Use a power lam or not?

[Easternarcher]

For those who build laminated or backed bows, is it necessary to use a power lam under the backing?
I'm beginning to think no, if you use a long enough riser section and taper the fades enough to act as the power lam, or just a normal riser with no lam?
I find that getting tight glue lines at the feathered tip of the lamination especially under bamboo backing can be tricky..

[Pat B]

The main purpose of a power lam as I understand it is to help prevent the handle area from bending which is the usual reason handle risers pop off. If your handle area has enough meat to it then a power lam is not necessary.

[LJB]

Hi,

with a gleud on handle i use a powerlam.
But, you can leave the handle area of the bellylam thicker and let the fades be part of the belly lam, like this:



I think in this case i didnt have to build in a powerlam....but i did

[vyadha]

none of my lam bows have powerlams. I make them all the way LJB showed. I tried making my first powerlam two days ago, drove me insane.

[Gordon]

What Pat said. A powerlam is not necessary if you have sufficient wood thickness in the handle area.

[Easternarcher]

The grips on my bows are always pretty substantial.
As I understood it, the power lam was there to provide a transition between the fade and belly wood and if made long enough would impart some extra draw weight to the bow. I got this reasoning in discussion with an experienced bowyer.

Yes, making a proper lam can be time consuming, tedious and I began to wonder, why do it?
Today I cut and ground to shape a riser with rather long tapered fades similar to the Hill style of grip without a powerlam, as I'm guessing these longer fades tapered smoothly to blend in with the belly wood will serve the same purpose, if only exposed on the belly side instead of sandwiched under the backing.

[bryan irwin]

i use power lams on lamanat bows like the others said its to stiffen up the handle so it wont pop off