Drilling out knot with crack

[PeteC]

I have a very nice osage bow that has developed a crack across a knot during tiller,@ 3/8" long. The bow already has several thousand shots on it,and it does'nt appear to be growing,but, it is enough that it cracked the finish. It still gives me the creeps however,and I'm considering drilling a 3/8" hole with a forster bit,then gluing a 1/8"deep osage plug in . Any of y'all ever tried it? If so ,what were the results,and what kind of glue did you use? Thanks, God bless

[PeteC]

I've always used titebond 3 for tip overlays.

[Pat B]

Is the crack only in the knot? If so it may not be a problem. Will you post a pic of the knot showing the crack?

[PeteC]

Pat, I couldn't get a decent shot that shows it,but it is across the knot and barely into a tiny part of a ring island I left around the knot itself is 5/16" across, with maybe 1/32" into the island. I was thinking of straddling the crack with a 3/8" forster cut hole ,then filling it with a plug maybe 1/8" -3/16" deep. What do you think?

[Pat B]

I've never plugged a knot so you might wait for someone with more experience. What I'd do is probably just fill the knot with thin super glue allowing it to sink into the crack. Sometimes that takes a couple of refills. But, without seeing the knot it just a guess.

[bownarra]

Don't use TB3 use a good quality slow setting epoxy.

[hoosierf]

With epoxy on ash.

[Del the cat]

You want a plug to be a tight fit...
Del

[Eric Krewson]

Well, you took a little super glueable crack and made it into a big circular crack. Some have had good luck with glued in patches and plugs, I have not.

[stuckinthemud]

Align the grain too.  Bit late now but I have had good success with superglue and wood flour on small splits like that one

[PeteC]

I hav'ent done anything yet. I might try the slow super glue trickle first .The crack is a hairline, so I'll just keep shooting the bow and keep an eye on it.Thanks for the input from everyone. God Bless

[scp]

With the modern flexible epoxy and precision tools, almost anything is possible with minor cracks or chrysals, even in the middle of the working limb. But it would be cheaper and faster to start with a better stave, unless what you have is rare, expensive, or very special to you. Still super glue is too easy and convenient not to try. I would wear safety goggles or use the tillering tree, for the full draw. Good luck.

[SLIMBOB]

Super glue and keep it flattish thru that area. Fill it until it won’t hold anymore. Then just keep an eye on it and cross your fingers.

[mmattockx]

Not mentioned yet is another possibility - putting a patch over the knot and crack. Could be linen threads or flax fibres for the full traditional treatment or synthetic fibres if those suit you better. Hide glue works great for the glue and I would trust that much more than hoping glue will keep a crack shut on the tension side of the limb.


Mark

[SLIMBOB]

I think it’s the belly (compression). Is it not?