Tension fracture on my bow?

[Deerhunter21]

Ok. This is my only good shooting bow, every other one I just hate shooting because I've only been shooting this one and I finally got it so I don't shake at ALL when I draw, which is a big accomplishment then, tick! Smallest and tinest pop I've ever heard... And this. No let me say, this bow had been dryfired when a arrow decide do just not nock on and slipped right as I released but has been fired since

It's hophornbeam. What can I do? It's running off the bottom left of the knot.

[sleek]

Wow. Id say you were lucky to get this much life from it. Thats a bad looking knot! Good job on making that. I cant think of anything I'd do to that bow id trust, not even sinew. However, others may come along more hopeful and experienced than I am.

[willie]

glad you caught it before something exploded. I would consider a patch over the entire swirly area with some fibers and glue. hide glue and ?? do you want to keep it primitive?
there are some natural fibers to be collected this time of year in addition to  um not  so primitive kinds.

[Deerhunter21]

Wow. Id say you were lucky to get this much life from it. Thats a bad looking knot! Good job on making that. I cant think of anything I'd do to that bow id trust, not even sinew. However, others may come along more hopeful and experienced than I am.

yeah. i owe it to the 5 bowyers that helped me for 2 days straight basically... and one of them has a red beard, a nice tie dye shirt, and the paitence to withstand the barrage of 100,000 questions from a socially awkward 14 year old... im looking at you Dave

Willie,
i dont think i could put some glass on it if thats what you mean... i've already been suggested it by a bowyer i talk to about bows and stuff... this bow has too much meaning for me to, in my opinion, force it to keep on living in a way it wasn't made to live. might just be time to burn my name on the handle and retire it.

ill be out of practice shooting though... this was my only bow since all my others got damaged when the garage got re arranged... a bunch of heavy stuff got layed on them while i was gone. my fault for never moving them. now i keep a VERY close eye on my bow and i store it in a proper place.

[mmattockx]

I would consider a patch over the entire swirly area with some fibers and glue.

I agree that a patch would probably save the bow and make it shootable again.

there are some natural fibers to be collected this time of year in addition to  um not  so primitive kinds.

    

I would use one of the not so primitive kind to be sure it is strong enough, but I'm a heathen. I haven't used it before, but I suspect linen thread/yarn would be strong enough as well. I used Knox gelatin with not so primitive fibers to patch the pin knot on my last bow and it worked great. Was far easier to work with than epoxy or wood glue for that job and everything is still attached 500+ shots later... (yeah, I said that out loud).

i dont think i could put some glass on it if thats what you mean... i've already been suggested it by a bowyer i talk to about bows and stuff... this bow has too much meaning for me to, in my opinion, force it to keep on living in a way it wasn't made to live.

Flax fibers or linen yarn are natural fibers that would do a good job of patching and reinforcing that crack. I don't know if that is unacceptable to you, but I would say it is still traditional at least if not full on primitive, especially if you use hide glue to put them on.


Mark

[sleek]

Wow. Id say you were lucky to get this much life from it. Thats a bad looking knot! Good job on making that. I cant think of anything I'd do to that bow id trust, not even sinew. However, others may come along more hopeful and experienced than I am.

yeah. i owe it to the 5 bowyers that helped me for 2 days straight basically... and one of them has a red beard, a nice tie dye shirt, and the paitence to withstand the barrage of 100,000 questions from a socially awkward 14 year old... im looking at you Dave

Willie,
i dont think i could put some glass on it if thats what you mean... i've already been suggested it by a bowyer i talk to about bows and stuff... this bow has too much meaning for me to, in my opinion, force it to keep on living in a way it wasn't made to live. might just be time to burn my name on the handle and retire it.

ill be out of practice shooting though... this was my only bow since all my others got damaged when the garage got re arranged... a bunch of heavy stuff got layed on them while i was gone. my fault for never moving them. now i keep a VERY close eye on my bow and i store it in a proper place.

Id be willing to bet Dave would be happy to see you put your new skills to use and make another.

[willie]

  dogbane? milkweed? If you can find some linen cloth or similar natural non stretchy type cloths and tease out some threads or even jute or hemp fiber  recovered from string

Is the bow a sapling? the swirly area looks like a knot that was in the process of getting grown over. I suspect if you could see just underneath the back layer it would be uglier than you think. the patch would need to cover the entire swirly area and then some.

[Hawkdancer]

Mark has some good suggestions, add silk to the natural fiber list, and glue from  Knox gelatin, or the house brand at Wally World, even cheaper, same stuff.  Rawhide might work, too! As Kevin suggested: It is probably also time to start a new bow, you should be able to score some good hickory in your area, as well as elm and maybe some Osage! 
Hawkdancer

[Del the cat]

Rasp that area to a shallow flat scoop and glue on a patch of the same wood. A bit like making it a backed bow for 4-5" or so (the longer the better.
I'm a great believer in patching using the same material.
Del

[George Tsoukalas]

A wrap of some kind of twine set in glue and a sinew wrap set in hide glue might also help.

Let me offer some observations on how to avoid this problem with knots.

First, leave some wood around the knot. Let the grain limes swirl.

Second, the  tillering leave knotted areas just a little stiffer than the rest of the limb.

Knots, are prevalent in staves and learning how to handle them is important.

Jawge

[Jim Davis]

If the only damage is that longitudinal crack, I'd just go on shooting it. You have not broken any fibers, they just  opened up a little. The knot looks fine.

[JW_Halverson]

The crack you are referring to is the dark line running lengthwise along with the grain? If that's it, don't worry, unless it starts to run ACROSS grain.

[bjrogg]

If the only damage is that longitudinal crack, I'd just go on shooting it. You have not broken any fibers, they just  opened up a little. The knot looks fine.

That's what I'm thinking Jim.  Unless there's something I'm not seeing.
Bjrogg

[BAfromPA]

Bottom left side of the knot, looks like it's got a fracture straight across the grain. I would think that a wrap would hold up but a patch is a better solution. Del sure makes some pretty ones so I would follow his advice but to each his/her own.

[JW_Halverson]

Bottom left side of the knot, looks like it's got a fracture straight across the grain. I would think that a wrap would hold up but a patch is a better solution. Del sure makes some pretty ones so I would follow his advice but to each his/her own.

Are you looking at the "flying V" looking line at the bottom left of the diagonal dark mark in the center of the swirling grain?