Help?

[Hoodoo]

I am in the process of making a red oak bow. what woould you recommend i back it with( or should i back it?) when in the process should i do this and how should i do? thanks to all that respond,
Trey

[sailordad]

is this bow from a red oak stave or board?
is there an issue with the back and is that why you are thinking of backing it?
if you do back it i recomend doing it at floor tiller stage.
you can us e alot of differant things as a backing.
you can use a brown grocery bag,silk,linen,cloth,rawhide sinew,cherry bark(always cool looking),snake skins,another wood or bamboo and many more.
depending on the backing you use,would determine the process of how to do it.

[Aosda]

I backed mine with Poplar(not recommended), I was told that Maple would be alright or thin Hickory.  I backed mine after I got the board to floor tiller.  Used Tight BondIII.  Just keep in mind that that was my first bow, so I may have done it not in a quite correct sequence.  It turned out ok though, 50# @ 28"  72"TtT.  Good luck, can't wait to see it finished.

Tavis

[Aosda]

If you're gonna use another piece of wood, try not to go over 1/4", you'll end up over powering the belly and having to do back tiller(again I learn the hard way ).  And I beleive if you check out Jawge's site, he has really good info for the R.O. Board.

[Aosda]

http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/boardbowbuildalong.html

[Pat B]

If you have hickory, it makes a good backing for red oak. I usually cut backing strips at 3/16" and after sanding out the tool marks end up with 1/8" or less. My first few hickory backed bows were backed with terribly violated grain hickory. I was fortunate that none of the backing strips failed.
If you are just starting out making bows, a simple paper or cloth backing is the easiest and will give you a bit of insurance towards success.

Trey, for an insurance backing(paper, cloth, rawhide) the process is pretty simple. The material you use can be any of what SailorDad said. Once you have the material cut it slightly bigger than each limb( I like to do one limb at a time, overlapping at the handle). Spread glue on the bow's back and coat the material and put them together. Now, start at the handle and work out the limb squeezing out excess glue and removing any air bubbles. You want the glue and material become one when cured. This is where the strength is.
   When cured, trim the edges and you are ready to go. You can sand the backing to prepare it for a finish but you don't need to do that until later.

[Pat B]

For a simple wood to wood glue up, TB glue will do the trick. When cured the glue is stronger than the wood. That is about all I use anymore.