Did You Break Any This Year

[George Tsoukalas]

I don't remember. I don't think so but I haven't made many. Jawge

[skyarrow]

I broke one which was destined to break it was the asymmetrical redoak board bow more of a test than anything. I have a question im working on a hinge bow project  atm which has tons of notts. If you are going to just burn your good limbs on the broken bows what would you  like in trade for these broken bows id like to test my hinge designe before i put it on the good billits

[autologus]

I am working on Bows 7 and 8 and have only 1 functional bow so I guess that would be 5.  But nothing catastrophic they just tend to chrysal and fret.  I have been trying to make short bows with long draws with inferior designs, more of a learning exorcise really.

Grady

[nativenoobowyer86]

1 explosive yew/sinew, and one chysalled elm bow, out of 8 this year

[Weylin]

Just one rawhide backed osage... go figure. 

[Dictionary]

never heard of anyone breaking a bow at floor tiller before 

[rossfactor]

No. But I only made 3.

[skyarrow]

I tested my new moisture meter on the bow that broke a few weeks ago and its was at 6% no wonder it broke nowthat i have a meter i can avoid atleast that problem

[Onebowonder]

Just one, ...but it was sad.  It was Hickory backed Red Oak.  The thin lam of hickory turned out to have a perfectly hidden little worm hole that ran right across the back of the bow.  It was my son's first real bow and it blew up on him just as it was getting close on tiller and being exercised in.  We were at MOJAM and when it went off the whole place became silent for a moment.  It was as if the assembled bowyers knew all too well the pain of that moment and shared it with my son.  Loads of compassionate advice, assistance, and even the gift of two new staves to work with followed directly after.  It was sad for him, ...but it wasn't so bad to get to see how awesome the MOJAM people were.

OneBow

[DGF]

I broke a bendy handle 60" osage as an experiment and out of frustration. The wood had a knot hidden to my inexperienced eyes that only showed up when I cut out the bow on a bandsaw. The knot hole went diagonal from the belly and out the side of the limb. To eliminate it I would have had to make the limb so thin it wouldn't have the poundage anywhere near where I was looking for, or so I thought. I thought for sure the bow would blow at the hole so I decided to stress the limb to the breaking point. I was amazed at how well it held up. For awhile I thought that bow would have let me wrap it around a barrel tip to tip. When she finally went it didn't break where I had thought she would let go, but actually closer to the limb tip.

When all was said and done I wished I'd have put her on the tree and finished her up. I'm willing to bet she'd of held up just fine.

-Dan   

[rossfactor]

You can break Osage??? I never would have guessed.   

Gabe

[DGF]

You can break Osage??? I never would have guessed.   

Gabe

It was hard work, but I was able to pull it off. Almost threw my back out trying. 

-Dan

[JABK]

Either one or three, depending on how we are scoring this.  Had a 76" osage ELB that had a big through and through knot midway through the top limb.  I tillered it to 65# at 24" (going for 30") and the the back fractured halfway between the tip and the knot.  So I say never say die and piked it down to 62" for a shorter, flatter bow (kept the knot).  Same problem: back fracture between the knot and string nock, but I got it to 26" this time.  I am nothing if not persistent (and H. Sapien is a tool-user, dammit), so I piked again to 52" and made a light holmegaard kind of thing.  This time I tillered it clear to 40# at 27" and it spit out about 10 arrows when the limb let go again between the handle and the knot.  (I know, I was pushing the limits, but I can't help myself)

So is that one or three bows? Do I get extra credit, professor?

[Knapper]

You should at lest get a p for persistence ! One I lam. Black walnut on hickory and in the tiller stage the walnut splintered! Soooo I heated it up , took it off and put on a new piece after some clean up, guess what? It splintered again, then I realized that the walnut was weaker in tension than the hickory!!!!! Should have made it the other way around. So I put it on the shelf

[campx]

I broke my first one last week.  Bow #6 for me.  Was working on a maple mollegabet from a plank; it was looking pretty damned good all the way thru the tillering process.  Just hit 60 pounds at around 26 and a half inches when I heard a 'crick'.  Oh poo.  I know what I did wrong, now, and next one I won't make the same mistake on.  My fades were too abrupt, and it failed at where the fade met the working part.  Oh well, what the heck.  Try again.  Got a nice piece of apple, growing wild along the bank of a river, about 5 inches in diameter and relatively straight.  Just drying out right now.......