Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Stickhead on January 10, 2018, 09:27:15 am

Title: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Stickhead on January 10, 2018, 09:27:15 am
Hey, guys,

I've been working on this boo-backed osage bow, and got it to about 21" when the belly went Bang!  The boo is still intact. 

I'm pretty sure it's not salvageable, but maybe somebody has a cure.  I tried superglue and a clamp, but it popped again when I stressed it.  Would a binding be worth a try?  Or anything else?
Thanks,

...Tom

(https://i.imgur.com/V13w2D8.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/CClccba.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/vk8GLfT.jpg?1)

(https://i.imgur.com/4YCEY70.jpg?1)
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Parnell on January 10, 2018, 09:45:30 am
That's a bummer...I wouldn't ever trust it.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: DC on January 10, 2018, 09:47:52 am
Was there a flaw in the Osage?
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Pat B on January 10, 2018, 09:48:23 am
I'd say its gone too.  I guess you could add glue down into the crack then bind it with sinew of strong thread set in glue. I've seen fixes like this survive but you could be wasting your time.
 What glue did you use for the backing?
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: PEARL DRUMS on January 10, 2018, 09:53:04 am
This is a fine example of why I argue with people that say belly grain doesn't matter on lam bows. It sure does and that pic proves it. Sorry about the bow, Tom.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Stickhead on January 10, 2018, 10:02:26 am
Yeah, this was a board with fairly straight grain, but the grain does swirl a bit in the vicinity of the break.  I suppose it could be considered a belly ring violation.  (Not the piercing kind)
I think I'll throw in the towel on this one and try again.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Jan de Bogenman on January 10, 2018, 10:24:49 am
To bad!! If the bamboo is in tact, I think it is worth to try repairing it??  To take out the bad spot and glue in a new peace of wood?
And its hard to judge from the pics, and probably you know all this, but if the bamboo is too thick, it is possible to have some good results by scraping from the bamboo back during tillering.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Parnell on January 10, 2018, 10:43:01 am
It boils down to me as an issue of is it worth the time?  Also, if it were to be a lightweight kids bow or give it away...would I put it in their  hands with confidence? 

I've learned to enjoy burning failed bows.  I had a bunch of junked bows sitting around as examples for awhile.  They just aggravated me to look at.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Del the cat on January 10, 2018, 10:45:58 am
You could have a try just for the fun of it.
Just for the fun of it, something that was being discussed here a while back.
Saw across the belly dead square and take out the damaged section right down to the boo. Let in another section of Osage, no fancy joints, just a decent glue and theoretically it should be fine as it's in compression.
I'm not suggesting keep it as a regular shooter, but as a demo' bow to show if it can be done.
We'll all watch from a safe distance >:D
Del
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: vinemaplebows on January 10, 2018, 10:48:52 am
This is a fine example of why I argue with people that say belly grain doesn't matter on lam bows. It sure does and that pic proves it. Sorry about the bow, Tom.

I agree wholeheartedly. After a couple failures you start to get what is doable, and what isn't.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: JWMALONE on January 10, 2018, 11:25:18 am
I don't have the experience to comment on fixing it but I have a question. If this happens to me can you run it through the band saw or in some way save the bamboo backing or is it gone with the bow? Maybe salvage smaller pieces of the Osage for riser high lights and such? I'm still in the red oak stage myself but will work up to boo and Osage however its only available online in my area and its not cheap after shipping.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Badger on January 10, 2018, 12:03:39 pm
  That bow looks to narrow at that spot anyway. I would start over with more reasonable dimensions.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Yard Dog on January 10, 2018, 05:50:29 pm
Dang, that sucks !!!
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: kbear on January 10, 2018, 06:19:05 pm
Badger's right. That's a lotta boo for that little belly........
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: NonBacked on January 10, 2018, 06:20:36 pm
Sorry for your bad luck. It's definitely a lesson-learned experience! You might be able to salvage the undamaged limb and the handle for another project; like a spliced handle or a two-piece bow.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Eric Krewson on January 10, 2018, 06:35:43 pm
Back when you could get the old Urac I fixed a bow that had a joist fall on it during a house fire. It was busted all to pieces lidderly, Urac and sinew brought it back to life. As far as i know this bow is still shooting.

