let me help you out here. I will tell you that red oak is a decent bow wood. Its ALL in the design, board selection, tiller, ect. There is so much that goes into making a successful bow. you have to be aware of what your using. Splinters depends on how your working your bow. i round the backs edges before i even start tillering. splinters shouldn't be a big issue if you got a nice piece of wood. as for it being sluggish, i would prefer to think thats just bad tillering or whatnot. the best bow i made was for my sister, plenty of set and was only 3/4 inches wide, 56 inches long, and it shoots like a dream. I think the common mistake is that tips are WAY to thick or way to wide. and the other thing that may effect this is the style of the belly. her bow is FLAT belly. another that i made was slightly convex and it took tons of set. I think it is VERY important to select a GOOD style for your bow, if you dont you run the risk of set, which robs from the cast.
