I knew it was to good to be true.

[mikekeswick]

I've found that if you try and change a bows shape after it has been tillered is a sure fire way to get these sort of cracks. They weren't chrysalis and could have been left completely alone and not harmed a thing. As Badger says they are ugly as hell but they won't fail on you. However once you've got a chrysal - firewood

[BowEd]

Now I'm wondering if anyone out there has continued to shoot a bow with compression fractures in the limbs.What happens to it.Not like this bow here but one where the design was not right for it.

[Hrothgar]

Glad to hear you've got it shooting. I'm curious about the first photo, did you leave the knot high on the belly side originally?

[joachimM]

I've had similar things, mostly on red oak, whenever I tried to use dry heat to make wood bend without enough patience.
Dry heat that is too hot makes the wood brittle, and you can get cracks in the wood that is put under tension during the bending action. Bending wood with dry heat needs to be done slowly and with gentle heat to avoid this.

As said, they don't seem to harm the bow's performance as long as they are merely tension cracks (on the belly) that occurred during bending.

Joachim

[John Scifres]

That's a bunch of movement in such a short space.  Was there a kink in the limb caused by a knot?  I think you were right to try to remove the cracks.  I could never trust a bow with those kind of cracks unless they were in a non-working area.  If you haven't caused a hinge or lost a bunch of weight removing them then the bow was too thick there and likely not sharing it's load of the work.

Beadman, Bows with compression fractures have inevitably failed on me.  I simply retire them or cut them up but I have lots of bows.

[sleek]

I have repaired several chrysals. Havent had them break yet. Lebhuntfish has a bow that chrysled on him that i repaired months ago. Have to ask him how thats holding up. 

[Arrowbuster]

  Here is the whole story. I got the bow tillered out and commenced to shoot it in. Bow shot real good. After I unstrung I noticed that I had gained about 11/2 inches of set. Particularly in the area where the knot was. It also had some prop twist that started after knot.Being the rookie I am,I just had to make that better. So I clamped her to a caul I made and commenced to heating. Looking back I may have got her a little hot. It did straighten the limbs up and although there is still set, the tips do not come behind the riser now when unstrung. But it resulted in the cracks pictured in the belly and 1 crack on the back that ran vertical with the grain. I superglued that one.  I have definitely learned a bunch of things on this bow and I feel my next one will be much better. So even if she fails I don't think it will be a total failure. The biggest thing I'm learning is that this is a patient persons game and do not rush into anything.
  I do want to thank everyone for there input, it's definitely helping me figure this stuff out.

[Springbuck]

Yeah, sorry I missed this thread.  Here is my takeaway ( because I never stop learning from you guys), and my two cents, because I have destroyed, and fixed, so many bows by reworking them......

"Too late in the game" is actually the perfect time, as far as I'm concerned, to add recurves or reflex, because the thin wood "takes" it better.  If you do it too soon the changes often change back as you thin and narrow stuff, but you have to plan ahead.

On the other hand, late-in-the-game change, like adding a recurve, generally require a lot of re-tillering.

Compression fractures and tension fractures caused by heat reflexing are two very different problems.

2" of reflex over 15" of limb is a lot.

[PEARL DRUMS]

2" over 15" is a walk in the park. It's nothing more than too much or too little heat applied.

[osage outlaw]

Can you post a picture of the form that you used to add the reflex?

[John Scifres]

Here's a Fixalong I did years ago.  http://sticknstring.webs.com/fixit.htm

[Arrowbuster]

Clint, here is a picture of the jig I made. I let the end overhang and I'm pretty sure where the jig is flat to end of tip was 16 inches.

[lebhuntfish]

Here's a Fixalong I did years ago.  http://sticknstring.webs.com/fixit.htm

Good fix a long

[Springbuck]

2" over 15" is a walk in the park. It's nothing more than too much or too little heat applied.

I maybe should have said, "for dry heat".  In this case I think it was.  But, it is osage.