Backing surface question

[bassman]

A better bow maker may have prevented  what happened to my bows.I built the bows 62 long 2 wide at the fades to 3/4 at the tips for a 45 lb bow at 26 inch draw.
Tillered them to the best of my ability at the time.Not saying other backings will not work. Just stating what happened to me, and stating what can happen with that wood. Others may have made no break bows from Wild Choke Cherry with no problems. Just be aware that it is a brittle wood for bow making.Many better choices out their.

[IrishJay]

It's hard to say with certainty that any backing material will keep a bow from breaking. While they do add strength to the back and help prevent splinters from lifting they are not a cure all. In my experience with Black Cherry, when they fail its the back that gives out. The wood seems to be stout in terms of compression strength on the belly. So, any strong backing material should help with that, but no-one can say for sure your bow will be bulletproof with a backing, there are too many other variables at play.

[burtonridr]

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate all the responses so far.

I might have asked the wrong question, a better question I guess is, will a silk backing prevent tension failure? Does a silk back really alleviate stress on the back of the bow, or will it just prevent splinters from lifting? It seems like these would be two different issues, maybe someone more experienced can help explain the two issues.

The limb that broke on mine was a clean break across the back in nearly a straight line, not a splinter lifting. The limb then cracked up and down the limb separating the back from the belly for about 5-6 inches. Even with this failure though, the limb is still in one whole piece hanging together, but split apart pretty dramatically. I wish it were easier for me to upload pics at work, but I will try to get something tonight if it helps.

I guess another question would be, is what I'm describing tension failure? And will silk prevent or help prevent that? It seems like it would when I think about it, but i'm not sure.

I just want to make sure that what I'm doing is an appropriate solution for the problem, if not I'm open to other options.

[burtonridr]

A better bow maker may have prevented  what happened to my bows.I built the bows 62 long 2 wide at the fades to 3/4 at the tips for a 45 lb bow at 26 inch draw.
Tillered them to the best of my ability at the time.Not saying other backings will not work. Just stating what happened to me, and stating what can happen with that wood. Others may have made no break bows from Wild Choke Cherry with no problems. Just be aware that it is a brittle wood for bow making.Many better choices out their.

Were your bows un-backed? When they failed, did a splinter lift? Or was it more of a break across the limb like I experienced?

[bassman]

At full draw they shattered. It's good yours let go stringing it instead of at full draw. I have 1 left with the bark left on the back. It pulls 38 lbs at 26 inches. The other 1 is backed with the same cloth with 2 of  the ones that broke. Inside lining of a long leather jacket.  .May be polyester of some kind. Not sure. The other 2 had no backing. I have broken more than my fair share of self bows over the years, but none have broken as violently as wild Choke Cherry. No tick, Just bang.All that being said, I still would trust a Wild Choke Cherry bow if it was backed with sinew. Our Natives seemed to have known what they were doing.JMO

[burtonridr]

At full draw they shattered. It's good yours let go stringing it instead of at full draw. I have 1 left with the bark left on the back. It pulls 38 lbs at 26 inches. The other 1 is backed with the same cloth with 2 of  the ones that broke. Inside lining of a long leather jacket.  .May be polyester of some kind. Not sure. The other 2 had no backing. I have broken more than my fair share of self bows over the years, but none have broken as violently as wild Choke Cherry. No tick, Just bang.All that being said, I still would trust a Wild Choke Cherry bow if it was backed with sinew. Our Natives seemed to have known what they were doing.JMO

Thanks for sharing your experience Bassman, its caused me to rethink using chokecherry in the future