I want to build a dual shelf kid bow and I am wondering what is the minimum thickness I should keep for the riser
Would 1/4" be enough with a wood riser?

I am thinking building it 10#@18", roughly 20#@28".
54" bow

Thanks

1/4" is not much meat. It would be pretty easy to grab the limbs and snap that by hand.

Also depends on how deep the riser is

Otherwise I was thinking about doing a g10 I-beam, just to be safe

I'm with Flem. 1/4" would bend or break quite easily.

1/4" of G10 would be good, with the rest of the handle being wood.

G-10 sounds like a good idea. Either that or some titanium
Like Mike said, it does depend on how deep it is. But since you said it going to be a kid's bow, I doubt that riser will be more than a few inches deep. I can't think of any wood in a 1/4"X 3" dimension, that would be strong enough to last very long.

Thanks for all the advice

KISS=Keep It Simple Stupid 
arrow paradox
I have made glass and selfbows  3/4" wide and 1-3/4" deep, no shelf, The arrow will go around and the kids will be Happy
50#@28"

Mark, the instant of seeing that bow I felt a huge urge to build one. 

Regarding the kids bow, we are only dealing with 20#.  Probably doesn't need anything, but four or five layers of glass should do it.

Yeah it needs to be tough too.
Here is a side view

Nice!

ztontonz
Keep us posted on what you doing

Quote from: Mad Max on April 22, 2020, 10:50:16 PM
Yeah it needs to be tough too.
Here is a side view

Awesome

I decided to do a fiber beam, and luckily came across a left over sheet of g10. It's thin but I think 5 sheets will do it

Quote from: Mad Max on April 22, 2020, 10:50:16 PM
Yeah it needs to be tough too.
Here is a side view

Is this riser spectra? I like the look!

Dymondwood (Cocobolo) from Rosewood
really thin layers, looks more like real wood.

So here is the bow I made my son. I didn't reduce the thickness in the window too much. The g10 probably wasn't necessary.

 -

Built it a of my D/R mold, but with a 15" handle (usually 17") and in a 56" length.
Two thin superlams. It pulls a good 17#@28"!

I am really surprised by the bend of these limbs. I find it more balanced than the 60" or 58" I did out of the same form.

Here is the bow at 28" & 29.5"

Now I'm thinking I have to make another one in the 45# range