Best core wood

[Mad Max]

What is your best core wood for fiber glass bow

for weight      

1  bamboo        
2  Osage          
3  Maple          
4  Elm            
5  Cherry        
6  Hickory      
7  Ash

for performance
1 Bamboo
2 Osage
3 Maple
4 Elm
5 Cherry
6 Hickory
7 Ash

what else

[Trux Turning]

The 4 I use the most- bamboo, maple, elm and action wood

[jess stuart]

I have used all of the ones you have listed plus black locust, ash, black walnut and probably another or two I don't recall.  Overall my favorite has to be hard rock maple others may be equal but certainly no better.

[delongbows]

Out of all the bows I have built using my design the best speed was with bamboo, but it didn't have the best manners. My personal favorite has been black locust inner core with maple outer lams. It is very smooth and quiet, with speed only a few fps behind the bamboo.

[kennym]

Hey Mark, here is some reading when you have time. Not sure I proved anything except design trumps core wood....


http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001491;p=1

[Troy D. Breeding]

Edge grain black walnut for weight. It's really light and recovers fast.

For preformance edge grain black locust is hard to beat.

[jsweka]

I was really impressed with the combination of walnut and cherry canopyboy put in his swap bow this year.  It had just as much cast with the same arrows as my longbow which is about 10# heavier.  The next one I build for myself will have walnut lams.

[Todd Cook]

I use walnut quite a bit. To me it's hard to beat in a glass bow.

[Bowjunkie]

Weight IS performance... part of it anyway. I think of wood lams in terms of weight/resilience and aesthetics. Some can satiate me in both of those categories, while others are used with a more specific purpose in mind.

Cherry, Sassafras, Red Elm, and Yew are some of my favorites which I will use quartersawn inside for strength and consistency. .. and then flatsawn under the clear glass for looks.

I don't particularly care for the look of walnut under clear glass, so use it inside with something more aesthetically pleasing visible under the glass.

[chackworth3]

I like a-boo for its consistency and actionwood is a close second. Pac yew is my overall favorite just because of looks plus how light and smooth it is and it performs right up there with the others. Zebrawood makes for a fast, sweet shooting core wood, not sure about its longevity though if anyone else has ever used it...I've used walnut too and it is a good, light, fast core wood but also question it's longevity as compared to a-boo or maple if anyone has any insight on it as well...