i beam construction

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i know that i have posted on here looking for a person to make a riser, and said that i am not a good wood worker but i think i have decided to go ahead and try to make my own. if it fails i learned one way not to make a riser      but after reading and seeing a bunch of very beautiful bows made on here i decided i would go ahead and try to attempt to build a riser and then maybe a full bow. My questions are 1) how does one build an ibeam riser and 2) would red oak, cherry, mahogany, black walnut, maple, ash or combinations of said woods be good woods to work with? these woods are what i have readily available and on hand. the riser i have planned is for about a 15-17 inch riser (havent decided yet) 55# recurve. if any more info is needed i will be glad to give it. thank you again for all the help and information  

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i forgot to add that the total length of the bow would be somewhere between 56-58" unstrung...if that helps any  :p

[Crooked Stic]

If this is a one piece then about any of the above in combo would work--glass on both sides.
Now a takedown is a different animal. Ash would make a good beam as would hard maple. Ibeam construction is three pieces glued together running the length of the riser. Also on a takedown a couple of layers of glass on the front will strengthen things up to.  

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it is a three piece take down. i am not sure if this is even possible but i would like to stay away from any non-nature products (not trying to sound tree hugger-ish or bashing man made stuff) like phenolics, micarta, g10, and fiberglass...ive worked with them before and i honestly dont care for them in a working perspective so im trying to stay with all wood or wood and bone/antler...just trying to make sure i do it right; but if not its no big deal...lol

[-snypershot317-]

that is a very cool riser too..i like the red in it and shape. its very nice looking    

[LittleBen]

I think you'd be fine with any of the woods mentioned. If you concerned about strength you can just make it a little bulkier, but I wouldn't worry a ton. I don't know about mahogony how strong it is .... but the others shoudl be ok. Of the lot, black walknut is probably the weakest.

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ok thank you. i also have access to birch and hickory...i will try to avoid using black walnut and mahogany then seems how they could be structurally unsound. i really dont want the bow to fly apart in my face    :eek: