i have made 3 laminated bows ,i have been using sasifrass laminates,the core and the back,belly all 1/16 in,tapered down.075 ,the bow is 66 in,and between 45 to 50 lb,im going to use three rivers bocote laminates on my next one but they are thinner than what i have been using,so my question is ,will 1/8 or 3/16 be to thick for the core,,or do i need thinner pcs glued together to get the 1/8 or 3/16 any info will be nice,,thanks ,,jeff
For me it would depend on the bows profile.A mild rd bow and I would not worry about the thicker core too much.If the bow has a lot of curves in it 2 thinner pieces would be much easier to glueup around fades and such.It will also hold the shape from the form a little better.jmo
it should have just enough flex to notice,jeff
it takes more sassafrass "thicker" than almost any other wood for laminated bows.i just finished a 66" tip to tip bow.i used cedar back and belly lams..065 each,tapered .001,plus 2 edge grain elm parrallel core lams,1 was .060,the other .040,pluss .050 glass front and belly.for a total center stack thickness of .330 plus glue joints of an extra, about .020.total= .350.it came in at 52#s at 28" with a 19" riser.after a little extra work i have it finished at 46#.hope this helps.