edge knot

[WhistlingBadger]

Hickory stave. working on a sudbury-style self bow.  Probably will heat treat belly at some point. 65" end to end; going for 50-55# @ 27".

Question:  There is a little knot right on the edge of the limb.  It's 10" out from the fades, 20" in from the end.  I meant to leave a bit more wood around it, but got a bit excited with my rasp.  So, should I carve it out or leave it alone?

edge knot 2 by Whistling Badger, on Flickr

edge knot by Whistling Badger, on Flickr

Thanks--T

[Pat B]

That should be OK but don't get it any closer. How's it look on the belly side?

[WhistlingBadger]

It slants toward the center on the belly.  It's about 1/4" in on the belly.  But on the back, the knot is right on the edge.  Worried about a grain violation around it.  The very top picture shows it better; the second pic is a little deceptive as it shows more of the side.

Here's the belly:

edge knot 3 by Whistling Badger, on Flickr

[Eric Krewson]

I never had a problem with pin knots on the edge of a limb unless there is a noticeable grain swirl around the knot and I violated it.

Almost all my straight grain osage bows have pins on the limb edges, none have ever failed.

[Pat B]

The belly looks fine. I'd just keep on keepin' on.

[bownarra]

Eric please explain how you get straight grain through a knot
Your stave probably won't lift a splinter there but it is more likely to get a chrysal going from the pin to the edge than if it had a little width swell.
The only way to know for sure......is to make the bow....and if anything is going to go wrong it will go right on the last few inches of draw....darn bows haha

[Eric Krewson]

The key is the word "pin knot", pins seldom have a grain swirl around them.

Another thing, I only put forth info that I have extensive knowledge about. I have 158 bows in my log book and probably a bunch more I forgot to log. Most of my osage bows had pins on or near the edge, no chrysals, no splinters, no failures. My tillering is pretty good, the only crysals I have seen in bows has been from poor tillering or a poor choice of bow woods, pin knots didn't play into the equation.

I feel there is a bit of an old wives tale about failures from miss placed pins, I just haven't seen it and I have worked a bunch of osage staves into bows.

[TimBo]

Is it still 2" wide there?

[WhistlingBadger]

Is it still 2" wide there?

1 7/8".  It's right at the end of the (very long) fade.

By the way, I've been weighing the stave.  It's been within .1 ounce for a week, so I'm going forward!  Hope I can get a tune out of this trombone!

[bradsmith2010]

please show us the whole limb,, so we can get a better perspective of where it is,,
i could go either way,, like it might not cause a problem,,good advise from above,
if I have any doubt,, I just rawhide back or or sinew wrap,,sometimes I am over careful,, just depends on the design of the bow, and my intuition,,I would sinew wrap it if it was mine,just to ease my mind,,, but it may not cause a problem at all,since  the bow design is not overstressed,,