Black Locust fix?

[Bearded.Jake]

Hello all,

This is my first post on the site, and I was hoping my first would be something better but here goes.  I had high hopes for a black locust stave I was working on, hoping it would be my first adequate hunting bow. I ended up cutting the stave on the short side at 58" because I had the notion that shorter was better. The design Ive ended up with is not the easiest task for someone like me.. 58" long, about 1 11/16" wide for most of the limb, and hollowed out belly to try and mirror the back (just with scraper). Planned for a slightly bendy handle, and wanted to sinew back it if all went well.
Since the bow was on the short side, I wanted to reflex the tips for a smoother draw or less stack.  I have a tendency to make poor decisions from being impatient and when I decided to finally try bending the tips, I went with dry heat. I rushed it and cracked it!   
It wasn't horrible, and i thought, if it could be salvaged, I still want the other end to match, so I went ahead and steamed the other end but rushed that one also!!

So I have two cracked reflexed tips and I am wondering if they can be fixed by wrapping with sinew or rawhide, or laminating something over top.  I had the idea that antler laminated just at the tips could look cool. Is that worth trying or am I just going to have to make a much shorter bow? 

I tried getting a piece of antler shaped right already and it would be a challenge to get it right for a good bond.
One crack is fairly mild and the other is more prominent, running about 1/4 of the way into the thickness of the tip and about 1" lengthwise.

Any advice is much appreciated!

[Hamish]

Its hard to tell without pictures, but you should grab a new stave, unless you are into masochism.

[Bearded.Jake]

Its hard to tell without pictures, but you should grab a new stave, unless you are into masochism.

ah ya, I would like too soon.. but I hoped to make a bow I could hunt with this coming season. oh well.
I just need to get lucky to cross paths with some more Black Locust too, I do love the look.
I have one juniper stave that could work out.

Here are a couple pictures, one of each end.

[Bearded.Jake]

another of the worse crack..  And profile of the bow.  it would have been nicer to see more of the bow in these photos but I had to crop them to upload them.

[bjrogg]

Welcome to primitive archery site bearded jake.

Your tips still look quite thick yet. It looks like cracks are on belly side of curve. This is pretty common problem. It helps if you chase a ring on belly side where you are bending your curve. Also using a thin metal backer between clamps and belly.

The cracks might not be the death of your bow. You should be in a none bending compression area.

Fill with thin super glue from each direction.

Maybe you can get rid of most of it when you reduce your tips.

I think your bigger problem is probably how short you cut your stave.

You are asking a lot for that length and a stiff to almost bending handle.

Not saying it can’t be done but it’s more of a challenge.

What draw length are you trying for?

If you don’t need a longer draw that helps.

Bjrogg

PS I wouldn’t throw it out. If nothing else you can use it to practice with

[Bearded.Jake]

Thanks Bjrogg,

The tips are only about 3/8" thick, maybe a hair more. So I'm not sure how much more reduction they could handle?

I will try the glue and see how that looks.  would sinew wrapping be helpful in anyway for a belly side crack?

yes, I wish I kept it a little longer, however Im not opposed to reducing the handle quite a bit more, I do like a bendy handle.

I draw around 27" but if need be, I could get comfy with 26" I think

Thanks for the advice!  Ill definitely hang on to it either way!

[Hamish]

I was expecting a train wreck. They actually don't look too bad. Most if not all of the damage should come off when tillering.

+1 for very thin superglue.

[Bearded.Jake]

I was expecting a train wreck. They actually don't look too bad. Most if not all of the damage should come off when tillering.

+1 for very thin superglue.

Thanks Hamish,  well that is reassuring its not a train wreck haha.  I will maybe glue it up in the next day or two then, and then put some more work into it.

cheers!

[Kidder]

Welcome! I’m with the rest - I’d fill it the best I could with thin CA and clamp with a metal strap (so the ca doesn’t adhere well to your clamp) and see what you end up with. Worst case scenario you could thin them back to where the cracks are gone and then do underlays on the tips. I’ve done this once or twice and it was surprisingly easy. Good luck and have fun!

[Bearded.Jake]

Welcome! I’m with the rest - I’d fill it the best I could with thin CA and clamp with a metal strap (so the ca doesn’t adhere well to your clamp) and see what you end up with. Worst case scenario you could thin them back to where the cracks are gone and then do underlays on the tips. I’ve done this once or twice and it was surprisingly easy. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks Kidder!

[Mo_coon-catcher]

I agree with what the others are sayin. Clean up the splinters and fill with superglue. If the y show signs of hung issues then thin down a bit more and glue on an underlay. Shouldn’t be a problem at all.

Kyle

[Bearded.Jake]

Awesome, thanks Kyle!

Does anyone have a prefered underlay material if it comes to that?
Is antler a bit overkill?  Just any other wood would do?

If using wood, would I need to bend peices to the right shape to keep the grain in tact, or could I just work the right curve in with hand tools and glue that on? 

[Kidder]

I’ve used small yew strips because it heat bends so well. But any easily bendable wood should work. Just be sure of grain orientation etc. Boil them til they are good and hot and then clamp them to the belly of the offending recurve. Let them cool good and when you remove them they will be basically formed. I used ea40 to glue them down. What I noticed was that when you add a glue line and laminate your tips they become stiffer for the same thickness.

[bassman211]

Also smooth your limb edges after the fix, and with black locus it helps to trap the back of the bow.

[Bearded.Jake]

Thanks kidder, thats great to know! we'll see if it comes to that.  I have some juniper I could try, the heart wood could look nice

thanks bassman!