THE DEATH OF A BOW..

[hawkbow]

Despite all of the great advise and helpfull hints concerning bow building.. My inability to learn anything unless I do it myself cost me dearly this morning..my recent post of my first Osage bow ended in tragedy  ... after shooting about fifty arrows from her with great results.. I drew her one last time, the bottom limb broke off in one fluid motion right where the four growth rings showed ... on the good side her last arrow struck the mark .. I feel sorry for the bowyer who trusted me with the beautiful stave from which she came.. and hope my ignorance of the building process hasn't offended him with the end result.. I am still undetered.. and will build another.. soon.. I will post pics of the break and hope the bowers can help me determine exactly where I went wrong so as not to repeat the process.. I feel that i probably strayed from the single growth ring rule and thus caused the demise of her at such a young age....if there is a category for broken bow of the month I hope to enter her...     Hawk a/ho

[kayakfisher]

Hawkbow sorry to hear that ,it is experience gained but man do not be afraid to get back up on that horse again ,also do not be afraid to back your bows with rawhide or sinew to me rawhide is easier to apply then sinew. My hat is off it was a nice looking bow, and to come so far on your first one was no easy task, Learn from mistakes and the next one will be even better . we have all been there
                                              Dennis

[DanaM]

Tough break Mike
Did ya need clean pants after she broke It happnes to everybody Mike and I do mean everybody.
Now you've joined the broken bow club and tell tall tales around the campfire

[Pat B]

Sorry to hear that your first bow broke but it has happened(and will continue to happen) to all of us. You did a great job of tillering her but violated rings are usually the downfall of a wood bow. Hang on to this bow. She will teach you a lot in time to come. Just keep studying the break and she will teach you.
   I'm sure your bowyer friend will understand. If you are coming to the Classic, that will be a good opportunity to build a new bow with lots of teachers telling you what to do.       
   If you ain't breakin' em, you ain't makin' em!!!      Pat

[Eric Krewson]

I have never seen an osage bow with violated rings on the back last very long. This includes the first bow I made, even though it was sinew backed it only made it 30 shots or so. I chased rings on every osage bow I have made since and broken very few.

[Hillbilly]

Sorry to hear it, but it's happened to probably all of us. The tiller looked great, but looked like there were quite a few rings cut through on the back. If you can get the back of the next one worked down to a single ring and tiller it like that one, it'll probably last a lifetime.

[Badger]

Yep, that osage won't forgive a violation. I am working one one right now that is tough and I am chaseing the back for about the 8th time. One little vilation will ruin a bow. Keep at it we all been there. Steve

[El Destructo]

I was hoping that you would heed the Advice before the Bow gave up the Ghost....so sorry that it didn't make it....I have a Corner in My Garage with my Memories and lessons learned....now it's time for you to start one yourself...it may be the First....but it wont be your last

Michael......El Destructo......Roberts

[ricktrojanowski]

Sorry to hear that.  She as a real beauty.  Like everyone said it happens to us all.

[Pappy]

Sorry to hear that,Like Eric said,lesson learned.There is always the next one.
   Pappy

[GregB]

We've all had bows break for one reason or another. Sometimes it can be a flaw in the wood that causes it to break. If there is any concern about the back being solid, probably should back the bow.

I'm working on an osage now that has a good sized worm hole going through the middle of one limb. Filled the hole with osage dust and tbIII...would have preferred a dowel, but the hole was angled and obround on the belly. I backed it with deer hide, and shot it for the first time yesterday. So far so good...

[El Destructo]

Greg...I have one with three big Wormholes in it....and I never even filled them....and it is 3 years old and still going strong....so I bet She will stay together for ya.....

[attachment deleted by admin]

[George Tsoukalas]

Worm holes are ok and usually fatal except may be for the worm that was once in it.. I've had several go at full draw over the years. Neither one of those I want to repeat so I try to stack the odds in my favor. There are never any violated rings on any of my bows. Never. LOL at least not intentionally. If anyone tells you that backing the bow will insure it will not pop even though the a ring is violated then just remember how it feels when a bow explodes at full draw. Jawge:)

[cowboy]

Sorry ta hear that Mike, but like everyone else said - learn from your mistakes and git back on that horse ..