But others, despite the odds being impossibly stacked against you give you a glimmer of hope. This stave is a belly split from a bow I made about a year ago. It was full of checks, some going all the way through the stave. and one actually running off the side. It also had a rotten knot in the middle of the upper limb,and not much width to work. I also had to heat correct twist and string alignment.
I filled the checks with TBIII being sure to get all the way through the bottom of the checks until glue came out the other side. I clamped them and let them dry. Using a coping saw I cut the knot out, used a rat tail file for finer shaping, and 80 grit for final blending.
The check that goes through the bow and runs off the side and the knot are all on the upper limb. Because of the length and angle of the check, I feel that it may have a chance in holding because its just like a very long scarf joint. I have 70 inches of stave to play with here and with all the defects on the inner/mid limbs, I decided a whipish tillered bow would be wise. I have it at brace so far, and that for me, is a major hurdle. The goal here is 40-45 lbs @ 25-27 inches. Gonna play it by feel here.
Here is the parent bow this stave is a belly split from.
And here is the current project.
Handle
Run off check
Hole back
Hole belly
Brace
Tiller isnt perfect yet. But it will be perfect at brace before I start pulling back on it. What would yall have done with this? And please stop me before I make a mistake if yall see one about to happen!
