Black locust time bomb!

[Stringman]

Ok all you BL pros out there need to chime in here. This stick has been sitting in the corner for a couple years and I couldn't leave it alone any longer. I have had mixed success with BL and don't ha e a lot of faith in this piece either. Call me a glutton for punishment or just dense, I'm not sure but I went ahead and shaped this one out to floor tiller.





I put it thru a real minor heat correction already and it seems to have held it well.



If I can get it to full draw I plan to back it, but my biggest worry is the divots in the back.



So there's the story. Any advise would be appreciated. The bow is 62" ttt and I hope to get in the 50s with weight at 28" draw. Is it possible? Should I adjust the bow or my expectations?

Scott

[paulsemp]

I love black locust and if you have worries back it with rawhide. based off pics you should have no problem . Take your time tillering and exercise between removals. EVERY BL I HURRIED TURNED OUT TERRIBLE!

[Jim Davis]

I'm leery of 28" draws with short bows. I know people get away with it, but  don't know how. I make all my bows 66" ntn and manage to avoid set for the most part.

If it's 2" wide I guess you might make your 50+#s. If the divots in the back are places where the grain dives, I think  the back will be OK. If they are spots where a sharp edged tool cut in, that's not good.

Jim Davis

[Stringman]

The divots are variations in the wood grain and I tried my best o follow the grain without violation. Hopefully you're right and they won't lead to failure.

I'm starting to get a little bending a long string. I have been working it slow and hope that I can avoid any unnecessary set.



Scott

[Fred Arnold]

Scott the lines on the belly sure look good. I have never worked BL but Jawge seems to
love'em so maybe he'll happen along. I'm thinking it looks great so far.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Make the handle work. In my opinion its too short otherwise.

[Buckeye Guy]

Looks like 45 lb@25" to me
Might be a challenge past that !
Have fun
Guy

[Stringman]

Ok can't say I did t expect this (but still frustrating!!)



 I was exercising the limbs tonight in the house, telling my brother-in-law how it was gonna blow violently when KAPOWW!!! I was holding a broken bow and another piece was flying thru the air. Couldn't have been more shocked if a tree woulda fell thru the roof. I know a lot of people love BL but I'm about done with this stuff.











After closer inspection I couldn't find any reason for this kinda blowup. The fault wasnt on any identifiable flaw, so I must either have some bad wood or serious design issues.

Scott

[Fred Arnold]

I've done the same with red elm, mulberry, and an unidentifiable species. I'm convinced it wasn't the wood. Warm up your fireplace and start again.

[blackhawk]

That looks like a design failure to me...not enough surface area in the working limbs to carry a 50@28" work load. How wide was it? Did you not take pearlys advice either and kept the handle stiff? I didn't chime in earlier cus pearl,guy,n jim summed it up well enough.

[Badly Bent]

Too bad about that one Stringman. I know what you mean about sometimes having that feeling that it won't survive before its done.
I sort have a love/hate relationship with black locust, from some trees its seems dense & strong and makes a exceptional bow yet I'll
have a split from another tree that seems doomed from the start and that one won't make to finished bow without coming in under
weight or outright breaking. I still love a good piece of locust though! 
Greg

[Stringman]

Well I admit I was being a bit stubborn on the handle stiffness, but otherwise I was  somewhat confined. The back was near 1.5" I didn't take much away from the original piece.

I think what amazes me so, about this episode was the suddenness of the failure. There was no warning or symptoms leading up to it. Simply, it was a bow with near perfect tiller, and then it wasn't.
BL remains a mystery wood for me. It disdains to make a bow, only for the chosen few.  Oh well on to the next!

Scott

[George Tsoukalas]

I've never seen those kinds of divots on the back of any wood. They almost look like vestiges of pin knots. Perhaps leaving some extra wood around the "pins" would have helped.

How long did you give it to rehydrate after heat treating? What was the nature of the correction? Did you check it with a moisture meter?

How far did you draw it before it popped?

I'm working on a BL bow that's 61 in tip to tip. I'll be lucky if I get a 25" draw out of it.

The wood just not have an affinity for long draws from short staves like osage does. In the past it has functioned well when at least 1.75 in wide and 64-66 in for a 26 in draw.

Look below on my post. PD gets mad when I say it s I won't.
Jawge

[Josh B]

Bummer Scott!  I've blown up my share, and still do.  But at least I have more staves in the rotation now.  That seems to lessen the sting a bit as compared to back when I had no backup plans.  It still stinks though!  Josh

[Ben M]

Yikes, man. That's a heartbreaker. Still, thanks for posting. Newbies (like me) benefit from this sort of post.