sugar maple bow

[wapiti1997]

I gave and traded a few of these staves to friends at the moontree gathering this spring.  I roughed this one out and had it in front of the heat vent since February, it did not check anywhere and looked good.  I thinned the limbs and used a heat gun heat treated to reflex the tips a bit.  One of them cracked, and I still had room to thin and maybe get past the crack.





I did superglue the crack then thinned some. It's on the right side in the profile pic.  I have started to put the long string on and mark the stiff spots with the gizmo, still haven't braced it yet..  When I test on floor tiller as if I'm trying to string it, it feels very stiff, like well beyond the 50 # bows I'm used to stringing.

My question is, is this a fatal crack? if likely, then I have no problem starting something new, just don't want to waste time if the more experienced already know better...  This is only my 3rd attempt at a bow...

[Joec123able]

I think it will be fine as long as the tips are stiff. That walnut bow I posted has a crack just like that on the bottom tip from reflexing it

[Danzn Bar]

hey Joe,
You will be fine, the crack will most likely disappear  during tillering,  Fill it with some super glue.  Consentrate your tillering efforts at the fades then move to the tips. You will be very surprised how thin the tips can be .  I'm about finished with an osage that the tips are very thin
i'll be posting it very soon.  Continue with the long string and get the fades moving.  Youll be fine.
DBar

[Marc St Louis]

Even if the crack goes too deep you can still salvage the bow.  Just flatten the belly as best you can and glue a thin lam from tip to a few inches past the crack.  Then shape the recurve as you normally would

[Danzn Bar]

Joe........ how thick is the limb at the crack and where is it exactly?
DBar

[wapiti1997]

It's close to 1/2 inch and right in the recurve, you can see it on the right side in the profile, more noticeable "bend"..  It feels fine when I floor test it..

[TRACY]

Sinew will be a little added insurance wrapped after super glue. Looks very low risk to me.


Tracy

[osage outlaw]

Glad to see your making some shavings Joe.  That looks like a good bow you are working on.  I agree with what the other guys said.  You should be fine.  Can't wait to see that one finished up.

[hedgeapple]

Joe, I'm kind like you.  I like to know what I have to work with before I invest the time.  What seems to me to be the absolute safest thing to do, would be to glue on a shim/split as Marc suggested. Do you have any bows that are maple or even other wood that are similar to the one you're trying to build.  If so measure their thickness at the recurve.  This could give you a general idea as to how thin this area can be on a completed bow.  The recurve section just needs to be slightly thicker than the bending part of the limb preceding it.  I just measured the bow Blackhawk gave and the bow I just finished.  Blackhawks' bendy section .41 recurve .43.  My bow .42 bendy area .43 recurve.  Both of those are osage. 7/16 = .438"

Summary, it you can sand it down to .44, a freckle over 1/16 and remove the splitter, you're mostly like golden.  Just be sure to get the rest of the limb bending before you put to much strain on the tips.  If you get to .44 and there's still a crack, patch it and make your bow.

[BowEd]

wapati1997.....What was said previously is right and safe.Here's two tips with the same problem you've got.One is maple and one is osage.I superglued the maple and put a very thin overlay on the osage.Both bows are stable and have been shot lots and lots of times.Your fine bow will be fine.

[BowEd]

side view

[BowEd]

Sorry about the double picture.Here's the overall side view of bows.

[BowEd]

If you look real close you can see the crack on the maple beneath the superglue and finish.It's right at the apex of the bend and at center of limb.To me it's just cosmetic.My fault for not allowing a little more wood at the bend.Do it right next time.......LOL.The edges need to be rounded well too before bending.

[wapiti1997]

I got it tillered to my desired weight and draw.  I braced it and put a few arrows through it.  It is a sweet shooter, absolutely no handshock. I am planning to add walnut/antler tip overlays and was wondering if I can thin the tip at an angle from the back to add the tip overlays like many do with osage?  I plan to do that but maybe someone knows that maple for some reason shouldn't be done that way?

It does appear that it will take an inch or so of set, is that normal or is there something I did to induce it?  I exercised the limbs after limb removal, I'm certain it was dry, do some woods simply take more set?

I shoot 3 under and made the lower limb stiffer, -1/8" as measured with a bow square, is this possibly why no handshock?  I really haven't finished the tips as I planned to put overlays on and know tip weight can attribute to handshock.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate the help. 

[Danzn Bar]

Joe,
First question......I don't like cutting across the back/rings of any wood.  I don't have any experience with maple, but I wouldn't think it maters.  Without pictures it is tough to tell but, you can cut through some rings if you have enough thickness.  I've busted the tips off of some hickory bows doing the very thing your talking about.  I didn't have enough hickory to start with.

Second question......Some set isn't bad, some say a little (1-2") is ok and reduces hand shock.  Keep exercising the limbs after wood removal. All wood is different as far as set.

Third question.....3 under means that your pulling the string at a different point..... as long as during tillering your pulling the string at that point and the handle support is where your hand would be supporting the handle during draw then you are tillering the bow correctly.  which could contribute to less hand shock.

Please take all of these answers with a grain of salt, I'm still learning , just relaying my experiences. 

Keep bending the wood, learn with every bow.
DBar