All the lines you see in the picture are urac filled cracks that were gaped open on the break, this bow was bamboo backed as well.

(https://i.imgur.com/fhCumup.jpg)

Never give up, it is worth a try just to see if you can fix it. My guess would be no but I would try anyway.

More back story on the bow; I made it for a guy who put the hardwood flooring in my house as a thank you bow for putting laminate in my utility room on his own time a finishing up around midnight. He wouldn't take payment for his work so I made him a bow.

He took to trad archery like a duck to water, killed a deer with the bow and according to him could hit anything out to 35 yards.

He started feeling sick, losing his balance and getting progressively worse over time. Testing showed he had a high level of arsenic in his body. He came to find out his wife was having an affair with guy  who had a business behind his and had been poisoning him. The house fire was suspicious as well, when he divorced her and got to keep his new house, it mysteriously caught fire.

When the bow was broken in the fire he brought it to me, told me how much he loved it as asked if there was anyway I could fix it, so I tried and it came out OK.

Last I heard from him he was having his ex wife charged with attempted murder. He had sustained permanent neurological damage from the arsenic and couldn't run his flooring business anymore and it folded, sad story
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Stickhead on January 10, 2018, 07:12:50 pm
I think I'll try again with a thinner piece of bamboo.  On this one, I conclude that had to remove too much wood to get it to bend, because the boo was too thick.  This one's going on the bone pile.  Might use it to experiment with dyes and such.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Eric Krewson on January 11, 2018, 07:28:41 am
I will bring this to the top because I added the story of the bow to my post.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Philipp A on January 11, 2018, 09:27:43 am
when looking at the side view it looks to me like the grain is running out towards the surface of the belly at the spot it broke. I would try to rasp and scrape out the broken area and gently sloped to each side and glue in a matching new piece of wood. I think it is worth a try since the rest of the belly viewed from the side looks fine to me. It also looks like you had some delamination so that might be part of the problem as well.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Jim Davis on January 11, 2018, 08:57:17 pm
when looking at the side view it looks to me like the grain is running out towards the surface of the belly at the spot it broke. I would try to rasp and scrape out the broken area and gently sloped to each side and glue in a matching new piece of wood. I think it is worth a try since the rest of the belly viewed from the side looks fine to me. It also looks like you had some delamination so that might be part of the problem as well.

I know this is the way Dean Torges approach this kind of problem, but I think the tapered plug is a weak approach. I prefer to cut a cylindrical hole and plug  or cut out a rectangular slot and plug. The wood is in compression, so square shoulders hold well. I make the plug such that it won't fit in the hole unless the bow is slightly bent toward reflex. Then when the limb is relaxed, the plug is already under slight compression.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Jim Davis on January 11, 2018, 08:58:35 pm
This bow has been in service for four or five years now.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Philipp A on January 12, 2018, 10:03:01 am
Hi Jim, I think your approach is better than mine, I agree with your logic on this. What do you think, I believe this bow is fixable with not too much effort?
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: Jim Davis on January 12, 2018, 11:08:45 am
Hi Jim, I think your approach is better than mine, I agree with your logic on this. What do you think, I believe this bow is fixable with not too much effort?

It's my feeling that we often learn as much by trying to repair something as by starting over from  scratch. I would certainly try to repair it.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: ohma2 on January 12, 2018, 12:16:04 pm
I to would try to fix it and Jims way is one ive used before.better looking than wrap.
Title: Re: Is this one a goner?
Post by: bushboy on January 12, 2018, 08:19:31 pm
Bummer!my take is your glue line let go from what I can tell.