New Molly

[wood_bandit99]

I made this new mollegabet with slightly reflexed limbs and then more reflex in the tips. The stave has a BIG snake in one limb but otherwise the rest of the limbs are straight. One decent knot. The snake and knot are in the same limb and I tillered the bow correctly and it pulled a splinter at 43# at 23".  The wood seemed dry so I let it sit in high humidity and water for 2 weeks. I put some artificial sinew wrap and tb2 as a bandaid. I tillered it again to 43# @ 26" and it is making a somewhat audible click sound. I am scared to see if it will break or if I can just turn it into an art piece in my room. I was wondering if it could be the glue or is it the wood under it? It sounds like stretching for lack of a better word. Like old wood stretching almost with a click sometimes. The wood was dead standing and one end( the one with the snake and knot and the patch) had termite holes and we had to cut off 8" or so. It has reddish purple streaks in the yellow wood. There was barely any difference between early and late growth coloration and "feel" which is VERY odd for osage. It splintered on the big snake It was very narrow and thin stave. If there is any information else needed just ask. This is probably the easiest stave to work ever but it is the worst as far as how strong the wood is.

[Gus]

Have any photos that you could post?
It would help with a diagnosis and recommendations...

-gus

[Joec123able]

Have any photos that you could post?
It would help with a diagnosis and recommendations...

-gus

Yea

[BOWMAN53]

Pics or it didnt happen!

[wood_bandit99]

Now the moment BOWMAN53 is so worked up about....pics.

[Blaflair2]

That's not a mollie. In the pics it looks like it has pyramid tapering

[BOWMAN53]

That's not a mollie. In the pics it looks like it has pyramid tapering

+1

[Josh B]

There's a type of mildew that attacks dead standing Osage that is sort of a peach color.  You don't see it very often, but when you do the wood is worthless.  I suspect that might be your problem.  I'm a bit confused about the leaving it sitting in high humidity and water for two weeks.  What was the goal there?  Josh

[Blaflair2]

To make the wood punkier?

[wood_bandit99]

It seemed very dry. It was a belly split that was square that was around 1 1/2" squared in cross section. I did notice it had white/grey dry stuff on the belly and when I was finding a ring the first few were completely black. I found that after shooting 50 times the cracking went away but I'm left with another problem... It is 43# and I wanted it 60#. I am thinking of giving it to my mom after I decorate it. It seems solid now, no more sounds. I think it was the tb2 getting stretched. It was probably my worst wood as far as nearly not being able to make a bow out of it. I have a few staves that will be FUN! I have one with two holes near the handle and another with snake and it looks like a elephant trunk from the side profile. Excited!!

[wood_bandit99]

It is maybe more of a flipped tips that are static but they flipped part isn't as much as a flipped tips bow so I decided on a name of hybrid molly

[Blaflair2]

It's still not a Molly. Unless ur speaking of the girls name. Usually a Molly has a 60/40 or 50/50 split of working/non working limb. Also the no working part is pretty much a long thin lever. All the mollies I saw are equal width till the lever the fades into a dowel basically. Unless I'm wrong. But I'm pretty confident that is no Molly. Looks like a pyramid style character bow. Non the less it looks cool.

[Josh B]

I had a feeling that's what you were gonna say.  Let me save ya a little trouble next time that you come across this.  Wood, if given enough time, will reach equilibrium with the relative humidity and will get no drier.  So if you didn't hotbox this stave or store it in some way that would have a kiln effect on it, attempting to add moisture is pointless.  Even if you did raise it a few percent, it would just dry back out to equilibrium in a short while.  I suspect you already know this now, but the wood feeling dry was your clue that the wood isn't sound.  I really wouldn't trust it and I sure wouldn't give it to anyone.  It's just not worth the risk.  Chalk it up to experience and get to making some more shavings!  Josh