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Author Topic: belly cracks  (Read 6434 times)

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Offline RedBear1313

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belly cracks
« on: July 24, 2014, 11:52:28 pm »
got some small cracks on the belly of my first bow I'm working on here.

is this bow still doable or will it break?

these small cracks are on the belly.
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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2014, 11:56:10 pm »
Those cracks are what we call chrysals or frets.  It is caused by the cells on the belly of the bow crushing and failing. There is no easy fix.  Some guys have had luck with using a belly patch, but that's some advanced work right there.
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Offline RedBear1313

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2014, 11:58:23 pm »
well I believe they formed while I was trying to straighten the stave out.

 it had some twist and bend to it.
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Offline soy

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2014, 12:21:51 am »
Got a bit heavy handed with the reflexing....been there....time for a patch ;)
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Offline osage outlaw

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2014, 12:46:26 am »
How deep do they go?

How thick are your limbs?

If you haven't tillered the bow yet you might be able to remove them as you thin the limbs.  I've had those on tips that I've flipped.  I was able to remove them as I tillered the bow.
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Offline simson

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2014, 03:57:50 am »
what soy and osage outlaw said!
Mr Del (the cat) did a good buildalong patching on belly. You can find it here or at his blog.
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Simon
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Offline Pappy

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2014, 05:05:45 am »
Good advice already given, sometimes if not to deep and on the compression side they don't give any trouble anyway. All you can really do now is carry on and see how it works out, I bet it will work out fine. :)
    Pappy
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Offline DarkSoul

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2014, 06:32:56 am »
Next time, get the wood hotter before you apply pressure on it for heat correcting.
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Offline PatM

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2014, 11:29:42 am »
Not really chrysals if they appeared due to heating the stave and bending it backwards.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2014, 12:57:06 pm by PatM »
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Offline tom sawyer

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2014, 12:13:24 pm »
Yeah they do look like tension failures.  I don't have high hopes for the bow's survival though.
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Lennie
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Offline RedBear1313

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2014, 06:37:55 pm »
Quote from: tom sawyer on July 25, 2014, 12:13:24 pm
Yeah they do look like tension failures.  I don't have high hopes for the bow's survival though.

they're on the belly side though.

yes, I know the wood needs to be hotter now, though at the time I did feel it was hot enough becuase it was pretty freaking hot to the touch.

they don't appear too deep but Im not bending just to test it. I scraped some of it out which got most of it but then after the wood darkened up some they look almost the same so hard to tell how deep.

Haven't tillered yet, though it's close to finished weight because I scraped some off due to those cracks.

that spot is about 7/16" thick.

plan is to just continue on but I considered backing and wrapping with sinew.
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Offline Pat B

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2014, 07:09:55 pm »
You can get a tension fracture in the belly if you bend the stave into reflex(backwards).
 I would fill the crack with super glue. Being on the compression side of the bow makes it less likely to fail.
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Offline Will H

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #12 on: July 25, 2014, 11:02:15 pm »
I've done it plenty of times taming a stave on the form. Happens even when you get it hot enough sometimes. Don't worry 2 much about it. They've never caused any problems for me...
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Offline RedBear1313

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #13 on: July 27, 2014, 04:48:08 pm »
yeah I covered it with super glue right after it happened and have made sure to keep it nice and covered.
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Offline DuBois

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Re: belly cracks
« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2014, 09:58:57 pm »
Thought that looked like super glue on there. How heavy are you wanting this bow to be and how wide is that area of the limb? Also, how long is the stave? Best wishes and carry on man!
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