Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: CrazyHorse1969 on March 06, 2015, 09:11:59 pm
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I was rolling along with this Black Locust bow. I had it as perfectly tillered as I could and drawing 40 pounds at my 27" draw weight. I shot 50 + arrows today, and the bow was shooting straight and snappy. I never noticed this--on the BACK of the bow, of course--until I got inside the house.
Any suggestions to save this bow? Or, is this the end of the road?
As always, I value your expertise.
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If that is on the back, that is a perfect example of leveling a knot and violating fibers leading to a transverse tension crack.
Prognosis aint good. It can be fixed, but only throough methods that basically remake the bow.
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Thanks. I figured it was bad news, but chalk it up to my fourth self bow attempt. I really thought I was cautious around that knot, I knew it was there, but in the end it got the better of me. Fudge.
Would I have to case another ring on this bow? Could I back it with something?
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You could try wrapping it with sinew set in hide glue. That would give you the greater chance for success. But you never know when it would let go.
You could also wrap it with thread or B 50 or serving material set in epoxy. That could work too.
It is agood idea to leave knotted areas wider and when tillering that area leave it just a little stiffer than the rest of the limb.
Jawge
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Thanks! I don't like the idea of giving up on this bow quite yet, so any and all suggestions are welcome. I appreciate your advice.
Have you ever seen someone stitch a sort of a sheath of rawhide then slide it over the limb, gluing it down with TB3?
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That sir looks like a dead bow to me. Don't know that you could ever trust it with any kind of patch. Let me say I could never trust it. Rather put time in on the next keeper than spend a lot of time on one that I will never be happy with. Hate when you get one this close and lose it, but it happens.
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That sir looks like a dead bow to me. Don't know that you could ever trust it with any kind of patch. Let me say I could never trust it. Rather put time in on the next keeper than spend a lot of time on one that I will never be happy with. Hate when you get one this close and lose it, but it happens.
I figured as such. No worries. Perhaps I will dress it up and put it over the fire place. Or, more than likely, put it in the fire place.
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If that was my bow I'd put it on the tillering tree and yank it back until it blew.
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I would cover it with super glue, then wrap it in thread for a few inches each side of the crack and carry on. It will probably last a while like that. Ive done a few that way with pretty bad cracks and theyre still shooting.
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I would cover it with super glue, then wrap it in thread for a few inches each side of the crack and carry on. It will probably last a while like that. Ive done a few that way with pretty bad cracks and theyre still shooting.
I like my eyes!!! ;) ;) ;)
I agree with giving it a go to try and fix it but that's a dead bow, I would then do the same as osage outlaw. That way you learn about fixing methods and also (more importantly) how much a wrap/rawhide/whatever will hold.....but you don't lose an eye doing it on a tillering tree!
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I have a nice one on the hickory bow i'm doing now. I'm gonna put super glue in the crack and sinew wrap that area with TB. And keep my fingers crossed of course. ;)
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Crazy horse I have no suggestions only sympathy. You must've been gutted when you saw that crack!
I hope you are able to patch it. :)
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Rawhide and forget it.
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I wouldn't take the chance of it blowing up on down the line. It has a crack at a knot, that crack is going to keep growing deeper and wider shooting that bow, no matter how you fix it. Put the bow on the band saw and cut it up.
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I feel your pain CrazyHorse, just went thru the same thing yesterday. Had this one bending out to 22' and all looked good, then I heard the dreaded tick. It was a raised knot that was slightly punky and had likely been ever so slightly violated on the back while chasing a ring. I filled the small crack with super glue and then wrapped some thin rawhide around the area all the time knowing what was gonna happen next. ;D
That was a couple days ago and then yesterday I put it on the tillering tree, grabbed the rope and got back 12' and exercised it out to 22" again. When I hit 23" the explosion made me duck, found the tip 10 minutes later after an extensive search.
Quite a few hours taking this one from log to broken bow. :(
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Thanks, guys. Perhaps I will patch it up and gift it to my neighbor because he likes bows. He also likes to let his dog stray onto our lawn to poop. (Just joshing, of course.)
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I feel your pain CrazyHorse, just went thru the same thing yesterday. Had this one bending out to 22' and all looked good, then I heard the dreaded tick. It was a raised knot that was slightly punky and had likely been ever so slightly violated on the back while chasing a ring. I filled the small crack with super glue and then wrapped some thin rawhide around the area all the time knowing what was gonna happen next. ;D
That was a couple days ago and then yesterday I put it on the tillering tree, grabbed the rope and got back 12' and exercised it out to 22" again. When I hit 23" the explosion made me duck, found the tip 10 minutes later after an extensive search.
Quite a few hours taking this one from log to broken bow. :(
That just sucks! It looks like you had way more time into that bow than I had into mine. Thanks for posting. And, sorry for your loss.
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That's too bad Greg, that thing wa shook nice.
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If you're not breakin', you're not makin'
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as Jawge suggested,, a sinew patch would be my call,, when I have a knot on the edge like that I am nervous and try to lay my bow out so it is not on the edge,, but if that is the only way,, I would put rawhide or sinew on it before I started to tiller( and leave that part a bit stiffer),, ,, rawhide might hold as well, but I think the sinew is a bit stronger,,,
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Yep, like Jawge said. Sinew wrap and then back it with rawhde.
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Yep, like Jawge said. Sinew wrap and then back it with rawhde.
Thanks, guys. Just for the sake of practice, perhaps I will glue some sinew around the limb then patch it with rawhide. I know where to get sinew, but I do not know where to get an affordable piece of rawhide, other than two whole strips of rawhide backing for a whole bow. Any suggestions?
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I don't think wrapping will do much at all if you decide to rawhide it. The rawhide alone will hold it IMO. Do the entire limbs.
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Got it. Again, just for the sake of practice, perhaps I will give it a try. Anyone ever try a large, moistened, untied rawhide dog bone before? :P
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Ill give you another stave if you properly rawhide this bow and it blows up before you get 2000 shots.
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Are you serious? That sounds like a reasonable proposition. Can I count by twos (or, better yet, fives)? :laugh:
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Yup, Im serious.
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ok... that is a cool way of backing up your expert advise...
i see why they call you the "cool chris"
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Yup, Im serious.
Cool. Sounds like a win-win (unless I lose an eye or two). I will look into getting some rawhide backing and see how it goes.
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No eye loss man. Its all good. When you get rawhide and TB3 around, let me know and Ill explain my way of applying it.
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ok... that is a cool way of backing up your expert advise...
i see why they call you the "cool chris"
Only Pearl Drums call him that. Oh wait :o ;D
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No eye loss man. Its all good. When you get rawhide and TB3 around, let me know and Ill explain my way of applying it.
Thanks. I appreciate it. Any suggestions as to where to get rawhide? Just curious as to another option or so. Like I said, I know of a few places. I have plenty of TB3.
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I trade for it myself. 3 Ripoffs has it for too much money, if you cant get it anywhere else. Thinner the better.
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I will do some looking around.
Back to work for now.
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Echo archery sells rawhide backing for good price I believe
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Big unravelled dog bone would be fine, try to pick a thinner one, but it can be thinned after it has been applied. As an extra measure, if you sinewed the 3-4" where the crack is (not a wrap, as if you were sinew backing) then rawhided the whole bow it would almost certainly survive.