Thanks SRS! You should definitely try the static tips, I love 'em.
The maple as backing was recommended by a few people here when I was starting the project, and hasn't let me down. Both the BL and the maple came from board, so getting that straight grain on the back was crucial, but it's worked out nicely.
As far as the tips go, I shape them down most of the way before boiling-n'-bending, just to make the bend easier and (hopefully) less prone to splintering, but there are definite down-sides to that: for one, it's better to leave the tips wide during bending so that if you end up with string-alignment issues, you can shave down the tips accordingly to correct the problem. That was actually something I learned the hard way with this bow. Plus, as I mentioned above, the BL splintered badly during bending anyway, even though I'd thinned it down, so I'm not sure that's actually the way to go.
