A new testiment to osages epicness

[Aries]

So when i began laying out this osage stave i notices a small 1" crack that extended all the way through the wood from front to back. knowing that this crack would eventually cause i problems i laied the bow out so that the crack was in the center line of the bow and would half to travel tip to tip to break from the bow.  The levers on the end  are bout 1" thick at the base and the handle is approximately 1/1/4 thick. the wood has a very slight helicopter twist and that is what caused the split to spread. I shot around a hundred arrows through this bow and listened to it moan and watched the crack grow slowly. one day i let an unknowledgable friend see the bow, he promptly pulled the string taunt and released it causing the energy meant for an arrow to reverberate through the wood dramatically splitting the bow apart from the lever to handle. i thought what the heck, well see how long this thing holds up. we continued to shoot the bow and have put about 100 more arrows through the bow since the accident, with no issues.    This bow STILL pulls 55-60# at 28" and shoots an arrow like a champ!!! 

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[Aries]

More

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[Aries]

handle and tip

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[George Tsoukalas]

I'd try to fix that. Glue it together and than back with rawhide is what I would do. In fact, i would have done it right away. Jawge

[Aries]

unstrung profile

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[Okie]

At least you're wearing safety glass. Man that thing looks like one of those wheelie bows with the split limbs. I'd at least wrap the limb with some sinew.

[Aries]

I'd try to fix that. Glue it together and than back with rawhide is what I would do. In fact, i would have done it right away. Jawge

well george we really just wanted to see how much this thing could handle. i thought about fixing it but i figured i could either make it into a fun experiment on osage's durability... or a cripple bow

[FlintWalker]

I'd heavily wrap each end of the split with sinew to keep it from splitting any further. Then just keep shooting it.

[aznboi3644]

I'd heavily wrap each end of the split with sinew to keep it from splitting any further. Then just keep shooting it.

Exactly what I was thinking...just wrap the ends well...shoot the crap out of it.  If it lasts than it will be a heck of a character bow

[El Destructo]

Aries.....I too would wrap the Tip end at the Lever with a good wrap of Sinew and Hide Glue....but I would Clamp it at the Handle....drill it ...dowel it with a 1/4" dowel and Titebond Glue...let the Glue dry....and them wrap it with Sinew and Hide Glue...and also leave the Split alone the rest of the way....those Linear Splits in Osage as long as they are stopped before they get to the Tips or before they run off a Limb....will not hurt a thing....Cool Bow ....hate to see it explode ....unless that really just what you want from it

[Pappy]

I'm with you Jawges,and I don't blame you for wearing gloves and glasses. I have had them like that before but always repaired them before I built the bow, cool looking anyway.
   Pappy

[Dean Marlow]

 Just shows why Osage is the durability champion in bow wood. You be careful wih that bow. And I am like everybody else and would wrap that with sinew .

[GregB]

It would be ashame to blow the bow when it can be saved and shot for who knows how much longer. I'd follow Jawge's advice!

[youngbowyer33]

i'd at least wrap it once in the middle just to hold it together a bit better

[PatM]

Well I would have to say that any decent bow wood could stand to be cut in half down the limb center and still shoot. Iin fact what you consider awesome is the primary weakness of Osage, the tendency to have little integrity between fibers.
 With other woods that would have never happened in the first place. The fact that the bow didn't break is actually not that remarkable. It just has double the amount of limb edges which are not any weaker than the outside edges.