Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: recurve shooter on July 06, 2008, 05:38:18 pm
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how do you get the strips of hardwood for backings? ??? i got myself some tb 2 and i want to put a backing on a redoak bow. do you just bandsaw out a strip or what? thanx in advance for the help.
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Go to your local saw mill and ask to look threw thier hickory lumber and find you a board with good grain and then saw it up on you table saw. Or if you dont have a saw ask them to cut it for you..... ;)
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But if you are like some of Us Tree Deprived Souls....then you have to buy it from a Hardwood Web Site or one of the Bowyers that have have a Website....we have a few that pay for Advertisements right here.ask them ....and most will cut it the way you need it...and as wide as you want too....they have for me......
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Here's what I do... go to a good wood supplier (Windsor Plywood for me) and purchase a 6 to 8' long plain sawn hickory board, which is 6 to 8" wide, and 2" thick. Look for straight grain, with no grain running off the board. Turn the board on edge and cut 3/16" thick strips lengthwise. That way, you end up with longitudinal grain. I cut it on my table saw. If you only have a bandsaw, the cut is too rough to use as a glue up. You can take your strips to a mill wright and have them run the strips through a thickness sander, bringing them to 1/8" thickness. This cost me $2 per board. On a table saw (if you're careful), the cuts are usually smooth enough for glue up. All told, with price of board and labour, my hickory backing strips cost $10 each. You can do the same thing with good maple, if you can find it. However, leave the maple a bit thicker at 3/16" final thickness. When you're done, you should be able to look down the backing strip on the 2" surface, and see straight grain running the entire length of the board, with no grain running off the side. If you want, I can send you pics. Just let me know.
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ok, sounds good. thanx alot. would somewhere like lowes or homedepot have something that'll work? i dont know where any actual lumberyards are.
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i dont know about in your area, but i've looked at every home depot,lowes,menards etc(all major corporate) lumber yards/home improvement stores within 100 miles of my house and all they seem to have is pine,cedar etc, your typical builders lumber nothing that i can use, so i just by on line and from guys on this site.
seems to always be of good quality this way,also as they know what i am going to do with it,so it always ssems to work great and the cost with shipping has always been fair too.
peace,
tim
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I usually do what adb does...except that he's the smart one, and buys 2" thick boards! That's a good idea! I just buy 1" boards, cut them into 1.5" rippings, and then rip those on edge to 3/16...
home depot and like stores won't satisfy. You need a friend with some good tools...
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Look in your phone book or ask furniture builders/wood workers about a supplier. For what you will pay for a backing strip you can make a dozen...and a few belly pieces. 8) Even if you pay someone to cut it for you, you will come out ahead. Pat
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I agree with Pat. Go your own way, it's much cheaper, and you can control the quality much better. I've never had any luck with Home Depot or the like. You need to find a speciality hardwood supplier, or talk to mill wrights, or furniture makers.
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will do guys, thanx.
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adb, have you ever used the white ash they sell at Windsor Plywood as backings? I bought some ash there last year, and pulled some decent, if rudimentary, laminated bows out of it, but they were all light weight...I have a bunch of yew laminations that i am beginning to work with, and I thought ash might be a good backing for it.
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Scott,
I think ash is a decent backing material, but I've never used it. Hickory or bamboo for me.
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whoa! that was eerie fast! Ignore the pm ;D
and thanks for the answer...
pj white hardwoods has sold out their hickory stock grrr...they are the most accessible hardwood shop to me...i sold a bow yesterday for a pretty penny, and want to reinvest some of the money in materials...big jug of tb2 and a 2" board for backings...bamboo is such a pain in the a##, i don't want to go there...
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Hey, Scott
I'm with you. Bamboo is an awesome backing material, perhaps the best with osage, but it sure is a pain in the arse. Hickory for me.
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Hey Adam,
I bought a couple 2" thick boards the other day,
1 is white oak
1 is white ash
They are plain sawn, and I ripped them into quarter sawn strips. Here's my Q: when you taper the tips, you get grain run out: has that been a problem? How do you deal with it? Just do a big round on the edges?
Thanks, Scott
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Hey, Scott
I don't taper the tips on my backing strips. My hickory is 1/8", and maple is 3/16". Are you using the oak as backing? I've not tried it, any idea how it'll work? Ash should be OK.
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I laminated the pieces together full width, the vertical grain running beautifully from end to end. But when I clean off the snot and draw and cut a profile, every ring (line) in the tips area (last foot or so) gets cut off.
I am mainly using the white oak as a core lam and belly lam material. However, I did cut two strips 1/8" thick to use as back lams. They are vertical grained as well, nice and straight, so should be good. I will definitely let you know how it goes.
I bought the wood at PJ White...the ash was 2x8x8'...cost $40. The oak was 2x6x8'...cost $60.
I cut the ash down into 3/16" strips. But the oak had a couple ugly spots, so I varied the size of my strips. Two a full 5/8 " thick (for core). Two 1/8" (for backing). The rest roughly 3/16 for variable use.
Ordering wood from the US is a real expense, so I want to get familiar with the possibilities of these white woods. I have some yew laminations I can use as belly lams. I have some rosewood which I bought for handles and accents.
Next few weeks oughtta see an outburst of my new bows, because I have a ton of 'em ready to tiller.
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To be clear: I didn't mean "thickness taper" but "width taper".
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As a point of interest, the one thing that is readily available at Lowes and Home Depot is thin (1/8) sheets of red oak, 6" x 30" for trimming out oak kitchen cabinet edges, often quarter sawn. the length is a bit limiting
Dave
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....could you use two pieces meating in the handle?
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I suppose you could, but I wouldn't.
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Its totally cool to use half length pieces, particularly in a rigid handle bow. Put a 4" cap piece over the joint. As to the length, if you bevel off the backing at the tips and use long overlays, you can eek a few inches. Easily get a 62" ntn bow. One other thing. did you consider using silk backing? if you've got even half way decent grain orientation with red oak, it works well, if you've got thie thickness in your board to do that.
Dave