cracked first osage bow help wanted

[sander]

Hi everyone have been enjoying all the wonderful bows and the great bow building
knowledge represented here.  Trying to build my first bow and  realized too late a bad mistake.  I stepped on one limb when trying to brace it with a bow string the first time.  Thought I heard a faint pop wasn't sure got a crack on the back mid limb when pulling 55 lbs with stick and scale.  This was very dissapointing, I got this stave 7 years ago and had taken forever reducing the belly with a
cabinet scraper.  I know about following one ring and had done that on the back.  I used the
cabinet scraper and got rid of most if not all of the splinters.  This took me I am guessing halfway
through the good ring.  I was considering glueing a small patch of sinew or a shaving of wood
on this area to try shore up this area of the bow.  Thoughts greatly appreciated.  I am wondering
if the bow was also on the dry side it was finding a regular home in the hot box.  Thanks Sander

[Dano]

Pictures would help, which way does the crack run?

[sander]

Thanks for the response Dano.  I will try to post a picture later.  You wont see any crack it
was shallow splinters that ran towards the tip.  I scraped them off so the wood appears smooth
but I probably needs some stiffening up in that area as I weakend that spot.  The area I scraped
is around 1.5 inches long.  Thanks again, Sander

[sander]

Not sure if it will be of any help but heres a picture of the area where I got the crack/splinters.
I think a minute amount of splinters may remain.  Should I glue them down and back it or shave it
more to eliminate all splinters and then back.  I am looking too shore up this area so the tiller wont
be affected.  Thanks in advance for any replies this begginer needs some advice.  Sander

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[sailordad]

if thats on the back of the bow
then i would recomend chasing that ring all the way down to the next one
i would rather have a bow thats gonna last,even if the weight is lighter than planned
than a bow thats gona blow jmho

[sander]

Sailordad thanks for your reply.  I thought of that route myself but I really hesitate to go that
way because the rings are thick and nearer the tips I only have two rings showing on the sides
so with more wood I agree that would be my best solution.  I am leaning toward risking failure
and trying to glue on sinew a shaving of wood even fiberglass etc. and maybe backing with
rawhide do you or anyone know of any successes going this way.  I dont believe I have
completely violated the ring but its possible minute cracks do go through.  Thanks again, Sander

[Dano]

Those were or are drying checks probably, if they don't run off the side of the limb I would just supper glue them and go on, but now it does look like you have violated the ring. If you don't want to chase the entire ring, you could back it with rawhide.

[sander]

Dano, what do you think about applying a layer of sinew over the damaged area with
tightbond two and then a rawhide backing.  Since the rest of the bow is ok couldnt I just cover the damaged area with a 4" rawhide patch.  Would sinew strengthen the area and act as a replacement for the lost wood?  Thanks for your thoughts Dano   

[Dano]

I'd back the entire bow with rawhide if it was me, looking at your picture. On some staves you'll find that you can't just scrape a ring flat, you need to use a goose neck scraper, it has multiple round edges to use. That way you get into the valleys better. To me it looks like there's a lot of early wood left on the back, and in some places some latewood. The bow might hold up just fine like that. I remember the first osage selfbow I saw, it had a ton of violations, it was real dark like it had been around a few years, but if it were me I'd feel a whole lot better with a solid back, one with a good ring or backing. A patch will always look like a patch.

[sander]

Hey Dano you are right I left streaks of early wood all over the bow.  I was trying to be careful
not to get into the late wood and it is definitly possible I left a few spots of that also.  Thanks for the suggestion on the gooseneck scraper, I think Im going to get one.  Believe me though I
spent alot of time on this stave and tried to do it right.  Do snake skins provide any protection
if glued on if I decided to patch the area with sinew and rawhide?  Thanks Again

[GregB]

It looks like to me that the obround area in the center of the picture has been ring violated. Snake skins themselves won't add any protection although the glue holding them will provide some. I'd probably instead go with a sinew wrap in that area, and then rawhide glued on the back if there isn't enough wood left to chase to the next grain.

[sander]

GregB thanks for the answer.  Yeah I got into the ring maybe halfway when I shaved away
the crack and splinters.  I think I can still see a trace of splinters.  So far nobody has recommended
shaving more to assure all splinters are gone wasnt sure if that is a good idea or not.  When you
say a sinew wrap are you recommending going all the way around back and belly and glueing it down?  I guess going around the belly would also help in stiffening the limb.   
 
 

[GregB]

Yes, we have on occasion with a splinter lifted up, have gone around the limb with a sinew band. This is a little different with the larger area that you would need to span on either side of that obround spot about an inch. That would be a pretty large area to cover. Pappy has done this in the past several times. Just wet the sinew and wrap it. He may also put some super glue or hide glue worked in with the sinew. In this case I think I would also put on a rawhide backing. Of course chasing a ring and removing the problem would be the best solution if possible.

There are options to increase the weight going that route like heat treating the belly and/or shortening the limb length.

[sander]

Greg B, thanks again for your response.  I took your suggestion on the sinew wrap.  I decided
to dig out all the splinters I could see In two areas that went a bit deeper.  Never got completely
through the ring.  Little bigger than a pencil eraser in width I put some titebond 2 in the depression
then a piece of sinew more glue and repeated several times covering the area with glue and sinew
I then gave the whole area a sinew wrap glued down with titebond.  I heated the area before the
glue to open up the pores.  Included a picture of the repair.  I feel good about the effort and
if it doesnt hold up I will take it as a good learning experience and start another bow.  I live i
near St. Louis MO and and wondering if over drying had something to do with the bow problem
my hot box is around 97 degrees not sure how often it should stay in there.

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[George Tsoukalas]

You do have some serious ring violations on that stave. In the second to last picture, for example, I see 3 rings. I'd get that taken care of and then if you are going to back, then back with rawhide but first take off that sinew patch. You can put it back on over the rawhide. Just mark the belly with a couple of light pencil lines as th=o where you want the patch.  Jawge