Snakey Osage limb crack

[uncleduck]

Took a bit of time off from bow making but getting back into it soon. I had this snakey osage most of the way done when I put it down. Now that I pulled it out of storage, I can see that a crack has developed 1/3 limblength from the tip on upper limb. Crack goes all the way through the limb and I dont have enough width to eliminate it. Crack is in concave section of the snake. Any recommendations on a fix or is it a lost cause? I was thinking possibly a serving wrap soaked in super glue after trying to fill the crack itself with super glue? Would really like to try to save it if possible bc it's a cool piece of wood...but I'd rather not get smoked in the face when it breaks lol

[jeffp51]

round off the corners to relieve some of the strain and eliminate some of the crack, then soak with thin CA glue and wrap with strong thread or sinew, then pray.  How close to final tiller are you?

[Bryce]

That’s a bummer man. Can’t really see where in the limb it’s at. You could try and fix it up but I wouldn’t trust it. How wide are the limbs? You might be able to skinny it up depending on where you’re at with the tiller. Osage at 7/8”-1” wide will still make a heavy enough bow for killin.
Plus there is always the option of cutting that limb off and splicing in a new snakey limb, I’ve done that a few times.

[Woodely]

Could be dicey, if it was mine I would chuk it in the burn pile.

[uncleduck]

Limb is 1" wide at the crack, would have to take 1/8" off to eliminate the crack. Here is a pic showing location

[bradsmith2010]

if you sinew wrap it ,, it should hold,, 
I think sometimes there is more strain in the twisted part,, have had it happen a few times on the snakey bows,, linen twine with super glue is pretty strong too,,
I have done it both ways,, I think you can keep it shooting,,

[uncleduck]

Full length pic.

It was pretty close to done from what I can remember. 

[Artus]

How long is it?

[bradsmith2010]

give it a try,, its a beautiful piece of wood,,
if you put a snake skin on,, it will cover most the wrap,,
then paint the wrap on the belly side,, and paint a matching spot on the other limb ,, it will look fine,,
if you need to adjust tiller a bit ok,, if the wrapped part is a bit stiff,, it will shoot fine,,

if you are still worried,, after you wrap it,, then just reduce the draw a bit,, that will reduce the stress on the limb,,
  then use it for hunting, where you dont shoot a million times,, like a target bow,,it has enough life to make some meat,,

[SLIMBOB]

You might have had some run out of the grain in that spot.  If you narrow it, that might make it worse.  Hate to lose one that pretty, but I would never trust it.

[Bryce]

Limb is 1" wide at the crack, would have to take 1/8" off to eliminate the crack. Here is a pic showing location

That’s just about the worse spot for it to be at:/ how wide at the fades? 1/8” out of the width isn’t anything if the tiller is still early on.

[Eric Krewson]

Superglue and a tight thread or sinew wrap will make it hold. If the crack went deeper into the limb it would be a goner but I have fixed several bows cracked like yours and they all made it another 4 or 5 years and 10s of thousands of shots. They will reach a point somewhere down the road where they fail but it will be a long ways off. I have fixed several that made it another 100K shots at least.

I use braided serving thread after glueing the crack and soak the thread wrap until it won't hold anymore.

[bradsmith2010]

I understand a concern for the bow breaking,, I think its worth giving it a try,,
I have not used the braided thread ,, but it that sounds like a positive option,,
a lot of work went into shaping out that difficult stave,,and if a bit of sinew or braided serving will get some life out of the bow,, or kill a deer,, then go for it,
I prefer sinew because I have more experience,, with that,,
I have fixed similar issues and worse,, so dont lose hope on that one,,

no offense to you guys that think its a no go,, you could be right and it might blow the first pull,, but I would give it a try so I would know before I scrap it,,,

[DC]

It's such a beautiful stave, be a shame not to try something.

[SLIMBOB]

Certainly no harm in trying.