Bouncing an idea off your collective heads...

[SLIMBOB]

Agree with Ed. Trapping the back or leaving a high crown would be a bad call on tension weak woods like ERC.  You would leave a crown or trap the back when you have a wood that is stronger in tension than compression.  That comprises most of our bow woods BTW.  ERC, and a few others being the exceptions.   

[loon]

oh
Yeah, that makes sense haha. Then tapering to the belly would make more sense?

[SLIMBOB]

Yep, but narrowing the belly equals widening the back.  Decrowning will accomplish that.

[sleek]

Yep, but narrowing the belly equals widening the back.  Decrowning will accomplish that.

Exactly. But, with bamboo being glued on as is his plan, he just needs to get the back flat, and have as much heartwood on the belly as possible. Ring orientation wont matter.

[bubby]

I think i would keep sleeks half , sorry sleek😋, and i would try and get 2 slats of heartwood and glue up a tri lam with boo or maple and go a slight d/r

[BowEd]

There ya go with bubs idea but if bamboo is involved with red cedar in a combo the cedar needs to be flat[maybe with maple] to compensate against the bamboo and the bamboo can be crowned.Toast the bamboo first too.Just a wild mean thought....ha ha.

[BowEd]

Onebowonder....One thing about the end of that stave there.The heartwood will be variable all through out that stave.In and out of the sapwood along it's length.Some places more than others.No harm in it though.Just so you know that already.

[sleek]

That aughta make it look cool if it comes through the belly.

[DuBois]

I say saw off the back near to right down the middle and belly side so you get just a little trapped belly, flip the tips slightly, and sinew the snot out of the back so it regains it's crown. I think it would be a beauty with the sapwood sides and red belly.

[loon]

So, weak at the back means the back is less stiff, not more brittle?

[DC]

A back has to be strong in tension, a belly in compression. It may just be semantics but I don't think brittle is a good description. Stiffness, I think, just determines how much wood you're going to need. For example Yew bends very easily, so you need more of it to reach a certain draw weight. Ocean Spray ,on the other hand, is like a steel bar and you need a lot less to reach the same draw weight. I often wonder if stiffness is just a function of SG???

[SLIMBOB]

I think brittle is a pretty good description for some woods.  Mostly from a tension standpoint.  Black Cherry, I would describe as brittle.  The back can at some point just snap like a candy cane.  Some woods can be heavy and yet lack elasticity.  If it is lacking it in tension, then it can seem brittle.  Live Oak, based on my limited experience with it.  If lacking in compression, then it tends to take more set.  Hackberry I would put in the last category, though it can be greatly improved compression wise by heat tempering.
I think the key is either starting with a wood that has a good balance between compression and tension elasticity, Osage as an example, or bringing those things into balance thru design and modification (tempering, trapping etc..).

[sleek]

So, weak at the back means the back is less stiff, not more brittle?

It means too stiff, and as a result, more brittle.

[sleek]

Slimbob, you mentioned black cherry and bow in the same paragraph. My hair is actually standing on my neck and back of my arms remebering the pain.  I had a black cherry bow backed with silk. It blew on me at full draw. I wasnt wearing a shirt. The flying limb struck me in the left nipple. I actually thought it was ripped off it hurt so bad.

I will pee on an electric fence before I ever pick up another piece of black cherry.

[SLIMBOB]

The most violent break I have had was with Black Cherry as well.  A buddy of mine was watching as I drew it back and BLAMM!  Shrapnel everywhere.  I short drew everything for months after that.