Back cracks on osage?

[okie64]

Havent had much spare time for bow building in the last 6 months or so but i snuck in a couple hours in the shop today. I pulled a reject bow off the shelf of shame and started tinkering with it. Now this one had been sitting on that shelf for a couple of years and I couldnt remember why I quit on it but after bracing it and gently working it in I heard a ticking sound and it all came back to me. Ive never had these kind of cracks happen before and wandered if anyone else has seen them or knows what causes them. Theyre only in the snakey part of the limb and they dont go through to the belly.

[DC]

I've often wondered if a crook like that twists a bit when you bend it? That may cause it to crack.

[IndianGuy]

Those usually happen in the curing process and can be filled with super glue and clamped together till dry, You can also fill them with a mixture of tite bond and osage saw dust then when dry sand off excess, should be fine.
E

[Eric Krewson]

Super glue them until they won't hold anymore, no need to clamp because you will squeeze some of the superglue out of them, you want them full. Let the superglue set up and forget they were ever there, they won't be a problem.

One of my best bows has 13 such cracks in the back, they have never been a problem.

[blackhawk]

I personally don't like the looks of that...I've made me plenty of osage bows with checks n cracks,but that's just a bit too much for my liking. A series of cracks like that in a kink isn't good IMO..especially if left bare and unwrapped. And that one crack pretty much runs off to the edge and is way to close to the edge there...that ones gonna wanna splinter,and i don't think superglue is enough. That one needs a sinew wrap(aka bandaid) IMO. And if a wood needs that I chuck it in the burn pile cus I got a whole lot more better wood in the pile to use

[Josh B]

I don't have much confidence in that one holding either.  In the top pic, I can see a crack on the right side, below the transition radius from the back to the side.  The crack on the outside of the lower curve is also a bit more than I would expect to hold.  If you figure in all the other cracks and the ticking noise, I don't think she's gonna work out.  Josh

[okie64]

Well I superglued it and put a "bandaid" on it and I'll shoot it till it blows or not.  If it holds I'll probably put a reel on it and use it for bowfishing. I'll keep you guys updated as whether it holds up or not.

[bradsmith2010]

i just finished making one like that,, I wrapped it in linen at the curves like Simon had on one very similar,, it was sister billets so the opposing curves are beautiful,,I had put it aside like you until I saw Simon address the issue with the linen wrap,,mine had been on the shelf for 20 years,, I have shot it alot now,, I had my doubts as well,, but it has held and shoots great,,,it is not a heavy bow about 45 or 50 @ 28,, I dont think I would go for a heavy bow with that kind of issue,, just too much torque on the curvy area,,
I coated the linen with hide glue to get it to shrink tighter,, so far so good,, I am glad I finished it up and am going to put a snake skin wrap on back and belly so the wrapped area does not show,, and I think the curves will look nice with the snake skin,, good luck with yours,, there is always an element of risk with a challenging piece of wood,,,but sometimes it works out,, hope yours works out and shoots as well as mine,,,,,

[okie64]

Well I'm happy to say that this bow survived so far. I've shot the crap out of it over the last week and it is showing no more signs of stress. I'll try to post one of those slow motion vids of me shooting it later today.

[mikekeswick]

I also don't like the look of them one bit. I've also got a large pile of bow wood like Blackhawk...... Ticking noises only mean one thing for a bow of mine    but you only learn what's possible by trying so why not give it a go and a wrap will hold all sorts of things together!

[okie64]

I hate the look of the wraps but they are functional I guess. I also have a whole shop full of osage fellas, but this piece has been doing nothing more than collecting dust for the last few years anyway so why not give it a go.