Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: grouse11 on April 21, 2019, 01:08:14 pm
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Well I guess this was inevitable eventually. Drew my 49.5" 59# @ 25" recurve back and heard the click of death. Unstrung and inspected and this is what i found. The pic is actually with the bow braced, so when the bow is unstrung there is no gap in the cracks.
Now for the hopeful fix? I was thinking brace, fill with CA glue, and umbrage. Then I was thinking wrap a 2" section covering the cracks with sinew. I am really just wanting to get at least a season out of the bow and hoping that will get me another year? And I am assuming that hide glue should be used with the sinew?
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well,, you were pushing the limit on that draw :)
you will get a full spectrum of opinions on how to fix it or even fix it,,from put it on the burn pile to helpful suggestions on what might work,,
usually if I am going to be overly optimistic about what a piece of wood will do, I will rawhide back it before final tiller,,,,
some say it wont help but I think it does,, as Pope and Young stated their failure rate was reduced when they started rawhide backing,, (--)
it looks like there is an extra growth ring on the back,,?? I would have been a little worried with those pin knots,, but I worry too much sometime,, )P(
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I personally would fix it by starting another. I really wouldn't be able to trust it. Like Brad said it was pushing the limits already and its hurt pretty bad. I don't need much of a reason to start another bow, but I'm guessing that the majority would probably agree. You might get away with a sinew or rawhide backing or it might be energy better spent on another bow.
Bjrogg
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My Osage hunting bow started out at 57#@28”, 63” ntn. I made it in 2011. After shooting 300 or 400 hundred arrows through it, I decided to see what it could do at29”. About the same thing happened to me mid limb on bottom limb. Was going out of state the next weekend to a big shoot and this was the only selfbow that I had.I repaired as you are thinking, braced, filled with superglue, unbraced,then wrapped. I used serving string to wrap because that’s what I had. I am still shooting it 8 seasons later. I wrapped the upper limb to match strictly for looks. 2 years ago, I cut off the wraps to inspect the damaged area, reduced the weight done to 50#, (due to a bad shoulder), rewrapped and am still shooting it.
No guarantees, but I would gamble on a fix. It’s not a very time consuming fix, and firewood now, or firewood later,🤷🏼♂️.
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nice save,,congrats on that,, (SH)
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How far down the limb is it? Do you have a pic of it drawn?
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I 've done wraps of all kinds, sinew and hide glue, serving thread or B 50 and epoxy and others.
I've also glued on wrappings of silk fabric set in epoxy and then wrapped with thread (serving or B 50).
I've also glued on a strip of fur as a decoration over the thread. Glue the fur on the other limb on the same spot for looks.
Jawge
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Remove a growth ring and sinew back it.
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The attached pic shows the bow drawn to 25" and the yellow circle shows approximate location of the crack. This came from a limb section that was about 4" diameter so there are a few more pin knots throughout the bow. This was honestly a bow I made just to mess around and clear my head a little as I was having artists block on a couple other staves. I wont be heartbroken if it doesn't work but figire it will be worth a shot.
Sounds like i will try the glue amd then wrap method amd cross my fingers. Definitely will only be drawing on the tree for a while that's for sure! I Will update with hopefully some good news!
Unfortunately the way this bow came out (which surprised me majorly), the limbs consist of only 2 growth rings and are just hair under .25" thick. Somehow it came out as heavyas it did but no room to remove anymore wood on the back.
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The original problem was that you didn't compensate for any of the pin knots on the back with extra width. The one in the middle lifted. There are two more nearby. Accident waiting to happen. I see otherwise good bowyers do this all the time. Sometimes they get away with it, but its dumb luck rather than design.
A sinew patch will hold it together, or sinew the whole bow if you are up to the challenge.
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Hamish, I definitely agree. I posted this one a few weeks ago but this is my 3rd bow. I think the one in the middle popped because being a 4" diameter branch the crown is pretty pronounced. I have it glued and wrapped. I used serving. I soaked the serving in super glue. I did a 2.5" section. Fingers crossed!
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Please keep us posted on how it holds up. I agree that you pushed the limits with a 25” draw, especially with so many pin knots, but you have already vested the time to get it this far, not much lost in trying to save it. Just keep your ears open for that warning”tic” in case it decides it would rather be firewood.
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I think sinew is stronger,,but I will keep my fingers crossed :)
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Remove a growth ring and sinew back it.
+1 on what Pat said...
Don
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Actually the original problem is not enough of the limbs are working
Staring another is a good idea but I wouldn't give up on this one either
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I believe my biggest mistake was making the handle stiff. A bendy handle would at least alleviate some of the problem. I have pulled the bow on the tree about 25 times today to 25" (I slowly worked up to it) and haven't heard a thing. The weight hasn't reduced at all either. I'll excercise it for about a week and if still no signs of failure, I will launch a couple arrows through it.
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just go for it,, (-P launch some arrows,, >:D
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Marc, The limbs could work a little more around the fades, but the back would likely still be intact if the pins were compensated for properly. Basic bowyering principle ignored.
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Hamish, just curious, how much should I leave around the pin knots? Larger knots I have always left a good bit but I typically will just follow the grain which is very evident on the larger knots. The pin knots close to the edge in the picture are small enough that the grain does not deviate from the limb edge at the distance that I cut. Unfortunately the knot that failed was not near the edge so who knows!
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well as long as you dont cut through them,, they should be ok, maybe he means the bow could have been wider or stiffer in the area of the pins, ,, or designed with them in mind,,? not sure,,,, hard for me to tell from pic, but maybe the limb is working too much in that area,, (SH)
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Marc, The limbs could work a little more around the fades, but the back would likely still be intact if the pins were compensated for properly. Basic bowyering principle ignored.
Actually I was thinking more mid-limb but yes a bit more near the fades as well