And some you lose

[DC]

I've got a 60" OS that pulls 28" that still shoot great. Might have been a flaw in the wood who knows. But I think Marc is right.

Recurve?

[George Tsoukalas]

DC, that bow is pretty heavily crowned; leaving it a few inches longer would have saved it probably.

That's usually what I do with saplings. With a sizable crown the stresses go right down the middle of the back and that is where the break is.

Also, looks like the design you chose stresses the bow quite  a bit

Jawge

[Gorzideudeus]

Maybe someday I'll dare to try bends like that!

[DC]

I took a shot. One of the problems with Ocean Spray is that an average large piece is 2", a few come bigger, but not many. They also come in limited lengths. They sorta put out new shoots every year so they will grow 5-6'(if you're lucky) and then next year a new side shoot takes over. So you're stuck with a 1 1/2" x 64" stave, average. It limits the design possibilities a bit. But every once in a while you'll get one that you can almost bend the ends together. That throws your judgement off a bit. Once in a while the first section will be less than 4' long but will be almost 3" in diameter. I'm going to start cutting those for billets. The upside, like Brendan said, is that there are hundreds of staves within walking distance of me. I could get up, go get a stave, and be back inside an hour, on foot.

[DC]

Maybe someday I'll dare to try bends like that!

I tried a half dozen times with offcuts and I could not get a tight bend in OS. That's why I used the inserts.

[upstatenybowyer]

Man sorry to hear about that one. If it's any consolation, I just had a short osage recurve blow up in my face  .

[Peacebow_Coos]

Bummer DC, I've had trouble with bending OS as well, with steam and dry heat.  Sure is tough stuff though, look at that belly still intact, now that's a tension break.  I'm sure your next one will be better

[Pappy]

That stinks, that was a beauty.
 Pappy

[bow101]

This is the OS recurve I've been working on. Managed 14 shots got 165fps on the 13th. You can see the tiny pin where the splinter(s) started. Just about every OS I've broken has started at a little pin. I guess 27 1/2" draw was too much. The bow is 64 NTN but the working limbs are only 18". I'm starting to see a size limitation for OS.

Yep, ya win some ya lose some, I have broke the last 2.  Currently nursing this next one. " but the working limbs are only 18"  I have found from experience that a working limb of 27" or more does not put as much stress on Wooden bows.
This is the problem I have always trying to achieve a good bow that pulls at least 40-42# at 28".  And later after tillering finding out the bow is only 36-38#... 

[Aaron H]

Bummer, is this the same bow that you had the recurve questions about?

[DC]

Yup. It's not all bad. I learned a bunch of stuff from this post. I had messed up a bit on the insert glue line so it wasn't going to be a showpiece anyway. One high point is that I've struggled with string alignment on recurves and this one kept the string on even when it broke. A step in the right direction

[Springbuck]

Ahhh, my condolences.  The good die young, right?

[DC]

I think it would have been a lot worse if it broke after 200 shots . But if I got 200 shots through it, it probably wouldn't have broke. It doesn't upset me to break a bow. I'm doing this because I like making bows. It doesn't matter what I'm working on. I've got 20 plus bows hanging on the wall behind me. If they didn't break they would just pile up on the floor. I honestly believe that if you pay attention you learn more breaking than making. At least you know you're taking it to the limit.

[burtonridr]

Ouch! that was a good lookin bow too.