bamboo strips

[rkeltner]

i have been brainstorming about backings and was wondering if anybody had ever tried to use either chair maker's cane or bamboo strips laid in a parallel configuration on the back of a bow? would that work, or would there be problems with glue failure or splitting?

[MattE]

Every thing you mentioned has been tried. Ben Pearson made bows in the fifties that used two strips of bamboo side by side the length of the bow. I don't understand why bowyers today don't use this method ? It works!

[Pat B]

I read years ago about using bamboo blinds slats, glued side by side for backing. I might have been Tim Barker and either in one of the TBB series or an old PA Magazine.  I use rattan chair caning for handle wraps but I don't think it would be strong enough for a backing. Rattan is a vine and has nodes like bamboo. Those nodes are the weak link.    Pat