Author Topic: Oh no! I broke it!  (Read 3172 times)

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Offline Jodocus

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Oh no! I broke it!
« on: December 16, 2013, 05:04:21 am »
This lever bow, wide and long, broke around 70# and 24" draw while I was exercising it. Actually, I think I know why, I didn't trust it all along. But it was almost there, a bit stiff in the inner limbs still. And I liked it, too.

It was probably too dry. I had the option to keep it in the workshop where it's frozen, or inside in the heated house. Chose inside, might have been a mistake. Second, the wood (sugar maple) was questionable. A bit of rot and bugbite here and there. And this knot wasn't making it better, either.

It really made a loud bang, but I myself got away  ;D
« Last Edit: December 16, 2013, 05:35:59 am by Jodocus »
Don't shoot!

Offline burchett.donald

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2013, 05:34:20 am »
Glad you didn't get nocked in the noggin... Sounds like you were almost there...
Genesis 27:3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

Offline Del the cat

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    • Derek Hutchison Native Wood Self Bows
Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2013, 09:44:50 am »
Yeah, but it's a very high quality break >:D ::)
I'll bet she went with bang...
Del
Health warning, these posts may contain traces of nut.

Offline adb

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2013, 10:34:31 am »
She'll always break your heart right at the end!  :o

Online Pappy

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #4 on: December 16, 2013, 10:43:11 am »
Hate it when that happens,looks like dry rot or 2 dry to me. I am with Del,bet that made a noise and had you scrambling for cover.. ;) :)
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Offline Jodocus

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #5 on: December 16, 2013, 11:10:13 am »
...it's a very high quality break

 :laugh:

It's the very first time I actually broke a bow. I was real lucky. I was pulling it in my hand. The lever was still fat and heavy and missed me by only little. My wife came over to the workshop and see what the noise was about.

She looked at it for a second and said the wood must have been too dry  ;D
Don't shoot!

Don Case

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #6 on: December 16, 2013, 01:23:54 pm »
That's to bad, but a least there is no gory pictures ;D. Is the top picture the belly and the bottom the back? If the top is the belly, is that a big chrysal I see on either side of the break? Would that be the cause, the belly collapsed? I'm pretty sure I'm going to be seeing a few of these. It might help to be able to diagnose the cause.
Thanks
Don

Offline lostarrow

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #7 on: December 16, 2013, 03:41:26 pm »
Those black streaks on the back are "spalt"  . Your wood had started to break down by means of bacteria. When you dry the wood and the bacteria dries , it turns black  (blue  on pine) .I don't think you had a chance my friend. Glad you weren't hurt.

Offline sleek

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #8 on: December 16, 2013, 04:22:22 pm »
Oh wow, good eye lostarrow. That is spalted for sure. Jodocus, you were doomed before you started. That wood was rotten. Now you ought not feel so bad cause it werent your fault :)
Tread softly and carry a bent stick.

Dont seek your happiness through the approval of others

Offline Gordon

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #9 on: December 16, 2013, 04:53:47 pm »
That looks like a compression failure to me.
Gordon

Offline Jodocus

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #10 on: December 16, 2013, 05:43:04 pm »
I had noticed the rot when I started. It was an old plank, real old. But I had been hoping to get away with it. Doh!
Don't shoot!

Offline Joec123able

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #11 on: December 16, 2013, 06:08:45 pm »
That's to bad, but a least there is no gory pictures ;D. Is the top picture the belly and the bottom the back? If the top is the belly, is that a big chrysal I see on either side of the break? Would that be the cause, the belly collapsed? I'm pretty sure I'm going to be seeing a few of these. It might help to be able to diagnose the cause.
Thanks
Don


 Of Course it Chrysaled ..... When it broke !
I like osage

Offline bow101

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #12 on: December 16, 2013, 06:57:08 pm »
As long as it did not break your noggin, build another and another,  more will break, more will break your heart and your love of woodworking, latlely I have not touched a peice of wood in the last 3 monnths..
"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."  Joseph Campbell

Offline Badly Bent

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #13 on: December 16, 2013, 08:32:19 pm »
Been there more times than I care to admit. :(
I ain't broke but I'm badly bent.

mikekeswick

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Re: Oh no! I broke it!
« Reply #14 on: December 17, 2013, 04:32:36 am »
These are the ones that you learn from!
Yes a very high quality break    ;) ;) ;)