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Author Topic: broken bow  (Read 2389 times)

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Offline Zion

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broken bow
« on: August 19, 2012, 05:34:42 pm »
Hi people here's another serviceberry bow which i made.... it's a weird story. First of all, i harvested a weird piece in the early spring which was about 1 1/2" in diam., but it fluctuated since it was a small sapling. One side was HEAVILY reflexed, while the other side was pretty much straight. Since i wasn't exactly anxious to work on it i let it sit there with sealed ends for about 5 months or so. Needless to say, when i went to start it recently, the wood was like iron. I got floor tillered after a while, and didn't use heat or anything else for the weird limb. With a lot of bend tests it just kinda came into shape on its own. So eventually i got a string on it, and the first brace was a nightmare....after about 5 hours of wood removal/pulling in 100 degree weather i finally got it reasonable. However, there was twist in the stave and from some angles it looked like there were hinges all over the place. I ignored that and looked at the overal shape, and called it ok for then. I narowed the tips and shot it a few times, and it was a great shooter. Then a HUGE splinter popped off the back, a whole growth ring right on the fades. I knew the bow was done, but i sanded the area so the damage wouldn't spread, and covered it in glue. I bent it and there was no cracking or anything. I retillered it because of the wood loss and called it good. Then on the BOTTOM limb, the exact same thing happened, and i did the same. Here are some pics of the bow after this happened, but needles to say, i was scared to draw it any further.....
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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: broken bow
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2012, 05:48:14 pm »
Almost looks like you are in WolfWatcher's backyard in Meeteetsee, WY!

Sorry to hear about the loss of this bow.  Allow yourself a proper amount of mourning and then start the next bow!
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Offline Zion

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Re: broken bow
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2012, 05:49:48 pm »
Here's some pictures of the bow at rest and the breaks. Right now it's in two pieces  ;D When i shot it it was great, but i honestly never expected this bow to survive....in fact im surprised it did so well...  ;) Yeah when im  not working in the morning and the day i work real late at night, im in the middle of a fever..  ;) Im not sure if these are the right pics because my comp is tweeking out...
« Last Edit: August 19, 2012, 05:53:48 pm by Zion »
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Offline lesken2011

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Re: broken bow
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2012, 06:39:14 pm »
She looks like she was a real sweetie! Sorry to hear about the break, though. :(
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: broken bow
« Reply #4 on: August 19, 2012, 06:46:36 pm »
Better start adding 10" to those bows so you can fully draw them without so much wood fatigue.
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Offline Zion

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Re: broken bow
« Reply #5 on: August 19, 2012, 07:01:48 pm »
Frankly, i was mystified by this piece of wood. First off, it was a funky stave, ( i don't have any pics) and i'm not very experienced with character bows. lesken2011, i'm working on a larger apple flatbow right now so i'll see how that works out. But the thing about serviceberry is that it's really dense, at .75 SG, so it can survive most of the strains that you can get away with using woods such as osage or oak or something. Do any of you know if harvesting woods like serviceberry or hawthorn is favorable in the late summer, like osage? 'Cuz harvesting this piece in the spring without chasin a ring could have been it's downfall. This bow really tought me some things about tillering with twist, thats for sure!!!  :laugh:
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blackhawk

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Re: broken bow
« Reply #6 on: August 19, 2012, 07:27:48 pm »
Wood density is only one of many factors and properties that make a wood suitable for a bow. Just because its in the .70s sg doesn't mean it carries the same properties in tension,compression,and elasticity as another wood with the same density.

Serviceberry is pretty strong wood,but it doesn't favor short unbacked high stressed designs in my experiences with it. I agree with pearl,you need to adjust your design to a longer length.
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Offline Zion

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Re: broken bow
« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2012, 07:41:14 pm »
ok thx for the advice guys i'm gonna try that, hopefully i can get a larger straighter piece without it having twisted grain....
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The secret of life is learning to make your own luck.

Offline Hamish

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Re: broken bow
« Reply #8 on: August 19, 2012, 10:32:47 pm »
Craftmanship looks good, you just need a longer and or wider stave.
                                                                                                               Hamish.
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