how often do yall have one go boom?

[Oakenshield]

I never could have guessed how explosive the experience actually is. I figured maybe some fair warning in the way of splinters or something. I made a yew bow few weeks ago that violently exploded on both sides of the handle at the same time; It happens quick and with furry. I saw the hinges but I shot it at least 50 times, figured they weren't horrible, and the yew should take it at such low poundage. I was wrong.

[Sparky Buckwheat]

I have tried to make 18 bows and have had 6 explosions.  Two kids bows, two r/ d attempts and two adult longbows.  I have learned more from the broken ones than from the successes.  I have had two explode in my hands as I was drawing them. At least they tend to explode outwards ( or upwards if they are on the tiller tree). I have found that the past failures add to the thrill of finishing a bow and having it shoot.

EDIT:  I also have two staves that are questionable I am working on right now - one I have had to use some "forbidden material" on to try to save it as it has a SEVERE grain violation.  Even with my attempt to save it it may not make it, but I'll try (and learn) anyways.  The second has a huge hinge due to my lack of care on the belt sander (lesson: dont use a belt sander for tillering).  I dont expect it to survive.

[George Tsoukalas]

I've broken my share and then some. Jawge

[Drewster]

I have two bows out of fifteen that would break if I were to keep shooting them.  One developed chrysals and is getting worse, so I retired it.  The other had a defect in the wood but I was hoping it would hold together.  It'll blow too if someone continues to shoot it.  Another bowyer had rejected the stave and I figured I would gamble and give it a go.  Guess that's not too bad of a record so far.

And yes, I learn a LOT more from my failures too.  Expensive lessons sometime, but valuable.

[Vgo750]

Ive attempted about 20 bows and have 12 still shooting.  Ive only had 2 blow up but ive had belly checks develop after final tiller, severely hinged limbs, cracked backs during tillering, lifted splinters during layout, man all kinds of failures!

[Mark Smeltzer]

I have probaly 1 or 2 out of 10 fail. Not all in A spectacular fasion but lift a spinter or somthing too. I like to push the boundries and get a fast smooth bow bow sometimes push it too far. The last tri lam was purely a bad design, I tried one with no deflex and it concentrated too much stress in one area.

[Marc St Louis]

I've had a few over the years

[Pappy]

Like Del said, none for a while then 2 or 3 in a row, usually flawed wood, or as Badger said using border line bow wood , something with lots of character, I use to do that a lot, not so much anymore.  I usually make a Minnie bow if the wood is questionable now and if it takes the bend test most time I don't have any problems, if it don't I cook brats with it.
  Pappy

[bubby]

I think if you don't break one once in a while somethings wrong if you push design or try something new it happens, but don't push yourself you stagnate

[Joec123able]

It's pretty rare to break a bow unless the wood is flawed or you aren't being patient. Sometimes even if neither one of those occur it still blows up lol 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Blown bows at various stages ruined my shot. I can't convince myself to fully draw a bow anymore.

[Pappy]

Ya me also Chris, I still blame my short draw problem on trying to make my first bows out of ERC and didn't know what I was doing to boot, 25 or 30 years ago but still haunts me from time to time. 
  Pappy

[joachimM]

About 1 in 3 of my bows eventually fail. I'm in the rookie end of the bowyer's spectrum but occasionally produce bows I'm very satisfied with (in terms of performance & speed).

Most of my breaks are due to inexperience with the wood species and the limits of a particular bow design, pushing the limits (and ofthen rediscovering limits others bumped on way back) and outright stupidity (when you hear a tic at full draw, you should stop and back the bow instead of wondering if you'll hear another one at the next full draw  )

When I break a bow, I do an autopsy: why did it fail and how can I avoid it next time? As long as I can learn a lesson from every broken bow, i don't feel too bad about it.

[JoJoDapyro]

I thought I had my first exploder on Sunday. My latest takedown. The top limb wasn't set in the sleeve, it slipped out at 27 inches on the tree. 

[sleek]

I thought I had my first exploder on Sunday. My latest takedown. The top limb wasn't set in the sleeve, it slipped out at 27 inches on the tree. 

!