Selfbow break
 

Sad night. my osage bow broke at the handle. NOt sure how, but I heard the tick last. Wasn't meant to be

Oh well, have to make a better one this week at the baltimore trad classic.:D

http://s301.photobucket.com/albums/nn73/bigcountry_ky/OsageBow/

RE: Selfbow break
 

Dang that sucks man! Atleast now you have an excuse to make a new one!:D

RE: Selfbow break
 

That had to hurt aye'..... thats a Bummer BC, at least you get another chance to make one!

RE: Selfbow break
 

Yea, I was a little sad last night. I was told this bow was sinewed under the snake skin, and kinda surprised it would crack near the grip. I wonder if a skillful man could plane down the grip area and not disturb the growth rings that run the entire bow ( it didn't crack in the growth rings that the limbs are made of), and glue on a new grip, and rasp down to match. Maybe push the fade outs little out to strengthen things.

Or just make it into a working handle bow. It would be lighter however.

RE: Selfbow break
 

Its worth a shot, besides what else are you gonna do with it??

RE: Selfbow break
 

BC, that crack is actually in what is essentially a non-working area of the bow, so I think it's not that big of a problem. What I'd do, if it was me, is this:

1: Take some liquid super glue and try to get some to seep down into the crack.

2: If not, coat the area with epoxy and wrap it tightly with heavy thread, color of your choice. Upholstery thread is what I'd recommend. Just one or two layers should be plenty. Finish the wrap just like you're serving a string to make it look nice. Just make sure to keep the wraps tight. From the photos, I can tell you'll have to remove your leather plate in order to wrap it right. If you've got access to sinew and hide glue, that'd work too.

3: Coat the wrapping with polyurethane to finish.

4: To make the wrap look like a decorative feature instead of a repair, measure down the same distance from the center of the bow and put another wrap there. Epoxy, wrap, poly, just like on the actual repair.

I've done this repair even in working areas of limbs and had it hold for a long time, so it should do just fine right there next to the grip.

RE: Selfbow break
 

sounds good....but if it were me id put it on the wallas decorationand officially retire it.

Wood is a funny thing....if its not seasoned or cut properly all sorts of things can go wrong....even then it has to be the right peice cut of wood in the raw material stage.....especially in something like a bow

could be something in the design of the bow that caused the crack too.

selecting the right peice of wood is an art all in its own.


thats too bad BC looks like a cool bow to shoot.

RE: Selfbow break
 

Arthur, I have this feeling when I take off that leather wrap, there's a big knot in it. Because everytime I pull back slightly, I hear crackling. I bet the back is broken under it. I just can't figure how how it broke in this area? When I bought it, they guy I got it off of, said, the leather handle wrap was look so they had to glue it down with barge. Now, nothing wrong with gluwing it down, but thought it was strange to let me know it.

If I see the back or rings are not broke, I might try your fix.

RE: Selfbow break
 

The bow might also be made with spliced billets instead of a single stave, and the leather grip could be covering up the splice. Rarely a problem if the splice is done properly, but....[&:] If it is spliced, the glue in the splice might be giving way. That could cause the crackling and it could even have caused the crack to form.

Still, it just looks like a simple compression fracture to me.

Only way to know for sure what you've got is to peel off the leather and take a look. That's why I always liked making my own. I know for sure what I've got in my hand.

And I have to agree with Alpha Capo. Some pieces of wood just never want to be a bow and, if you force them into it, they'll quit just as soon as they can. But I'd still try and fix it once. If it fails again, you'll know it's a lost cause.

RE: Selfbow break
 

Ok, thanks for the advise. A guy on Tradgang suggested I get the bow to the single growth rings running up the limbs and add layers of Osage and fill in the shelf with some wood. But that sounds little tough.