is this terminal?

[stuckinthemud]

Evening all,

this is my bendy-handle apple twisty sliver project - it splintered off a bigger stave and had crazy grain, twisting every way so I spent a good while with steam and dry heat to untwist it - mostly I just wanted to practice my straightening technique and eventually I got it pretty close - string aligned for tips and handle when this happened.



According to the mass calculator I am currently 8oz over the 12oz target mass, haven't got a long string on it yet but there is also a hinge 1/4 of the way in from one tip.  I did wonder about cutting it down hard for a short sinew bow - current length is 67".  Biggest problem is that the split looks to extend at least 6" along the belly beyond the open crack - so it may be as much as 12" long

[PEARL DRUMS]

I'd start another and warm your shop with that one.

[osage outlaw]

I agree with Pearly.  That split goes off the edge of the limb.  That's bad news.  Plus it has a hinge.  Maybe you could narrow it to remove that crack and make a kids bow out of it.   

[stuckinthemud]

A kids bow is an option - mid 20s at 24" would be fine; would cast suffer with such long limbs? Am concerned at the crack moving to mid way across the belly though

[osage outlaw]

I would narrow it so that you remove that crack.  If it goes to much towards the center it's firewood. 

[stuckinthemud]

Think its already there 😢 what's the best way to chase the split -rasp it out or go for broke, opening it with a chisel?

[bradsmith2010]

looks pretty bad,, but one never knows

[osage outlaw]

I would use a coarse rasp to remove it.  If you try to split it out it could go deeper.  How wide is your limb?  It doesn't take much width to make a 20 lb kid bow. 

[George Tsoukalas]

A big part of what we do as bowyers is solve problems.

You could remove the split with a drawknife, stuckinthemud.

Be careful. 

Approach into the main part of the split so as not to extend it. Do that on both sides.  That's what I would do and have done many a time with drying cracks.

In fact, I just did it on a hickory stave.

You may end up with a lighter bow than you wanted. Maybe not if you have enough thickness.

Jawge

[Limbit]

Superglue+C-clamp+thread binding=fix. Albeit, you'll have a hard time tillering it with a binding on there and you'll never fully trust it. But, in the nature of being a creative problem solver, I'd give it a shot and at least learn from it.

[Pappy]

I would rasp it out and see what I had left to work with, then decide, but it would have to go if it were mine.
 Pappy

[stuckinthemud]

Thanks guys, as its a bend handle, I don't think I can risk a repair, but maybe I will rasp it down and see what's left before I burn it as there nothing too lose

[WillS]

I'd glue it.  I've had very similar cracks running off the side of elm bows.  One in particular looked identical to that, and I glued it and ignored it.  It's now still shooting at around 115lb with no problems.

You'll never fully trust it, but that makes each shot all the more exciting.

[Marc St Louis]

Yes I would glue it down then tiller it out and if it holds together to near full draw then I would bind it.

[stuckinthemud]

Any tips on how to get the glue to penetrate to the very end of the split