Hi JW, I would think anyone on this site(bar an absolute newbie) would know what legitimate usage entails. I stated some in my earlier post, dry firing, overdrawing the bow for its intended draw length, using a damaged or worn string. I would also include stringing the bow backwards, using a string that is too short and gives an incorrect brace height, using a bow that has suffered damage in storage, transit, etc .
Educate your purchaser before the sale. Every bow I have bought from a professional seller came with instructions, stringing, and shooting do's and don'ts. Make sure they realise the limitations of a wooden bow before you finalize the purchase. Some people are stupid but it ceases to be your responsibility after they have been informed, warned, advised, and then they still go against instructions.
I really think the risk is blown way out of proportion to the reality. Bows have been used by man for well over 10000 years. Can anyone cite an example of a serious injury received from a buyer breaking an all wood bow whilst shooting?
If anyone is at risk from a wooden bow breaking it is going to happen during the making, so unless you have employees(very unlikely) then you are self employed it would be good to have some kind of personal insurance to cover you in the event something happens that effects your ability to work.
There have been a couple of occasions where I have been injured, though thankfully only superficially through wooden bows breaking on me. During early tillering, bringing a bow to brace height, whilst using a bow stringer. The laminated stave had a hickory back with a tiny pin knot(I had even left extra wood around the width of the backing at that point) To no avail it blew up on me and splinters hit my chin cutting it open. I probably could have used a couple of stitches, but didn't bother.
Another occasion, this time with a tillered, finished bow. When bamboo laminated panels became available I experimented with them as a backing. I found that they were great until the severed nodes eventually lifted after enough use. After shooting it for a couple of days I heard "Tick" .I couldn't see what it was and kept shooting to see if it was the string slipping at the nocks, and boom it blew up in my face, narrowly missing my eye, cutting me above the eyebrow.
Both these occurances were my responsibility. I was lucky enough to escape without any serious damage, and learnt valuable lessons. 1 Don't use marginal, or unsuitable materials (this includes bad grain in hickory backings,or cross grain in the belly). 2 Use a tiller tree with a pulley if you suspect the bow has a problem rather than drawing it by hand.
If something had gone wrong and I had lost my eye or became horribly disfigured the fault would be mine.
If you are experimenting with a new design, new materials or glue you have to do the hard yards testing to see if you as the bowyer can consistently make a bow that is safe, reliable, and performs well. If you don't feel confident enough with the results then that particular bow, or combination of materials should not be sold if you don't have 100% confidence in it and your workmanship.
Remember there was a time when wood was the only material people had to make production bows for the mass consumer, up until WW2. If properly made bows, from good materials are so risky, where is the evidence? Surely there would be newspaper articles, court cases from that period, laws enacted banning people from selling wooden bows. I haven't heard of any. Has anyone else?
