ERC time bomb

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

Made a time bomb today.  Eastern red Cedar.  I put in the hours and chased the sapwood to roughly 3\8 inch thick and chased a single growth ring on the whole back..what a nightmare....but it can be done. just wanted an un-backed erc for myself so i left it 66" long and had it tillered really nice to  59# @ 26"   now I only draw about 25" keep in mind.   Pulled it back on the tree about 50 times and shot it about 20 times.  somewhere in the 20-30 shot area.KKKKKAAAAAAABBBLLLLAAAAAMMMMMMOOOOO.    No warning at all and no blemish in the wood at all. Completely random.  so when you think of a 2 1/4" wide cedar  66 long only being pulled to 25".....  It's a time bomb for sure......  you gotta back it if you want it to last...  I figured this might happen but I had to know for sure..lol  now i know.   sux cuz it was really beautiful.   it let go on my after my release, hit full draw fine but it exploded on the release.   so yes next time, i will back it with sinew....   but I had to try. I spent a lot of time tillering it out good too cuz i really wanted it to last...but nooooooooo.lol    dont try it, it wont work.lol

   for what it is worth..pound for pound  it was one of the fastest bows I have ever made.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Too bad Ryan. Sounds liek you kinda had an inkling it may happen. With ERC it may happen quite often. Stick with that yellow stuff your so good at!

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

yup, it just felt like a time bomb..lol  but i was hoping...sinew from now on.  just need a 60# or better ERC for my collection..lol

[Pat B]

Rawhide is a good backing for ERC.
  I had one go at full draw too a few years ago. Sure was cexciting! 

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

Yeah it was certainly exciting.  limb flew towards the target quite some ways.     i never liked the looks of backings, but sinew is about the only one that i can stand to look at.  rawhide, just doesnt do it for me for some reason..lol  im a finicky bird.

[Pat B]

To each, his own! 

[Keenan]

Sinewed that ERC that I am working on a few days ago. Glad I did. I may go ahead and do another layer just to be safe

[Gus]

Dog Gone It!

Sorry to hear it.
But good to know, as I'll be harvesting some Big Old ERC off my Uncle's place this year.
I done got clearance...

Got plenty of Sinew and Rawhide on hand for just such an emergency.

-gus

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

I woulda never been happy unless i tried one un-backed......but funny  how im still not happy.lol

[blackhawk]

ive thought about trying this in the dusty cobwebs of my mind,but then reality slaps me upside the head...i dont think i ever wanna try one unbacked.....sinew is def the best choice for this wood in my humble opinion. and i have the same feelings towards rawhide,it just doesnt do it for me either...and if im gonna add a backing i might as well take some extra time and get some extra performance out of it. yup...to each his own. glad your ok..thats the important part

@keenan...i only put two courses on the last one i just did,and it worked great

[Dean Marlow]

The loudest explosion I have ever heard from a bow breaking was an ERC sinewed back bow that I made. I was lucky it was on the tree. That was my last try using ERC. Dean

[tattoo dave]

That sucks! I made that same kind of time bomb about a month ago. Time bomb is right!! I think that bow ended up in at least 8 pieces as soon as I hit 27-28". I've got one more piece, I'll be backing that one for sure!

Tattoo Dave

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

ok so now we find the truths...lol        now the last one I made was sinew backed. in the BOM right now. Its still up and kicking well its 54# @ 28" and 70" long..lol  so it should be ok.
        I need a shorter one for my personal collection tho.  Im goin to sinew it and keep in mind I only draw 25.5" on a good day.  short short do you think I can safely go with a rigid handle and sinew at 60# @ 26"   next one I got up to bat is 64" long.   long enough you think?  maybe i should go back to a 66"one  like this one that broke, but sinew this time.

[cracker]

Well I for one am apalled that no one on here has demanded pics we must have pics of the splinters to be able to fully sympathize with you're plight. Ron

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