dent on backing

[Corrado]

Hi all. I've been working on another bow and almost have it down to floor tiller. It's a flatbow hickory. It has a little bit of twist in the limbs and I've been heat treating it and using a cresent wrench with weight to pull the twist out. after a treating session I notest I put a pretty deep dent into the backing. Im thinking about sanding the backing down at that point before continuing tillering. No good? not sure what to do from here.. thanks in advance for any help.

[SLIMBOB]

What kind of backing?

[Corrado]

Sorry,. it's just a self bow . dented the natural fibers on the back

[PEARL DRUMS]

If the actual fibers of the wood arent broke I wouldnt worry. Hickory will stretch to the moon. In the future take a folded up piece of paper towel to cushion the wrench jaws. It works great.

[SLIMBOB]

Agree.

[lostarrow]

 If it's just dented , not broken fibres they can be swollen back to shape with a wet paper towel and an Iron. Go slow and check progress frequently. You could then "Bone " or burnish to even things out using a pice of smooth dense material such as bone , antler, hardwood, etc. Go light to make sure you don't overly crush the fibres. Check very carefully when stringing and drawing after for any signs of damage. Good luck!

[spyder1958]

Lost arrow nailed it. I've repaired many pool cues with some bad dents with that method. I like a round glass rod for rubbing it out after the wet towel steaming. Good luck

[JW_Halverson]

I had a dent like that once from putting some flip into a hickory bow tip.  It was backed with light linen canvas.  It sheared off right at the dent like it had been thru a band saw. 

Try the old furniture refinisher's trick of laying a wet cloth on it for several hours and then putting a hot iron on it to swell the fibers.  You will probably have to let this bow sit a week or three because once hickory absorbs water it is very reluctant to give it back up.  And even then, I would never fully trust it. 

[SLIMBOB]

The wet towel hot iron treatment may fix the dent from a cosmetic standpoint, but I don't think it will mend broken fibers in the back.  If they are not severed, I wouldn't do anything to it.  If they are cut or crushed, I might try building it up with sinew, and then wrapping with sinew at that spot.  JW's break not withstanding, hickory's pretty darn tough.

[JW_Halverson]

Hickory tough?!?!?  Ha!  THAT is an understatement.  That was the one and only hickory bow I have ever broken.  Had them make 90 degree hinges, but only one break!  I looooove hickory.

[Josh B]

I would definitely raise the dent with the previously mentioned method.  Several months ago, I was working on a warbow and the stave had gotten pretty dinged up.  I raised at least half a dozen dents that way, but missed a smaller one.  The small dent that I missed, let go at almost full draw.  Wow! What an explosion!  The other dents that had been raised were perfectly sound.  I wouldn't say it looked like a bandsaw cut on mine.  It was more like a single chop from Paul Bunyon's axe.  I think it would of been fine if I had raised the dent.  Josh

[BowEd]

I'll put my two cents in here.A couple of years ago I roughed out a red elm bow green and clamped it onto a 2"by4" in a reflex using chunks of 2"by4" as spacers.The edge of one of the spacers put a crease across the back of the bow.I saw it wrapped it too but long story short it broke on me while in the stand deer hunting right at that spot.Like JW said sheared it straight across at the crease.Hope it holds for you but I'd watch it and be ready to start another bow.I've used pipe wrenches to take twists out but put wooden lathe squares between the jaw of wrench and the bow and that worked great.The buffer wood you use should be softer than the bow wood ok.Good luck.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Makes you wonder how a board, regardless of cut, can ever stay together when one little ding on a stave bows back can end it.

[johnston]

Not really Pearlie, everyone knows board bows are much stronger over all than stave bows

[PEARL DRUMS]

Dont EVEN get me started Lane!