glue for horn on notches??

[David_Daugherty]

I have this cherry stave I have been working on.  After tillering I was adjusting the brace height to allow the string to stretch when the string split the notch about 1/4".  So my options are to cut off the notches and shorten the bow or attempt to glue antler over the notches to relieve the stress on the wood.  I attempted the antler option, but my epoxy didn't hold up under the stress of the braced bow. So my question is...what is the best glue to use to bond the antler to the bow?  Or should I just  cut off the current notches and renotch the bow.  I would loose 3" of length but I have the extra length so thats not an issue.  Any advice would be great...thanks.

[JW_Halverson]

If your horn overlays on the tips popped off, I would guess two other possibilities before I said it was the epoxy.  Epoxy has fairly good gap filling qualities, so it helps when you do not have two perfectly mated surfaces.  My guesses, in no particular order are:

1) Your tips are bending, maybe only slightly.  Same problem applies to glued on handles.  Any bend and the shear forces pop the pieces off at the glue line.

2) Oil/wax or some other substance on one or the other glue faces. 

As for the splitting at the nocks, you can do a sinew wrap below the nocks.  If you don't have sinew, take sewing thread in the color of your choice, and wrap away.  Seal the thread with a couple coats of wood glue or thin epoxy or even superglue.  It's another trick in your trick bag.

[David_Daugherty]

Thanks.  I may try the sinew wrap, I've done that before and it worked fine.  After reading your post I think the tips might be bending some.

[Pat B]

I've had good luck glueing on overlays(horn, antler, wood) with gel super glue, thin super glue, TBIII and 2ton epoxy. Be sure that both glue surfaces mate well with each other and are greese free.

[Dances with squirrels]

Not all epoxies are created equal. I absolutely refuse to use some of them on any part of my bows. Don't use the cheap, dept. store, 5 min. epoxy. I use Smooth On a lot and never have issues.

Next important is surface preparation. With epoxy, the glueing surfaces should be perfectly mated, and then adequately roughened so that the glue joint is not starved of glue as it's held or clamped together.

Then, ensure the surfaces are free of oils or grease from hands, tools, and such. If there's any doubt, degrease with denatured alcohol or something similar.

I think these things are more important than whether or not the area 'works' a wee bit as the bow is drawn. If good gluing methods are used, a glue joint can bend and not fail, even at the handle. On the other hand, if good gluing practices are NOT used, it may fail even if the area doesn't bend a noticeable amount.

[dwardo]

Picture would help a bit more. I have split temporary nocks before but I always leave enough width to completely remove the split from the sides for the final nock shape. They can always be thinner than you think. Another cause of nocks splitting is un-even grooves placing more pressure on one side of the nock than the other.

A good quality epoxy should never fails under the stresses we put on a bow if glued up true,

[David_Daugherty]

Thanks for all the replies.  I'm gonna give it another go with a longer setting epoxy.  If I can get my computer working I will upload sime pics.

[David_Daugherty]

Just an update:  I took everyone's advice and decided to abandon the horn and attempt to file down the notches and build them back up.  That ended up being the best approach as it has worked perfectly.  I just uploaded a thread with pics.  Thanks again for all the advice.