tri-lam warbow

[luke the drifter]

i am looking to get materials together to make a tri-lam warbow.  i thought i might try Hickory for the backing, White Oak for the core, and Osage for the belly.  any pros-and-cons with that combination?

[adb]

I've never used that combo, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I usually use hickory, ash, or maple as a backing. Mostly, I'll use a dark contrasting wood color for the mid-lam, like bloodwood or purpleheart. I think osage is the best belly wood for heavier weight laminate warbows.

I made a tri-lam warbow about a year ago... hickory back, bamboo core, and osage belly... 100#@32". Turned out fine, but you couldn't really tell it was a tri-lam. The hickory and bamboo are basically the same color.
I finished a tri-lam just his past fall... ash, purpleheart, osage. I think it looks good... you can really see the layers.

Make your backing and core lams 1/8", and then that way, you'll have enough bely wood to make weight.

[Ian.]

Ive used white oak before and backed it with ash to make a 130lb bow, to be honest its not good enough to warrant putting in between Hickory and Osage you wont increase the performance, what weight are you going for?

[Pat B]

Isn't the core lam basically a filler with not much performance value?

[adb]

Isn't the core lam basically a filler with not much performance value?

No! Absolutely not! The core material is integral to a tri-lam! 'Just anything' will not increase performance in a tri-lam. Certainly, the core material is not as important as the back or belly, but it still matters.

[nidrinr]

..In a bow with fiberglass on the back and in the belly, I think the core matters less. I've never used fiberglass, so this is just what I've heard from others..

[adb]

..In a bow with fiberglass on the back and in the belly, I think the core matters less. I've never used fiberglass, so this is just what I've heard from others..

We're not talking FG here, but yes, you are absolutely right. What is between FG matters little... some... but very little. The wood is either cosmetic with clear FG, or a binding agent to hold it. The FG is doing all the work.
An all wood multi-lam bow is, however, something all together different, and it very much matters. A dense, hard wood, like purpleheart, will add performance, and reduce set, especially with higher draw weight ELBs.

[Pat B]

Do you glue up the lams at one time or the back to the core then the belly is added later(or vice versa), possible adding different degrees of reflex at each glue up?

[adb]

No, I glue all three lams together at the same time. If I want to add reflex (and I often do), I add it in with the glue up. I kind of make a big sandwich... I use TB3, and apply glue to all bonding surfaces, and add a 1" thick extra board on top of the backing lam, and then wrap up all these layers with rubber inner tubes. If I want reflex, I block the ends up about 1-2", and then clamp the center down to my bench, and let it all dry. I also add a layer of wax paper between the backing layer and the clamping board, so they don't end up stuck.

[Cameroo]

Hey Adam,

Do you think a decent trilam could be made from maple, purpleheart, maple?

[Pat B]

Thanks. I haven't done a 3 lam ELB or war bow style bow but I have done a few flat bows but prefer backed or self bows for these.

[adb]

Hey Adam,

Do you think a decent trilam could be made from maple, purpleheart, maple?

Yes, I think it might work, as long as you didn't go too heavy. Maple is better at tension than compression. A little wider would be better also.

[nidrinr]

I've often heard maple being used as the core for horn bows, between the horn and the sinew..  I don't do laminates a lot, but I once made a bow using ash for the back, beech as a core and just a very thin piece of cherry as a belly. The cherry might be referred to as just a visual effect though, as I believe the beech took most of the compression. I guess many woods will do as long as you keep to the idea of tension strong wood as a back, compression strong wood as a belly and some "stiff wood" as a core..

[fishfinder401]

how would a maple back, red oak core and poplar belly work

[Josh]

I think it would work fine if you scraped off all the poplar during the tillering process.