NOTE: The ACS design is NOT offered with different limb cores with the exception I can do clear glass and veneers. The following is for informational purposes only. Not as limb options.
Choosing the wood and materials for your bow can be difficult because there are so many to choose from. I am constantly adding to and up-dating this page. Most of the woods and materials I have listed are readily available and if you are looking for something you don't see, just ask and we'll discuss it.
The best riser materials are going to be as heavy as possible and as stiff as possible. Unfortunatly many times beauty and function do not cross. The best riser material that's cost effective is solid fiberglass. Lacking the charactor of wood, it's not ugly by any means but not eye candy either. Mixing a good quanity of glass with figured woods is a good compromise. The very best riser material is carbon, it has 75% of he mass fiberglass has, is much stiffer and absorbs shock and vibration like no other material but the cost is prohibitive.
Some of these woods would be beautiful in the limbs but from a performance or durability stand point, would be poor choices. I'd be glad to discuss performance differences with you, just give me a call or drop me an E-Mail.
All my bows are glass and or carbon laminated bows and provides beauty and durability. All the glass available in the U.S. is made by one company, Gordon Composites, Inc. The glass used in bows is linear glass, in other words, all the fibers run lengthwise instead of woven as in fabric. Some do have a "scrim" which is a thin layer of woven glass in conjunction with linear glass. This gives the most stiffness and strength for the least mass weight. There are a few other companies that make glass suitable for bows but Gordon's is by far the best. Below are the types available:
"E" GLASS - This is the most commonly used glass. It comes in clear, black, brown, white, and occasionally special run colors. Sometimes clear glass in general will have some streaks running lengthwise and some "sparkles". These unavoidable "flaws" are not very noticeable against a light colored background, but against a dark background, such as walnut laminations, they are more noticeable.
"S" GLASS - only comes in clear. It is not quite as clear as clear "E" glass, being a little cloudy. "S" glass is about 10% stiffer than "E" glass for a given thickness so is useful in getting a little more performance as less glass can be used to get the same draw weight. A good analogy in the difference between "E" and "S" is the difference between window glass and Pyrex.
CARBON - Not a glass at all but another material that can be used to replace glass. Carbon is much lighter than glass for it's stiffness so can increase performance 3-5%. Carbon has a natural "dampening" effect which reduces vibration and shock. To see the most benefit from carbon, it needs to go on the outside of the limbs without a veneer.
Core-Tuff - (or Uni-Weft) is sometimes used in the core to increase stability but more so in recurves than longbows. They can be seen as a colored line between the laminations in the limbs. Core-Tuff uses linear fibers and Uniweft is woven with the fibers running 90 degrees to each other. I don't use these in my longbows.
Bo-Tuff - This is a linear fiber glass used for risers, accent stripes and overlays. Comes in black, red, white, and grey.
Phenolic - The only place I use phenolic is in the limb tips. While being very heavy, phenolic is not very stiff and makes it a poor choice in risers. Many woods are stiffer then phenolic.
 | BOCOTE Comes from Mexico and South America. Sometimes called Mexican Rose wood. Dark brown to yellow with dark grain patterns. Hard and fairly heavy, great riser wood. Weight: Aprox. 50-60 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | BLACK LOCUST Pale yellow to light brown with a nice dark streaks. Some consider it an excellent limb wood, but in my opinion it's too heavy. Weight: Aprox. 45 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | BUBINGA (African Rosewood) Comes from west Africa. Reddish brown and sometimes has lines of dark purple. Hard and heavy, makes great riser wood. Weight: Aprox. 58 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | COCOBOLO One of my favorite riser woods. Comes from Mexico. Dark red, rose to yellow-brown, with some purple or black. Very hard and tough on tools. Weight: Aprox. 60-78 pounds per cu. ft. |
| Dymondwood - Similar to Super Actionwood. Too heavy for limb laminations but a great riser wood. Resin impregnated and comes in many colors. Weight: Aprox. 65 pounds per cu. ft. | |
 | JUNIPER Comes from the western U.S. Red, cream, and purple. Very similar in appearance to red cedar but is stronger and not as brittle. Very pretty and a great performer layed-up in longbow laminations. |
 | KINGWOOD Comes from Brazil. Also called Violetwood or Violete. Light to dark violet with darker stripes of purple. Hard and heavy, great riser wood but expensive and difficult to get. Weight: Aprox. 75-80 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | MAPLE, BIRDSEYE Comes from the U.S. and Canada. Very hard, heavy, and light colored with interesting grain patterns. Makes great risers. Weight: Aprox. 45 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | MAPLE, CURLY Comes from the U.S. and Canada. Very hard, heavy, and light colored with interesting grain patterns. Makes great risers. Weight: Aprox. 45 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | MAPLE, ROCK HARD Comes from the U.S. and Canada. Very hard, heavy, and light colored. It can have interesting grain patterns if you look hard enough. Makes great risers but has been a standard for limb lamination wood for years. I have a theory on that too! Weight: Aprox. 45 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | OSAGE Comes from all over the Southern U.S. Has many local names such as "bodart," "bodark," "hedge," "hedge apple," "bois de arc", and probably others I've never heard of! Very hard and heavy wood that has been used forever in selfbows. Color varies from bright yellow to deep orange, tends to darken with age. Great riser wood and has it's followings for limb laminations. Makes darned good fence posts! Weight: Aprox. 48 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | PURPLE HEART Also called Amaranth. It's purple! Comes from Mexico, Central, and South America. Very hard and heavy, makes great risers. Weight: Aprox. 60-65 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | RED ELM Also called Slippery Elm, comes from Canada and the U.S. Reddish brown to dark brown. Very common limb lamination wood for good reasons! Hard and strong but relativly light weight. Very pretty cut flat grain. |
 | SHEDUA Comes from West Africa. Golden brown with black grain. Hard and heavy, it makes very nice risers. Weight: Aprox. 50 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | SUPERACTION WOOD CAMO This is a laminated maple or birch with alternating layers of gray, brown, and green. It also comes in natural and brown. These make a very pretty riser wood (this is not a good photo!)that is extremely strong. As limb laminations, "SA" has won more tournaments and Olympic medals than any other type of laminations. Being a laminated maple, it's not very pretty under clear glass however. Weight: Aprox. 53 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | SUPERACTION WOOD GRAY This is a laminated maple or birch and also comes in natural and brown. These make a very pretty riser wood that is extremely strong. As limb laminations, "SA" has won more tournaments and Olympic medals than any other type of laminations. Being a laminated maple, it's not very pretty under clear glass however. Weight: Aprox. 53 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | TONKIN CANE Bamboo Comes from South-East Asia. Not a wood but a grass! It's a very light yellow-brown depending on if it's tempered or not. Draws smooth and shoots fast. Many believe this to be the best limb lamination and it may be in deep cored bows and those without glass laminations. The down side, inconsistant mass, it's expensive and availability can be spotty. |
 | Actionboo Laminated bamboo that is made for other industries. It's a very light yellow-brown. In testing this has proven to be the lightest in mass with the least variation. This is my core wood of choice. |
 | WALNUT Good ol' black walnut. Common throughout the eastern and southern U.S. Deep dark brown with some black grain patterns. Varies greatly in weight, hardness, and grain. Heavier pieces make beautiful risers but what is commonly overlooked is walnut makes great limb lams. Weight: Aprox. 40-50 pounds per cu. ft. |
 | ZEBRA Comes from west Africa. A fairly hard and heavy wood, makes good risers and limb lams. Very light, straw color with very dark stripes through it. Weight: Aprox. 45-55 pounds per cu. ft. |