A question for those of you who have built bamboo backed osage bows, did you orient the osage edge grain or flat grain? Why?

you will see the grain running every which way on lots of BBOs without any issues, but the best I have ever made is a beautiful piece of edge grain. I have shot it thousands of times and let anyone that wanted to shoot it do so at MoJam and OJam...I've also left it strung all day while hunting, many times, with no change is profile or draw weight. Arvin just finished one that was not only flat grain, but actually a stave that he followed a ring on before adding the bamboo backing. Maybe he will chime in.

I prefer edge grain. Like Bob said, you will see plenty with grain going all over that work very well. Most of the time its not a problem, but sometimes it can be. I like to cut issues off at the pass and start with the very best materials that I can.

I have made them both ways, I tend to like plain sawn flat. I can flatten the back of any osage stave or billet and make a good BBO from it, grain violations don't matter. I use wood I wouldn't use for a selfbow to make BBOs, nothing goes to waste.

This bow won a lot of big tournaments (Julia Norris) and shot for over ten years with no problems.

I have a beautiful one made back in 2004 for me by Dan Casey. It was done edge grain and is a real shooter. Just wondered if edge wouldn't make the better bow.

There is some evidence that wood is stiffer per mass in edge grain orientation.

I prefer the more natural look of flat though.

I've made them flat, rift, and quartersawn. For consistency, less set, and strength per amount of material, I prefer quartersawn, and that's how I cut and/or request the wood I seek. I also try to select and orient the glued on handle piece so that it's the same grain as the limbs, preferably from the same piece of wood, if possible. I think it helps coordinate the dip/working limb transition.

Now, most all of the osage I have set aside for boo backed bows is perfectly quartersawn, but 15% or so could be just as nicely rift or flat sawn, and it's of equal quality so I'm not going to turn my nose up to it when it comes time to get busy.

Like Runner, I prefer the look of flat sawn on the belly, but prefer everything else about quartersawn and rift sawn wood. But when you want to make a BBO bow, and snatch up a piece, ya gotta make the best of what ya got and every piece is different. A chunk of dimensional osage lumber might have 2 quartersawn bows and 1 flat sawn bow in it. And that's just fine. Make em all. But only buy, or cut, the best-oriented osage you can produce or find. Don't settle early on, or you'll be forced to compromise later when it will cost you more dearly.

Important are things like its ring and grain structure, minimal twist, or avoiding transition wood. Straight grain is important, regardless of ring orientation(flat, rift, or quarter). Good early to late ratio. Well seasoned, etc. Much to consider.

Some folks think they can use grain violated, twisted, knotty, 2nd or 3rd rate osage, ipe, etc, just because they back it with bamboo... and call it a success if it doesn't soon fail. That's failed 'logic'.

Do your best...with the very best tools and material you can acquire. That's the only way you'll make your best bows. Would you rather lay claim to anything less?

I made over 50 BBOs, most with less than perfect grain. Before the rules changed these were allowed in almost all selfbows classes and fared very well.

Jeff, just about the only failures I had out of my BBOs was bamboo failure, raising splinters and such, the osage did just fine except for a couple of bows I made for a guy who had a gorilla draw length, nothing could keep them together.

It is a credit to the bowyer to use second sting wood and make first rate bows out of it which is what I have always been doing.

I had some first rate shooters using my bows, right now they have won over a dozen national championships and 40 or 50 state championships. The second and third places are in the hundreds.

Now explain how I use failed logic again.........I don't quite understand your reasoning.

Yes bowaholic. I have built several selfbows that a back that was added to purposely. Two with horn. One with bamboo. Great performance but not over the top. So I don’t know for sure . I like having the wood that you can actually do that with !! Arvin

I looked in my log book and found I made my first BBO in 2000, Seeing as how I would replace any that failed and I only replaced a few it looks like I have had a pretty good track record.

There was one time I got a 25 slat bundle of bamboo from Frank's and every bow I made from it failed, all bamboo failures including Mr gorilla arms two bows. After 7 failures I burned all the rest of the slats.

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