How thick of an Osage Slat would I need making a Bamboo Backed Osage Reflex,Deflex Bow and the target weight to be 45 pounds @ 27 inches

I would start with 3/4". That way you should have plenty. But bow length is a consideration as well.

Oops, left that out 64 inches is length I’d like to get

I have made a few 62-64" BBOs and used 3/8" slats...you just need a power lam and an additional handle piece.

3/8" is plenty in a finished piece ready for glue up.

For reference on thickness, I've made d/r bbo bows 64" long and 60# @ 28" with 3/8" of osage. A 1/2" thick piece of osage can easily make a bow over 70# @ 28".

Sure you could start with a thicker piece, and remove more from the limbs after glue up to hit your target weight, but 3/8" makes it easier to bend in the handle area during glue up to get the deflex shape, and removing too much material after glue up can cause some strange tillering issues.

It isn't absolutely necessary but if you have the capability, accurately pre-tapering the working limb areas is also beneficial.

You don't necessarily need a powerlam. I've never used powerlams in mine, and never have added-on handle pieces come loose... even in short, heavier poundage bows. Some keys there are gluing surface prep, the glue used, and good gluing practices.

If you are cutting your own slat I would leave it as thick as possible in the handle section, I like an inch or so and floor tiller the limbs before glue-up.

I have made all my BBOs out of staves or spliced billets so my way of putting things together is a bit different.

I keep the handle rigid on glue-up and reflex the limbs 3". With 3" of reflex I will end up with straight limb or an inch of reflex after the bow is completely shot in.

I like long fades and always glue on a handle piece after I take the bow out of the clamps after glue up.

I have made over 50 of these and have settled into the same process for all of them. I even made a glue-up up table just for BBOs.

OOPS, I picked the dirty shop thumbnail, this one is more current.

When I add the handle piece, I put two 1/8" pieces on first, if the belly of your handle isn't perfectly flat and true the pieces will conform to what you have. I carefully flatten the top of the second shim before I glue on the bulk of the handle.

These shims feather out nicely.

picture;

Wow this is a great response, I’m saving all this, Thanks everyone

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