Grain violation break on Osage, I think? Pic heavy

[lebhuntfish]

I've been working on a bow for my niece. She is a pretty special girl so I wanted to make her something cool. I have a couple of messed up bows that came in under weight from a friend. He knows I make a few kids bows so he gave them to me.
Long story short, I worked this one down to a nice reflex deflex. Got it lined up and tillered to 25@24. It was shooting really good and quite fast for a light weight bow.
This evening I was shooting it some and after I put an estimated total of 150 arrows through it I wanted to check the draw weight again. I put my marked arrow on and hooked my scale. Pulled it to 24 Inches and it was 25lbs on the nose. At that moment it exploded....
I was to the point of putting a python skin on it tomorrow since it was supposed to rain.
Do you guys think this is a grain violation? That's what I'm thinking.

Patrick

[Josh B]

No doubt about it.  I concur with your post mortem.  Bummer!  Josh

[osage outlaw]

That was a poor job laying the bow out on the stave.  It looks like a straight bow was cut out of not so straight grain.  It was a ticking bomb waiting to go off.  Thankfully it broke on you and not your niece.

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks guy's,  I'm glad it broke on me to. Lucky all I ended up with was a scratched elbow and a small hole in the sheet rock in the garage.
I figure I would make one from a stave I cut out this time.

Patrick

[crooketarrow]

  At is a bummer, really nice profile, nice raiser.

  Could be a little smaller. Less wait at the riser means more speed and better cant and lighter hand shock. Unless you go to light.

  Why do you think glass bows the real shooters. Why their handles and risers are so small. And have big sight windows. again to lighten the middle of the bow up.

  Look through a catalog and look at the recurves and long bows handles and risers.

[PatM]

  At is a bummer, really nice profile, nice raiser.

  Could be a little smaller. Less wait at the riser means more speed and better cant and lighter hand shock. Unless you go to light.

  Why do you think glass bows the real shooters. Why their handles and risers are so small. And have big sight windows. again to lighten the middle of the bow up.

  Look through a catalog and look at the recurves and long bows handles and risers.

   I think you meant the exact opposite, no?

[mikekeswick]

Cutting a 'straight' bow from a wavy grained stave is a BAD idea. Now you see why! Very lucky it wasn't your young 'un....Once a bow has been strained it's no good for anything other than a wall hanger.

[lebhuntfish]

  At is a bummer, really nice profile, nice raiser.

  Could be a little smaller. Less wait at the riser means more speed and better cant and lighter hand shock. Unless you go to light.

  Why do you think glass bows the real shooters. Why their handles and risers are so small. And have big sight windows. again to lighten the middle of the bow up.

  Look through a catalog and look at the recurves and long bows handles and risers.

Probably would have made it a lot smaller if I would have worked on the handle in the first place. It's still full thickness and width. Just a black marker line on the side to show center.

Patrick

[Pappy]

Yep I would say you nailed the cause . Patrick.
 Pappy

[George Tsoukalas]

When laying out a bow, the first thing I do is draw a line down the center following that lateral grain. Like this.

http://traditionalarchery101.com/layout.html

Jawge

[ajooter]

I'm not gonna lie....I lay everything out from the belly side now.  Even if I have to start by leaving the stave wide and picking a uniform depth along the belly.  From there I do another width taper and I have a very clear view of the belly at this point.  Allows for a perfect layout of the grain.   Especially some white woods....I have a very hard time following the grain on the back.  Probably a rookie thing...but it's what works for me.

[E. Jensen]

AC glue and tape it'll be fine 

[PaulN/KS]

First off glad there was no damage done to you Patrick.
And yes, it does look like it had a grain violation on the back.

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks fellas,  I'm not going to lie, I have a hard time seeing the grain on Osage. I use the natural split as a guide. Then I chase a good clean ring in the natural light. While chasing the ring I inspect the grain and make marks to adjust the width. Then I find the center of my stave and use my finger as a guide to mark out a center line. The grain around knots are easier for me to see so I adjust accordingly. As I said, this bow was a rework and not laid out by me.

Patrick

[JoJoDapyro]

What helps me is a bright light, and getting the wood damp. Being a sweaty fat guy helps.