I just got my new used bow today that I won on ebay. I opened it to find a few cracks in the glass of the top limb. Quite a dejecting experience. I don' t think it' s in the wood itself, but it is definitely in the glass. Kind of messes up all the plans I had for this bow.
Don' t give up on it. Contact either the bowyer, if he is still in business, or Jeff Massie about a possible repair. Describe to him what you are seeing and he can give you an idea of what he can do and what it would cost to repair it.
It' s an old Browning Nomad Stalker I. I got to lookin at it again and now I can' t tell if it' s a crack or a deep scratch. I can catch it with my nail and it looks like a crack from a distance; but when I get up close to it, it doesn' t look so much like a crack. The guy said he and his son shot it for over a year with no problems. It' s a lengthwise crack up the top limb next to a stabilizer type bushing. It' s a deep white line on black glass...if I can get some pictures of it I' ll try to post some.
Cracks that run the length or with the limb are generally not a big problem. Cracks running across the limb are a big problem. Keep the moisture out of the crack with a sealer and the bow should last for years. If you start to see the crack running under the glass or a seperation between the glass and the core wood, quit shooting it. Dick
Using a small ball of cotton, light rub the (flexed) limbs lengthwise and widthwise. If the limbs are splintering, strands of the cotton will hang on the edges of the splinters.
New bow blues
