tiller check buckthorn bow

[H Rhodes]

Dang it!  I doubt it is anything you did wrong Greg.  You tiller a bow with the best of them!   You really can't tell what's going on inside a piece of wood till you BEND it.  Sometimes there is just some little imperfection that just won't let it be a bow.     On the bright side, the woods are full of trees.

[Badly Bent]

Thanks for the kind words gang, not my first failed bow and won't be the last I'm sure lol. Learned some things from this project and glad I posted it up for advice from all you. This buckthorn is some cool wood and I have three more staves of it and I'm sure I'll get a shooter out of it.
This break happened on the bottom limb between the big knot at the fade and the next big knot 6" down. That area had a canoe like reflex and was somewhat concave on the back side with the limb edges rolled up above the center of the limb. Got it to thin there I
think, trying to get it bending in that area when maybe I shouldn't have. Extreme character staves are fun and challenging and it sure
keeps bow building interesting, won't be my last attempt at one of these.
Greg

[Jodocus]

Ah, what a pity. You could just as well have pulled it back then... 
Sorry about that one, and good luck on the next.