Ipe questions

[razorback]

I have a nice piece of Ipe that I want to turn into a bow. I Have both bamboo and hickory with which to back it and was thinking of a bow with straight limbs or maybe flipping the tips a bit. How does Ipe respond to heat (hot or dry) and does it have an issue with string follow. Most ipe bows I see are r/d's of some sort. I'm not interested in making one of those at the moment so would like some pointers on other options.

[Onehair]

I have heated ipe and had fair results, not what I get out of osage. And just a heads up, I had only good success with a flat belly. All of the radius-ed bellied bows I built failed. Could be me.

[macbow]

I read here somewhere that IPE can be bent with dry heat.
I have not tried it.
I'm more of a R/D type. Just love the feel of shooting them.
Either the bamboo or hickory should work fine.

[fujimo]

i have done both, hickory is a safer bet- but boo looks way nicer....    
i have never tried to flip the tips, i did some that had a general glued in back set. then i did one where i glued on static tips, got the inspiration from 4est trekkers "so you want to build a bow " thread
worked out pretty nice- well at least i thought   :D

[bigcountry]

I think I am done with bamboo.  Hickory is darn tough.  I have made two bamboo backed bows.  And you have to be careful at the nodes (whatever you call em) not to sand too deep into the power fibers.  

I can't bend good IPE with anything.  I am talking that dark choc color real oily stuff.  Just form it in your caul and glue in the reflex deflex.

[bubby]

epe really likes to be straight, that's why it's such good bow wood, you could glue in some reflex and do a glued on flip, it's basically a long, thick overlay and simple, 4est trekker did a nice how to on it, I've done quite a few this way, comes out nice and they look great, bub

[bubby]

like this

[razorback]

Bubby,
That is pretty much what I was thinking of doing. I have used those tip overlays on several different bows and really like them. I like the braced profile of that bow, hopefully mine will turn out as nice.
Have you had any issue with string follow. I like to tiller slow with lots of exercise so I don't normally end up with a lot, though I know some woods are more susceptible than others.

[ChuckC]

how much IPE is needed (thickness) to make a normal weight bow ?

Nice bow bubby, I like it.

ChuckC

[Pat B]

If you do your part ipe shouldn't have much string follow if any. Add a few inches(3" to 4")of glued in reflex and the bow should turn out with a little reflex after shooting in.
I've never tried heat with ipe but others have said it doesn't work well. I know some that have added reflex or recurves by using the kerf method of bending ipe.
Hickory makes a great backing for ipe and IMO is ore reliable than boo.

[macbow]

1/2 inch thickness will make a 50 pound bow easily.

[Onehair]

The last I built 64 ttt. It still has over an inch of back set after months of shooting. Very tough stuff.

[razorback]

I have reduced my piece to 5/8" and will glue on a stiff handle section and a couple of inches of reflex. I will also add some tip over lays, more for the look than any real performance. I am going for 55#@28" and will use the hickory backing. Why learn a new wood and new backing material at the same time. Seems like it would be asking for trouble. Does Hickory need to be trapped with Ipe or is its compression strength up to the task.

[EASTERNARCHER]

I cut a splice in my ipe tips to allow a wedge to be glued in. This allows for more reflex to be added to the tips. looks nice too.
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[Pat B]

Hickory is up to the task as is the ipe. I never trapped hickory backing for ipe or any other belly wood.
Do be sure your tiller is good and don't overstress the ipe. Even though it is very strong in compression it will still fret if you hinge an area.

[bubby]

the hickory will be fine just round the edges, I've used hard maple on epe and it works great, it has become my go to backer, you can rip a one by of epe and easy get two 50# bows

[razorback]

Bubby,
What are the dimensions of that bow and were the limbs straight except for the glued on tips?
What sort of taper can I expect to have (thickness) from fade to tip on the Ipe. I'm thinking 8" parallel then tapering to 1/2" tips. O will then thin those in final shaping.

[bubby]

that bow was 60 1/2" ntn with a maple backer 3/16" thick and the belly was about 1/2" to start, and got a 28" draw at 53#, I think the middle was 1 1/4" parallel  then straight taper to 1/2"

[razorback]

Thanks, I'm looking forward to making this bow. I'll post pics as I go along.

[bubby]

good luck, cant wait to see it