Broken bows and hurt feelings

[bubby]

the fact is if you over build and play it safe you won't break to many, as you get more adventurous and start pushing it with design and such you will break more bows till you get it figured out, short bows , long draws=more kindling 

[DuBois]

Not the best stats here 
In the 2 + years I been at this I have broken at least 6 with only one minor injury. I have completed about 13-14 bows. The one I snapped that got me back is still being worked on, just about 6" shorter and highly modified from it's original design. Will post some pics of her soon.

[Newindian]

Ones I consider broken 7, ones that actually snapped and were compleatly unusable 5  and all but one of those was before I really knew what I was doing .

[Strongbow]

I've broken 2 and had to retire a 3rd due to compression fractures on the belly, all in my first 10 bows.

[Eric Krewson]

I repaired most of my broken bows by adding a new limb, too much work in them to send them to the burn pile. I gave all the repaired bows to newbie trad archers to help get them started, I made new bows for the original owners.

Here is a beautiful copperhead backed broken bow getting a new limb.

[Mark Smeltzer]

I tend to push the design limitations a little bit if it's a bow for me. If it's for someone else I will go with what i know works. That being said.  When I 'm making a bow for me I break probably a third of them. At first I was a little upset about it but I think it depends on your bow building goals. One of the things that I really don't want to do is to overbuild bows. I don't feel like that represent s the bows potential properly. And I don't think you learn as much from an over built bow.
I have more failures now than when I first started, when I look at those first bows and they are way over built. If that's what it takes to get a few working bows under your belt then go for it but for me that didn't last long.
The trick for most people is probably to find the balance between under and over built.

Mark

[Scottski]

Well I have broken at least 5 or 6 so far. But also got some shooters too.I was shooting one while it broke punched myself in the face and it bout blacked my eye. They guys I was shooting with got a laugh at first. Then my brother was sad I broke my bow. He gets more upset than I do when I break one. It is only a stick till I get to shoot it a few hundred times then its a bow. You will get a shooter just keep at it at least you are trying. Good luck on your next one looking forward to seeing pics of your first bow.

[Badger]

   I get a kick when you have a few guys over who don't build bows but like to watch. When one comes apart on the tiller tree they all sit silent with solemn faces, waiting for my reaction. Sometimes I bleed it for a minuyte or two just to mess with them.

[Mark Smeltzer]

Ya, these days I get over it pretty fast. Try to figure out what went wrong and then starting dreaming of the next rocket launcher. I have had a few explode in a pretty spectacular fashion, one of them was a BL at full draw while I was shooting it.  At about the 20th shot it just blew apart.... I never found the string, I think it may have landed on the roof of my house.

Mark