered out the whole pre-drill thing yesterday.
Its a pretty good sized bunk of wood but it doesn't look like 10,000$ to me.