Most dependable tri lam wood combos and design??

[jaybirdjones]

So ive made two takedown recurve bows with them same batch of locally milled maple...14 yrs dry. The first Two limbs broke at at mistakes and dips, the next four have so far stayed together. Now im making one for the local VFW charity auction by request and i wouldnt want to have the limbs explode on the buyer and have it disparage on the VFW ( or myself for that matter ) possibly even someone getting hurt.
    Im looking for any advice on the most dependable wood combos and thicknesses. My current thought is a red oak core, with osage on the back an belly. My design is a 22 inch riser, arms cut at 20° . The limbs are 26 - 28 inches long each so far. 1 1/2 inches wide. Backing is 1/8 , 1/4 inch. core tapered to 1/8, bellies are also 1/8
  Also a fairly severe recurve ...not extreme... but more than a wing tip
 Any advice at all on.....well anything😁 will be helpful, id like to make this bow with as much a proven
and dependable design i can

[sleek]

The most dependable one is one that is well crafted. Considering the purpose of this bow, id just make something simple. Murphys law does apply. I dont know if red oak would be ideal on a core, perhaps bamboo would be a better choice. Often times, workmanship will end a bow before its material choice does. Just pick something you can do well and go with that.

[Woodely]

Have you considered Ipe.  "Often times, workmanship will end a bow before its material choice does. "   ........that pretty well sums it up.  Do you have pics of your two takedown recurve bows .

[Dances with squirrels]

I would NOT do what you mentioned, osage/oak/osage. I've made trilams out of osage, yew, locust, mulberry, hickory, hophornbeam, cherry, etc, but to answer your question, what I trust most is Bamboo/osage/osage... straight grained, no ring runout, perfectly clear quarter or rift sawn Osage.

Deflex/reflex, with the reflex accelerating a little bit in the outer limb, like a semi-recurve. That's my favorite. Very stable.

22" riser seems exceptionally long. Longest I've done it 15". Shortest was 9". Depends on bow overall length, draw length, and design.

I don't care for whitewood unless I know exactly how it was cared for from the time the tree was cut. That said, I'm going to a sawmill in about an hour to see what he has. I know he has a nice pile of sugar maple and wild cherry, but ya never know what else you'll find.

[jaybirdjones]

I tried for awhile woodely to get the pictures posted and they didnt go through, kind of relieved because the first one has a camo/woodburned/autumn finish that is uuuummmm......not ..flattering. thank you sleek your comment had the effect of one hand clapping, kinda zenned and cleared me up. And definetly thanks DWS for the solid info

[Del the cat]

Why tri lam?
Reliability is inversely proportional to complexity.
A good backing is key, and careful prep, for the glue up.
Del

[Hrothgar]

Del x2;  Better choices than osage for backing would be hickory or bamboo.

[jaybirdjones]

I watched a video on guitar making and on the section where he glues the finger board to the neck he machines flat a block and clamps the sandpaper to the block for sanding the glued side of the finger board. I'm going to try something similar with my lams this time, only with a pane of glass. Im gonna kinda biscuit joint the glass into four short 4x4s, making kind of a perfectly planed flat surface standing a few inches off the top of the worktable. A very breakable situation for a garage but still beneficial I think☺

[PatM]

Just get a nice flat board and glue or stick sandpaper to it.  That's easily flat enough for the job.