Main Discussion Area > Bows

First time for everything

<< < (3/4) > >>

Pappy:
Happens to the best of us, the wood dose look very dry to me also but that knot area probable done you in. :)
 Pappy

superdav95:
It looks like a tension failure to me too. a few questions... is that hickory?   how long did you do the cook?  was it with a heat gun or coal bed?  It does look very dry but hickory should be able to handle this.  Ive had similar looking failures that were a result of mineral streaks that ran parallel with grain.  Ive also had tension failures around pin knots and buried knots that extended to the belly.  What i found on these instances was that the relatively stiffer harder wood around some of these buried knots can create a hinge or extra tension on both sides the knot.  possibly too much concentrated bend in that area too early on may have caused the tension failure.  It is more unusual to have hickory fail in tension and more common to see compression failures.  just some thoughts from some of my similar looking failures. 

Muskyman:
It’s hickory Dave. I don’t remember much about the cook time. It was a long time ago, at least 3 months. Probably just over cooked it. On to the next one for me, or playing around with stuff I still have going on. Got some other hickory laying around but it’s got some pretty bad propeller twist in it. Can I steam that out or is it firewood?

Muskyman:
Got curious about the moisture content in the stave so I took it out to my shed and checked it with my moisture meter and here’s what I found. Just to check the meter I tested a 2 x4 at about 13 plus percent. First picture is from the handle and second pic is the break.

superdav95:

--- Quote from: Muskyman on June 28, 2024, 11:52:01 am ---It’s hickory Dave. I don’t remember much about the cook time. It was a long time ago, at least 3 months. Probably just over cooked it. On to the next one for me, or playing around with stuff I still have going on. Got some other hickory laying around but it’s got some pretty bad propeller twist in it. Can I steam that out or is it firewood?

--- End quote ---

You have some options.  You could steam out the twist and then allow it to rehydrate a bit before heat treat.  I’ve messed around with heat treatment lots here and I find it hard to believe you over cooked it.  The back dos t look scorched either.  On your prop twisted stave just get it to floor tiller stage or brace and then remove your twist with steam.  If the twist isn’t too bad then you may be able to just use a reflex form and clamp it down good removing the twist while introducing little reflex at same time.  Once baked holding to this form it should remain and not return to its prop twist. 

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page