Boo backed Ipe (not for BOM)

[Gordon]

Thank you Frode.

Thank you Jesse. These longer bows do seem to be more forgiving when shot.

Thank you Rich. I am enjoying working with Ipe, though I have a shopful of yew boards that I need to start working through.

Thank you Don. I appreciate the compliment.

Thank you Barage.

Thank you NTD. I will consider your offer if the owner is not happy with it 

Thank you for your kind words Frank.

Thank you for the compliment Rick.

Thank you Pete. I think I'm finally beginning to get a feel for what an r/d profile should look like.

Thank you Saw Filer.

Thank you Goog. The refex was glued in on a form.

Thank you Keenan. I really hope he likes it. I expect I will be over in your area in the March time frame
I still need to make a self-bow for the Mrs. And I'm going to make some arrows so they have something to start with.

Thank you adb.

Thank you for the nice compliment John.

Thank you Jeff. The main reason for the power lam is to stiffen the handle area so the handle laminations won't work loose. A side benefit is that it creates a nice shape so I don't have to build up the front of the handle.

[bigcountry]

Dad gone Gordon, as always I follow your work and strive to mimic your level of detail.  Never reach it but one day.

How thick is your power lam in the middle?  How long is it compared to past the fades?

I guess your past your bamboo blues?

[Gordon]

bigcountry,

Thank you for the compliment. The powerlam is about 5/16" in thickness,  18" long and extends 4.5" beyond the fades.

I believe the reaons for the previous bamboo failures is related to the way in which I cured the bow after a glue-up (i.e. too much heat for too long). I won't know for sure, however, until I make a few more of these.

[Gordon]

Well, I guess I was premature thinking I had my bamboo problems figured out. The backing failed as I was testing the bow on my tree this morning. Examining it closely I can't see any reason why it failed the way it did. But that's four in a row now. The only variable left is the bamboo itself. I'll discard what I have and order a new batch. And hopefully that will be the end of it. The only consolation is that I'm glad it failed now rather than later.

[Badger]

   Gordon, I started making mine a bit wider, I had a bunch of failures as well. I make a 60# ipe boo about 1 1/2 at the fades now sometimes 1 3/8. That was a beautiful bow you made and tiller was perfect, as long as you keep the outer limb narrow you won't loose any spped, actually I think you gain some because it doesn't break down as much durring tillering. Stay with it, nothing wrong with your work, Steve

[Gordon]

That seems like really good advice Steve. I think I will start making the limbs wider. That said, I'm still going to discard my existing cache of bamboo - I just don't have any confidence in it anymore.

[Cooper]

Gordon, I am sorry to hear that. Did the bamboo break or removed it from the ipe?

[Gordon]

The bamboo splintered along an edge. It's probably salvagable, but I can no longer give it to the intended owner.

[Justin Snyder]

Man that really sucks. How far from the nodes did it fail? How rounded were the corners? How about some pictures of the failed boo. I don't know that we can figure it out, but it might be educational.

Don't throw away the boo, you might decide to use it as a belly piece where it wont fail under compression.

[Jesse]

Strange. That bow certainly was built well from the looks of it.  I would get some new bamboo as well. Even though wider could be better 4 in a row is abnormal even if they were only an inch wide with a poor tiller. which they were not.

[bigcountry]

Well, I guess I was premature thinking I had my bamboo problems figured out. The backing failed as I was testing the bow on my tree this morning. Examining it closely I can't see any reason why it failed the way it did. But that's four in a row now. The only variable left is the bamboo itself. I'll discard what I have and order a new batch. And hopefully that will be the end of it. The only consolation is that I'm glad it failed now rather than later.

Sorry to hear it.  I feel responsible for some reason.  Shouldn't have mentioned it.

[Gordon]

Justin, the splinter started just off the end of a power lam and stoped about an inch short of a node. The bamboo edges were trapped slightly and then smoothed so there were no sharp corners.  I'll post some pictures later.

Bigcountry, obviously you are not responsible but your timing is remarkable. You may want to go out and buy a lottery ticket today.

[gmc]

Always love how the tips delicately roll out in the full draw pictures; another beauty for everyone to admire.

Greg

[Keenan]

 Wow Gordon, sorry to hear that, That was a great looking bow.  I will second what Justin is saying, keep the bow for belly lams.  If the splinter is on the edge would it be possible to work that part out and make it a bow for a lady?

[adb]

I really feel your pain, Gordon.    As I've mentioned before, bamboo is not in my arsenal of options anymore, for the very same reasons you're experiencing.