i am in the process of building an ibeam riser for a take down recurve (as posted in the bowyers bench) and have come to a delima of which to choose. the 'beam' is going to be hickory, but i cant decide between aspen or red oak to e the outter parts of the riser. what would you all choose? or another hard wood that is easily accessible.    

Between the aspen and oak, I'd go with oak. Aspen is too fuzzy and has little or no character. There are probably prettier choices than either of those two. Hard maple is hard to beat. If you are near a Rockler Woodworking store, they often have small pieces of exotic woods that would dress up the riser. A darker wood would create a nice contrast with the hickory.

I've tried to work with aspen and now avoid it like poison! Poplar would be a much better choice if you are looking for inexpensive woods. The sap wood is green, which may or may not be to your liking. The heart wood is similar in color to aspen, but has more grain. It also doesn't fuzz like aspen.

Aspen... I would have never guessed it to be workable...
Photos?

thank you coupe. i would like to use some sort of unique grained wood, but i have none that are closesly available or relatively inexpensive. i agree that the darker wood would look better but unfortunately i am limited on what i have available. and Matty, once i am done i plan on posting pictures with the completed riser and bow. i am just wanting to make sure i choose some decent woods to start with...lol