Help fix a stave?

[Shiloh]

I've got a year-old vine maple stave that I'm hoping to turn into a bow in time for a Traditional Bowhunters of Washington meet in late may. There's only one problem. Before I really knew what I was doing, I tried using a knife to de-bark and get something resembling a ring going on the back. Of course I accidentally dug into the wood too deep, so now there's a 1.5" long, 1/2" wide, probably 1/8" deep gouge in the wood right at mid-limb.

Can you guys think of any way I might be able to save it? The rest of the stave is pretty good, with just a hint of character to make things interesting. I was thinking of filling it with super glue and then putting a linen backing on with TBIII, which had been the original plan anyhow.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Rawhide

[Slackbunny]

Is there absolutely anyway you can work around it? Could the stave be cut into billets? Could you somehow change to design to get the damaged part in the handle area where there is no bending? I don't know what the rings are like on vinemaple, but could you chase a new ring? If you can do anything to avoid having that damage in a working limb I would do it.

[ionicmuffin]

you probabyl wouldnt have needed a backing before you did that. Now, like pearly said, you will need to back it with rawhide, which is such great stuff! Also, like slackbunny said, you should look and see if you can avoid using that section.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Bring it down another ring, or back it.

[Shiloh]

Thanks guys. Unfortunately, I really can't work around it. It's smack-dab in the middle of the limb, probably about three inches down from where the end of the fade will be. Backing it isn't a problem for me; I probably would have done that even if I hadn't screwed up.

[Shiloh]

What do you folks think about the superglue idea?

[Thesquirrelslinger]

What do you folks think about the superglue idea?

Uuuuh.... NO.
Superglue really isn't that strong.

[Shiloh]

I wasn't going to use only the glue, I'm just hoping to fill in the crack and then back it.

[DarkSoul]

Still: No.
Do not use a filler to level that gouge. Superglue, nor any other filler, will have any tensile strength. And it is that tensile strength you need on the back. Just apply a backing over the entire back, the gouge including. You should even out that gouge, so it doesn't have any sharp edges. Just file/sand it even with the rest of the back, if it means you have to increase the surface area of that gouge. Then add the backing over it.

[mikekeswick]

No need to back it if you don't want to.
What you need to do is de-crown it evenly, not going any deeper than the gouge's deepest spot.
All you need for the back of a bow is continuous uncut fibers.
You can split a (clean splitting) stave and use the inside split face as the back if you want because it complies to the number 1 rule in making self wooden bows - make the back uncut fibers with no violations.

[Shiloh]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I appreciate it. This is my first go-around making a bow from an actual tree stave, so it's a bit of a learning experience.

Now I need to figure out how to remove all that wood without a drawknife...

[PEARL DRUMS]

Just back it with rawhide man. With your experience level where it is all you will do is wreck what you have if you attempt a decrown job. Fill that depression with good ca glue and cover it with rawhide.

[DarkSoul]

Since nobody else brought this up yet...

A picture will help us a LOT. There is cavities, gouges, holes, depressions, dips, valleys and crevices in all shapes and sizes. The best approach varies per case. Show us what you have to deal with and we might be able to give you more specific advice.

[Shiloh]

Good point. I'll try to get some pics up tonight, if not then tomorrow.