tic-crick-crack... but no pop...

[Shooter_G22]

ok folks,

   i have been trying to attempt to make a pecan baord bow.. and got to almost wher i was getting real close to a descant tiller...  at least to my amature eyes..    it started out being a 62" tip to tip length soo maybe nocks are at 60"  dont know but i will measure tomorrow and maybe post up some pics...

  anyway i was trying to get a 27" draw but i want it safe to about 28"  soo i have been slowly getting there and at about 26" or could have been 27" not sure...  oh i finally made a tiller stand and its not the best stand but it sue makes things alot easier than steping on the string and pulling the bow upwards and looking at it upside down...

anyway back to the problem,   i got it to a 26-27" tiller and i was excersizen the bow and it did fine and then i put it in a string slot at around 26-27 and steped back to look at the tiller and as i was admiring the bow i hear that dredful sound.... " tic- crick crack"  but it did not snap soo i rush to get it out of the hold and pullit it back down slowly...   

 well sure enough it did not splinter but there it was clear as day a crack on the back...   it lookes like a crack between the two grouth rings since the board is a quater sawn board the grouth rings or grain of the wood are going vertical up and down the bow...   well the crack is between two of the grains maybe about 3/16 long and then on the side of the limb it has a little bit of separtation.. does any of this make sense?    well i will try and take some pics and post them up tomorrow...   what i did is put the bow in the tiller stand and put it in a hold of about 24" and shot the crack up while it was in the more open position and filled it up with super glue but all i had handy was the gel kind and i wish i would have had teh liwuide kind since it runs into the cracks better righ any way i injected as much as the crack would hold and then some all over the top of the cracka nd up and down the back and belly and side around the crack i smooth it out with flexiblade and set it to dry....


   here is the thing i though of doing....   thought of doing a wrap repair or even adding a backing but if i add a backing i dont want to do a linnen or rawhide..  i know this is going to sound goofy but i dont want to put a materail backing becuase i really like the texture or grain of the wood and would really like for the bow to show off its nice wood grain look...   i dont want to put a f/g backing becuase its cheating allthough i saw one time that i could order a f/g pre-preg that is all thinned out and the add says that it would be see through and would still show the grain of the wood... 

  soo what are my real options...  if i use a natural backing then i cover up a nice bow that defeats the purpose of soo much work i put into the fiish of the bow and actually i havent caoted it or poly or laq or oil or anything but i did fine sand the thing for long time.. and reall like it...

   im really afraid this thing is going to turn out to be another broken bow in the broken bow pile i have acumalating in the corner over there...   but i have really worked on this thing alot and i just get sooo fustrated thinking this is going to be all worthless...   all those man hours and time and energy for it to just end up over there and soo close to actually being finished...

advice please   what do i do??

is ther any other options i can dooo to make it hold up and save this one with out haveing to cover it up???   would just a good wrap work???   or is ther anything else i can put on or over the back that would be clear and work as a backing with out getting strung up or stoned for it???
     

[Postman]

other more experienced people will probably weigh in, but I would guess a glue / wrap combo would be fine, after re-doing the crack and area with more glue, wrapping, and maybe adding glue to the wrap?..... (super glue and a thread wrap just worked for me on a belly crack - and I added some glue to the outside of the  thread in the crack area.)

Good luck!

[Gordon]

Was the splinter a result of a hinge? If so, you'll have to fix the hinge in addition to patching the splinter.

[Shooter_G22]

as far as i could tell there was no hing....  and it was just thefact that i was trying to get a long draw out of a short bow....   i dont know...   but it broke this morning sooo now its trash..

   damn it... i'm going ot have to start all over...   i only have one rip left and its the left over from the rest of the board...   not the best of rips looks to be the worst...  this time im not going ot take soo much time into building it and making it look pretty.... im just going to ruff it out and make sure its going ot work.. befor i start fine sandind it and making it look good...

   oh well back to the old drawing board...  if this last rip dont work out i still have another pecan blank with a pecan backing but it has f/G  glued into the blank inbetween the baord and pecan bacing...  this one i glued up way back when i made the first one like it for my cousin and this one is actually for my other cousin his younger brother...

sooo if the last rip i have to try and make myself a bow blows up im still going to have to attempt the one with f/g for my cuz...
  but then im not going ot have a pecan for myself...   

  oh well i guess i'm going to have to try walnut next...

something gots to give...!!    
    if i dont get a working short bow soon then  i'm going to have togive in and build a long bow of about 68" or sooo....

its a beautiful day here in dallas today and its my only day off....   i think im going to have to hit the mounting bike trails today...

[Pat B]

Starting out(if in fact you are just starting)with a short bow is asking for trouble. I would start with a safe design and learn the proper construction and tillering methods then work your way down to a shorter bow or bows of different designs. Also using a tiller stick, pulling the bow to a static point then stepping back to look at it, is adding excess strain to a stave that is learning to be a bow. Even with my shot in bows I don't hold them for more than a few seconds at draw. With a tiller tree, where you stand back and pull the rope, you can get a good look at the tiller without having to hold it at draw.
   Try not to make it such a chore to make another bow. Going into building another bow with that attitude will hamper your success before you get started. Relax, study your stave, set up the back ring, mark out your bow and begin removing wood in a productive, thoughtful manner and you will succeed in your next attempt.       Pat

[adb]

Pat has given you some excellent advice. In my experience, that dreadful sound is death... the bow will break, sooner or later. Chaulk it up to experience, and make another. Back a few board bows with whatever you can find (hickory, bamboo, rawhide) and make your life easier. I do agree, I think you're asking too much too soon. Try again, but also try and stack the odds more in your favour.