Why do I bother...updated... again

[tommy6]

I have been working on a hickory backed red oak bow off and on for the past 10 months or so. i will work on it a bit and than put it away for weeks at a time while I do other projects.
I had been putting some finishing touches on it lately including a leather and cyano glue grip that turned out beautiful and osage and deer antler nocks. I have been meticulous with tillering, and the bow was taking absolutely no set in its mildly reflexed limbs. I finally had it pulling 54# at 24" and I sanded her up nice and smooth.
This was the first red oak board bow I have ever made that did not take at least a little set during tillering and the bow has an unusual amount of snappy return for its 70" length.
This looked to be one of my finest bows yet, made even better that it was from a reject oak board I found in a dumpster. Reject to its former owner, but I immediately recognized its beauty and potential.
I began heat tempering the belly last night with my usual method of using a heat gun clamped to my tillering tree with the belly 4" under the nozzle. I heat until golden brown. The aroma of warming oak filled the garage mixed with the tru oil I rub in when the belly is still warm. As I was thinking about how long it has taken me to complete this bow and congradulating myself in my skills as a bowsmith, I heard a "crackle, pop."  My heat gun makes noises from time to time so I was not too alarmed. I glanced lovingly over at the bow heating under the gun and noticed that the glue line between the backing and the belly was wider than before. I turned off the heat gun and my heart sank. It started to delaminate! I immediately put it in a wood clamp to squeeze it tight in the desperate hope that it would stick back together. I felt like I was kicked in the you know whats. I went to bed and had night mares of fire.
Why do we bother...

[cowboy]

We bother because to most of us it's a passion . I've come to the conclusion (after several failed glue joints) that once you glue something up, then you don't want to put too much heat to it afterward. My little dissapointments were'nt to dissheartening though - just tip overlays .

[Ryano]

Most glues wont handle that kind of heat...urac being the exception.

[The Burnt Hill Archer]

its been said that the hunt is about the hunt, not the kill. in other words, we bother for the sake of bothering. like Cowboy said, its a passion. and all may not be lost. you can always take the backing off the rest of the way and clean up the back, then glue it or another one back on. ive never done this, but i dont see why it wont work.

remember, half the fun in bowmaking, is the problem solving. im sorry for your setback, and i understand your frustration. but ive been there before, and i almost quit all together. but i took a step back, a deep breath, and came to this site for help. after that little break, i came back to it, and the solution was staring me in the face. since then my bows have been getting better and better. just dont give up man!

Phil

[Papa Matt]

We bother because we love, Tommy.      Don't take it so hard, ol boy. Just a learning step. Once you glue something, don't put heat to it. Try again, heat first, let cool, and then glue later. Remember you're working with glue, not pure wood. Now dry your tears and start over. You'll be alright.

~~Papa Matt

[Justin Snyder]

Most of us do it because we cant help it and don't want to.  We are hopelessly addicted.

I don't heat a glued bow either.  If you are gluing laminations you can glue in the reflex/deflex or whatever you wish. You can also pick woods that are better in compression for the belly and materials that are better in tension for the back. You don't really need to heat treat them like a self bow to get a little more performance.  Justin

[tommy6]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I plan on putting her up on the shelf for  awhile. I havent given up on her yet.
It is a learning experience, thats true. In retrospect heres what I learned:
1. Since I glued her up 10 months ago, I probably used TBII, This glue obviously is unable to take much heat. I dont laminate backings with TBII anymore, I use resorcinol or epoxy.
2. For some reason the oak wasnt turning brown as quickly as usual. Therefore I probably heated the limb too deeply to too high of a temp.
3. This bow was glued up in mild perry reflex and that seemed to work great for a lively feel. I wonder if there was too much tension on the glue line due to this which encouraged the delam.
4. You can make a real nice bow out of red oak boards.
Maybe the Knap in in North Carolina will recharge my batteries.

[snedeker]

Do what Burnt Hill Archer said. Carefully heat the belly all over and shivy the backing string off with a knife.  Sand all and glue it up again with some reflex.

Dave

[Sidewinder]

All good advise my friend. Now if you think about it  you will realize that it was bound to happen if you heat up glue it gets soft. but thats kind of how we learn. Through tests and trials. When it hurts we don't usually make the same mistake twice. Keep on shaving and  it'll get better.   Danny

[Pat B]

If you used TB glue you can re-heat it and remove the backing, clean the surfaces and reglue them back in Perry reflex. I have removed 3 hickory backing strips from bows with heat and reused them on other bellies.     Pat

[GregB]

I've had a couple of bows out of osage break. That hurts when you've been involved from cutting and spliting the logs, chasing a grain, laying out the bow and shaping, tillering, applying snake skin's, inlay tips, sealing, etc. Ouch!

Always more wood...

[JackCrafty]

Yep, I feel your pain. You eventually learn not to get too attached to a bow until after you stop "messing" with it.

[George Tsoukalas]

We all make mistakes. I just finished sealing my deck with water sealer. No rain in the forecast but it looked like it. Cloudy as a son.  I should have expected it. Well started feeling a few drops of rain so I covered the deck with drop clots.  Then I started cleaning the garage and dropped a quart of primer that I just bought all over the garage. My wife said, "I thought that project was only going to take you a couple of hours. 3-4 hours later.... ..it happens. Jawge

[wally]

Yes we do it 'cos we love it. But I know that feeling. Was sinewing backing an Ipe bow. Carefully prepared the back, prepared all-ll that sinew, bashing it, seperating it, grouped it into about twenty fairly even shanks and put them between pages of one of the wife's thick rubbish magazines to keep the seperate. Got the rawhide glue a-melting, turned to get the magazine BUT my two boxer dogs had sniffed it out and eaten all the sinew, several pages as well. And I thought---why do i bother?
   Just had to order more sinew and start again.

[Kegan]

Call it passion, say it's because we love it. I vote crazy .

I've been working like mad on a new red oak board bow for this Saturday. I let it sit braced for a day, eased it to full draw, really worked on it. It was a beauty and it drew a staunch 84#, slinging arrows like a demon. And today it exploded on me (the grain ran off the inside of the fades, and with the heavy weight, the circular tiller just gave up there). I carefully took the new trign I made off and grabbed the Osage ELB I made from the stave Pat B so graciously sent me. All the while thinking... "I could have done that handle better anyway."

And thinking about the hickory and hornbeam staves drying in the back of the truck .