Bow repair possible? Yew sapwood split.

[Ruddy Darter]

A member at my archery club asked if a sapwood repair was possible for his 60lbs European yew bow, it is halfway down the lower limb. He said when he strung it he heard a loud crack so i presume its all the way through the back, would thin superglue and binding be a fix? I'm not sure I would trust it again if it were mine but I thought I'd ask on the forum. Thanks for any advice..
R.D.

[Pat B]

Cracks like that(checks) follow the grain of the wood. If that is the case here it doesn't look good. Do you know if it was a sawn stave or split out? I'd say it was sawn and the supplier didn't notice the twist in the tree's growth.
 Thin super glue and a wrap is the only remedy I can think of but like you I don't know if I would trust it either.

[Ruddy Darter]

Ok, thanks Pat B, I don't know about the stave and it was made a few years back. I did say he might be better off hanging it on the wall with a couple of crossed arrows as a show piece and I think I'll stick to that line, and I don't really want to waste my time doing a bodge fix for him. Thanks again,
 R.D.

[lebhuntfish]

I'm with pat, I wouldn't trust it at all. Plus that will probably create a fairly stiff spot and cause the tiller to be off adding undo stress on the rest of the limb. Being yew that could have explosive results.

Patrick

[superdav95]

Ya I would also agree with pat on this too.  Dose t look good. 

[Del the cat]

Rasp out a long scoop of the sap wood about twice as long as the crack and to the full depth of the sapwood. This might show if the crack goes through into the heart wood (in which case, probably not a realistic repair). Then overlay a long thin patch of sapwood suitably shaped to conform to the bit you rasped out. Glue that in and then do a fine linen thread binding (soaked in thin superglue) at each end of the patch to prevent the ends lifting.
Travel in hope rather than expectation
Del

[Ruddy Darter]

Thanks Del the cat, I remember seeing you do that on a bow, I don't think I'll spend time doing that without certainty, I got a lot I want to get on with..and if I make a bow that weight in the near future a trade would be better  ,
R.D.

[Hamish]

I can't tell the extent of damage from that one photo, but if the crack doesn't go into the sapwood back, it could be repaired like Del mentions.

I personally wouldn't bother trying to repair it, even for a good friend, and even  if I was confident of a reasonable chance of success. It's a thankless job, which is tricky, a lot of work, all risk with no reward to you. Ruddy, you make really nice bows, tell him he's better off commissioning a new bow from you that doesn't have any issues, for a price you are happy with.

 It would be interesting to know how long the owner had this bow, and was shooting it for? What style of stringing the bow did he use(I'm guessing step through)?

[Ruddy Darter]

Thanks Hamish, the bow is  a few years old, and has been owned previously by a another member, certainly not from an A grade stave and quite twisty. He did use a stronger for bracing the bow. I think we can do a deal on a new bow, he has other bows he is happy to use in the meantime.
 R.D.