prepping for bamboo

[possum]

I have an osage stave that I working toward getting bamboo on.  I have a question (or 2 or 3).  It has some "fissures" or something in the back.  Could I just basically decrown the back and get it straight?  By decrown I don't really mean the "nice and neat" version but just disregard the grain somewhat and just make the back flat.  There is a bend toward the belly that I will remove and that will give the bow a 2-3" reflex and after trimming the bow it will be about 1 1/4" wide.  Anyway my question is really about the flattening of the back.  Will the bamboo handle a little bit of grain violation, or even a moderate amount?

possum

[Badger]

Possum, if you are going to use bamboo on the back of osage then grain violation is not an issue, the bamboo wlll be the back, you will have to flatten the osage completely flat to get a good bond when you back it. Steve

[jamie]

if you are talking about decrowning the bamboo id say no way . dont want to violate the fibers on bamboo or it blows up.

[possum]

nah, I was wondering about the osage.  Now I get to get a perfectly flat gluing surface for the osage.   Fun fun fun.  Probably be easier on a board.  Oh well, this'll be fun.

possum

thanks for the help.

[possum]

Ok I got the stave pretty flat on the back and was gonna straighten, well, bend the one limb to match the other's reflex, before I finished flattening the back.  What thickness should I start with on the sage?  The bow may be upto 55-60#.  It is 1 1/4" wide, 63" and the boo is down to .200".  I hope that gives enough info.

possum

[Justin Snyder]

You are getting really close to what is needed for that weight, but it depends so much on the properties of the wood.  I would make sure that the back of the osage is good and flat like Steve said.  You would rather have a bow at 40# because you ran out of wood than a bow that broke because you didn't want to take any more wood off while prepping.  Justin

[possum]

I don't really mind a lighter weight bow but in the process of heat bending the wood I want it thinner but not too thin.  Just thin enough to bend without breaking or splintering really.  I don't have a problem getting it flat but I need to bend it first.  You know, get the roller coaster out of it.  I was thinking 1/2".  Is that thin enough to bend and still leave enough wood to make that weight?

possum

[Justin Snyder]

OOPS, sorry I miss read. I thought you had the osage to .2".  I think you will end up with around 3/16" of osage on the limbs, so take it down to around 3/8 and you should be able to bend it a lot easier and have plenty of wood for 60#.  Justin

[possum]

Thanks Justin.  That was what I was wondering.  I was just having a difficult time putting the question into words, I guess.

possum