I'm finishing up a new longbow today. It has a solid osage riser. I can feel it flexing ever so slightly when shooting. The riser is 1 3/4" deep by 1 1/8" wide. She draws around 49@28. My band saw won't cut another piece of hardwood like osage for footing like I did on the first one. I have another bandsaw in the works. Do you folks think this will be a problem. She is a really good shooter.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Second%20glass/Riser-1.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Second%20glass/Riser-2.jpg)
there are at least two issues with a riser that bends. One is hand shock...it'll have more than a more rigid riser. (I'm convinced that all risers bend a little)
If you like it then it's not a problem.
The other is it won't be quite as fast as a more rigid riser would be. Again, if you can live with it then no problem.
Laminated risers are very popular not so much because they are pretty as the increase of rigidity it brings to the party.
I was told by the bowyer who taught me to build a few that just as charlie said, all risers bend a hair.
Thanks folks! I just hadn't noticed it before in other bows of this style. It is not much, but just enough to feel if you are paying attention. This one is looking classy with the first coat of tru-oil!
it will probably be fine it looks like your edge grain runs side to side instead of front to back rotate that wood 90 deg next time and you probably wont feel it flex
Charlie's right - all risers deform at least a little under the stress of drawing the bow. Aluminum risers flex, wood risers flex, every riser flexes. As Charlie said, the only problem is if it: a) hurts performance, or b) it breaks (hopefully that won't be the case). In the photos your bow riser looks every bit as strong to me as those shot by Howard Hill when he was pulling very heavy bows.