Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Mike L. on August 11, 2021, 01:11:52 PM
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I scored a 12’ long 4”x4” of ipe. It seems totally clean, regular density and grain, no knots to speak of… aside from being so heavy as to seem like someone’s playing a trick on me, is it suitable for core lams? Or is it much too heavy or too oily? I’ve seen it used in risers I think, pretty boring for a limb veneer. What would you do with it?
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If the grain is straight it would be Awesome for a Bamboo backed Ipe (Vertical grain).
Good and stiff for lams but heavy, I don't know if the stiffness would out weight the weight for performance. But James Parker said it was good :thumbsup:
I got a 9 foot 1 x 6 at the classic for $40.00. I cut it to 36"
3 boards on the left, Blond Ipe
(https://i.imgur.com/Lsv6IUD.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/1W5RwiV.jpg)
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You certainly can use Ipe for a core lam. And you are right its heavy as hell and hell on tools. I have used it as a belly side lam in a glass bow. Only made one. I would recommend making Ipe lams substantially thinner than you would for most other woods
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James Parker makes Bamboo back and Belly with Ipe as the core :thumbsup:
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There is way better choice for core on a glass bow.
I have used it for I beams and wedges .
I even had some once that had some grain in it that I made a riser from.
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I have a ton of maple and yew that I normally use for cores. I think both are probably better suited to that than Ipe; I’m just looking for ideas for what to do with it, and I wondered if it would work for cores or if there’s some reason why it’s not suited for it.
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I think a thin core of Ipe with other woods in the stack might be a nice way to add weight without too much stack depth. I'll try it at some point and report back.