gluing siyahs on a stave..

[aero86]

ok, so you guys saw my first attempt.  while i wait for some backing and find another piece of good oak, i have a hickory stave id like to try to make a "self" bow out of.  now, my only problem is, when i glue the siyahs on, they need flat surfaces of course, but it will break the back ring of the stave, wont that cause problems?

[Del the cat]

Short answer:-
No. 
Long answer:-
There is too much "whooo you'll die if you cut a growth ring" IMHO.
And in this case the glued on Siyah and binding/glue etc becomes an integral part of the structure in the area with the cut through rings.
Otherwise it's like saying will a Boeing 747 fall to piesces because a single piece of thin flat sheet aluminium isn't very strong.
It's not much different from a glued on tip overlay, but a bit bigger....
Del

[toomanyknots]

"There is too much "whooo you'll die if you cut a growth ring" IMHO."

Exactly. Although there are of course limits that we are bound to in making bows from wood, if you don't try things how are you going to know where those limits are.  When starting out I have violated many back rings on the sides and at knots in various ways in woods that I know from doing it before could take it before I knew that I wasn't supposed to do that. Tryed an osage stave I got a hold of that didn't like that though, , but toward the ends are the least stressed area. I still violate the back ring on the tips of alot of my self bows. Now in my opinion if you make something you should make it as best you can which mean no back violations but sometimes you have to to even out a crown that you couldn't follow due to flaws in the wood or the staves thickness didn't split in the direction you wanted and to get a raised handle you have to "funk" it up a bit. Now with a board bow you really don't want a back ring at all. What you want is as close to quarter/rift sawn as possible, where the rings are sideways instead of layered facing you. That way you don't have to worry. Btw: You bow was awesome. Sorry for the break. On a normal bow it would be no big deal but those were GORGEOUS siyahs and the contrast between the white hickory and the black walnut looked very good. I would say that the design was good too with the base glued tp the bow being long and wide, if would probably be very safe. Anyway, just ranting... 

[shikari]

Do  a v splice instead of gluing them on top.The v splice will give you more gluing surface and then wrap the joint with twine soaked in superglue.What have you got to loose?

[JW_Halverson]

Shikari, do you have some photos showing the details of the V Splice for the siyas?

[shikari]

I don't have a camera at the moment but all you need to do is cut a v in the stave 3 -4 inches long by 1 inch wide,make the same cut on the sahiya and glue and clamp,if the joint is not tight you can steam the v and clamp it on the sahiya to make a tight enough fit.

[aero86]

ever made a v splice with just hand tools?  i dont have any power tools.  i mean, i know they did it in the past that way, but i dont know if they used jigs or what!

[walkabout]

it wouldnt be easy but you would essentially need a mitre jig that would allow you to cut from the end with the stave vertical. this could actually help in making more precise cuts.

[aero86]

thats a good idea.  just have to figure out some way to make it.  probably come up with something to clamp into my bow bench..  depends on how this bow goes..

[walkabout]

a simple jig could be made by first drawing your proposed splice, then measuring the angle needed, transferring it onto a piece of wood and cut into the wood following the angle. in theory this could serve as a guide for your saw when cutting your actual splice.it could then be clamped to your stave in a vice upright so you could cut the angle. i think the hardest part would be getting it lined up but if you do some planning and line up the corner and have the jig flush it would probably work well.

[shikari]

You are complicating a simple thing,draw a centreline on the stave/board,measure the length you want to make the splice then measure the width you want to make the splice at the tip and draw your v,them use a saw(I use a japanese hand saw and clamp the wood to the table using clamps.

[aero86]

i know i am.  i just would like to use a jig if possible