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Author Topic: Broken ash bow  (Read 1559 times)

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Offline ksnow

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Broken ash bow
« on: June 06, 2017, 10:27:56 am »
About a month ago I was shooting in a new ash flatbow.  69 inches tip to tip, nice, wide limbs drawing 54 pounds at 26 inches.  I had been shooting it on and off for about 5 months, in weather from warm to 20 degrees.  I had decided it was time to put a finish on, so a couple coats of danish oil and she was looking pretty nice.  Two shooting sessions later, the upper limb explodes at about 7/8 draw.  Last night I finally had a good look at the pieces, an autopsy of sorts.  I thought the "back" grain layer looked odd, so I sawed the broken limb off at the handle. And what do I find?  There are three very fine rings on the back and then a MASS of early wood, never seen that before.  The belly rings looked nice.  Not sure how I did not notice the ring structure before.  I had to chase several rings off this bow, the log was from logging damage and had skidder marks on the outside.  I am actually impressed I could follow a fine ring like that.
Side of the handle:

End of the handle, cross section:


Kyle
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Broken ash bow
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2017, 10:30:17 am »
Looks like the first 10 or 12 years of its life it had lots of sun and water, then it was crowded out and shaded. Breaks happen man, get back on that pony! And, you learned something from it, that's priceless.
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Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline ksnow

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Re: Broken ash bow
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2017, 10:39:10 am »
Definitely learned a lesson.  I have two more staves from that tree, I going to look closely at those rings before I start.

Kyle
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Offline PatM

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Re: Broken ash bow
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2017, 10:53:46 am »
Also consider that Ash borers can weaken the tree gradually where it suffers from diminished growth ability as the tissues are starved.
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Offline bjrogg

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Re: Broken ash bow
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2017, 11:08:52 am »
The first ring I ever chased was on a belly split I made a bow for my grandson. That one does look like it got crowded out. Like Pearl said good learning experience. Time to make another, it's always time to make another.
Bjrogg
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A hot cup of coffee and a beautiful sunrise

Offline BowEd

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Re: Broken ash bow
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2017, 11:39:21 am »
Good diagnosis!!
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BowEd
You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Ed

Offline NonBacked

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Re: Broken ash bow
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2017, 12:07:05 pm »
Sorry about your ash bow failure. I’ve chased a lot of thin rings to get under bug damage, soft spots, or other damage, but I never considered a potential problem of wide “early growth” rings in the tension section of the limb. I’ll definitely look for it now. Thanks for sharing your BAD experience, but it’s a good lesson for you and the rest of us.
H
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