HELP!!! Cracks in back of bow!!(update: finished patch pics )

[Josh]

My osage bow after being shot at least 1000 times developed some cracks in the fade on the bottom limb on the back of the bow.  The cracks run with the grain but now there is a splinter of wood lifting between two of the cracks. The bow has a really high crown in this area so I believe that is why it cracked.   What should I do?  Do you think I can salvage it?   I don't have any pictures with me so I drew one with Paint.  This is a picture of the BACK of the bow.  The crack running across is barely raised when the bow is braced (can feel it when you run a fingernail over it.)  Can I fill it in with super glue and then wrap it with thread soaked in super glue?  I don't want to go any farther without good advice from you guys.   Thanks for looking.    -josh

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[Pappy]

That is about all you can do.Super glue and rap with sinew or thread soaked in glue.if it is
just lifting a grain and shows no hinge or weight loss that will most likely do the trick.I have
fixed several like that. Good luck and keep us posted.
   Pappy

[artcher1]

Super glue and a wrap will help with the longitudinal cracks but won't help much with that lateral crack between the two. You will need to secure those two sections of the lateral crack back together using a different method. I've used a leather piece super glued down over the crack and then wrapped with good results.  Before I add the wrap I trim down the edges of the leather first. Sometimes I just use the leather without the wrap and make it look like a knot. Good luck.

ART B

[Eric Krewson]

I had the exactly same kind of crack develop in my favorite bow. I super glued the crack, wrapped it serving thread and soaked the thread with superglue. Here is the fix.



Well, the fix lasted a year, killed a deer with the bow, shot a bunch of tournaments with it, then I noticed the patched limb had gotten weak. A close examination revealed the crack had extended almost an inch on either side of the patch. Here is the current fix, a new limb spliced into the bow to save it.

[bigcountry]

dadgone Eric, you really like that bow.

[Dano]

It ain't over till the big lady sings, huh Eric 

[Eric Krewson]

I could probably make me a new bow in half the time it will take me to splice in carefully match the new limb to the old. I just like extreme projects and have a lot of unmatched billets in my shop. The one I am using for this project came off what I thought was a good stave until I hit a huge rotten place in the top limb I couldn't work around. I cut the bad limb off the bow and the stave, hated to throw my good limbs away. They are not a match but did come out of the same group of sprout staves a friend cut for me, so they are very similar.

[Josh]

Thanks everyone for your replies.  I am going to go home tonight and put a rawhide patch on the cracks and then wrap with serving thread and super glue I think.  Wish me luck!     -josh

[artcher1]

Here's my first osage bow that I built years ago and decided to put back in action after reading your thread. It's condition is similar to yours. It had a splinter (mid-limb) that raised up from a pin knot plus a bunch of longitudinal cracks. Got the leather piece super glued down and going to cover that with deer skin rawhide back to the handle. Will do the other limb to match. Then may put a snake skin over the entire bow. Once skinned I'll probably wrap over the skin at the leather piece and match the other limb as will with a wrap. Good luck on yours.

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[Josh]

Good luck on yours too Artcher1.     -josh

[GregB]

Good luck to you both! Pappy did similar with his project bow that Eric did...instead of a spliced in new limb, he bought the kit and made it a takedown.

[Josh]

well, I sanded the finish off from around the cracks last night, filled the cracks with super glue.   Then I cut out a rawhide patch a couple of inches longer than the cracks and the width of the limb and tapered all the edges down flat.  I glued it down on the limb with tite bond II.  Tonight I am going to wrap it with the yellow b-50 dacron and super glue the heck outta that.  Maybe it will hold.     -josh   

[artcher1]

I glued my leather down with the super glue jell that I use for my tip overlays Jash. Then after I trimmed down the thickness and edges I saturate that with the thin runny super glue. Makes for a tough patch job. I know the Tite-bond glue is good stuff but not the best application for this job IMO since your bow is Osage and the wood is sometimes quite oily. But with a good wrap you may be just fine. Hoping for the best. ART

[Josh]

well here she is all patched up... super glue in the cracks, sanded down, titebond II then bevelled rawhide patch on top of cracks, then yellow B-50 dacron bow string wrapped, then 4 coats of super glue, then decorations on top of that now to sand and finish it out... Whew!     Hope it lasts!   thanks for looking and for all the great replies!!   You guys are the best!     
-josh

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[smokeu]

YOUR REPAIR IS WAY NICER THAN MINE.  Ill have to post it sometime.