crack in osage bow belly

[sonny]

 I've been working on this stave off an on for a while, just found a crack in the belly though there's no way of telling how deep it goes without removing too much wood, costing some draw weight.
I had planned on backing with sinew and could certainly add an additional course over the place where this crack appears.....
I guess my biggest concern is the crack opening up as the sinew dries.

suggestions and wisecracks are welcome....


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[Pat B]

The crack looks like a check to me. A check is a compression fracture due to bending too much in one spot. Also looks like you heat treated the belly so it was probably too dry also when it bent there.

[sailordad]

if it was mine
i would make tomato stakes out of it nad find a nother stave to work on,that on looks to be doomed to me. jmho

[Pat B]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean check I meant to say a fret or chrysal but it looks like a compression fracture to me.

[rileyconcrete]

Looks scary to me. dont know if I would keep going on that. Not to sure if sinew will help either.?. maybe if you backed it and wrapped it? Just an idea.

Tell

[artcher1]

Looks like you're going to need a patch to salvage that bow. ART

[Eric Krewson]

yep, a patch like this one

[Alpinbogen]

The only time I've seen cracks form dead across the limb like that is when I've tried to recurve with dry heat.  I see scorching.  Was this an area of attempted recurve or kink removal?  I'm afraid it's dead as is.  Patch it (per Erik) or burn it.

[adb]

That's definately a major fret = overstressed wood. You must have had a hinge there, or very uneven tiller.

[woodstick]

i would take it in stride and start another one, just dont hurt yourself.

[adb]

I would also set that one aside (learn from the mistake), and start another. It's going to fail eventually.

[FVR]

Limited info.  Where on the belly is it?  It looks like, did you in fact dry heat?  Under the pencil mark, how deep is the crack, fret, stress, or whatever you want to call it?

If it was me, if it is located anywhere on the working limb, I would scrape down to see how far it goes.  May not be as bad as it seems.  If you can get to the bottome of it, take both limbs down and tiller for a light bow.

Then............................4 layers of sinew.  Sinew it up, let it dry, minor re-tiller and you've saved your bow. 

But it's a gamble and it may go bust. 

The best bows are the ones that you've had to solve problems with.   The better bows are the ones that failed and you learned something.

Good luck.

[sailordad]

you could do what FVR suggested.
but it hink its awast of time,hide glue and sinew
but to each his won.
like said before
tomato stakes and a new stave

[sonny]

.......with plenty of sinew on the back I'm of the opinion that it'll hold together. 

anyhow, the crack is near mid-limb, a little closer to the handle.
no telling how deep it goes. I reckon it could tiller out after sinew is applied.   


what kind of glue should I use if I decide to patch it ??
I already have Resorcinol and Titebond 3.

 

[Eric Krewson]

My patch was held in with Urac-185, it lasted 3 years of heavy shooting then the bow failed at the patch. I put a new limb on the bow and it is still shooting.