Black Locust fix?

[bassman211]

Locust.

[Bearded.Jake]

Just an update, and a couple other questions if anyone is able to help again!

the tips are looking okay with the cracks in one end basically gone and the other end glued up and looks alright. 

Now I am unsure about correcting the alignment.  one tip is about 1 1/2" - 2" out of alignment and the bend is about mid limb.  I am wondering if this is too much and needs to be corrected or not, and if so, then when is the right time to do it.  Around the floor tillered stage or near the end of tillering?  I have seen people do both I think but I dont know which is best.

Also, I cleaned up an island i left over a knot and found it to be punky all the way through, so I ended taking it all out. I am wondering if anyone has tips for finishing a knot hole through the bow, and if this one looks alright?

thanks for any help, again!

[Hamish]

I would cut shallow nocks, start tillering until you can get a string on it. Then you can see how much you really need to bend to get it to line up. The thinner limbs will be easier to correct with heat.

You can also manipulate the nocks a little, making one side deeper, same again for the handle area.

[bjrogg]

I would cut shallow nocks, start tillering until you can get a string on it. Then you can see how much you really need to bend to get it to line up. The thinner limbs will be easier to correct with heat.

You can also manipulate the nocks a little, making one side deeper, same again for the handle area.

Me too.

I wouldn’t worry about the knot hole either. It looks good.

[Bearded.Jake]

I would cut shallow nocks, start tillering until you can get a string on it. Then you can see how much you really need to bend to get it to line up. The thinner limbs will be easier to correct with heat.

You can also manipulate the nocks a little, making one side deeper, same again for the handle area.

Me too.

I wouldn’t worry about the knot hole either. It looks good.

Thanks so much! Hopefully I will get this thing bending nice!

[bjrogg]

When you do heat correction take your time. Let the heat soak in good. You should be able to feel the wood give up. Don’t force it. I’ve never tried black locust. Not sure how much heat it takes.

Good luck

Bjrogg

[Bearded.Jake]

hello again, all!

If anyone is able to comment on this one again, Id be grateful!

After a long hiatus, I have finally done some more work on this bow.  This is only my second attempt at a split stave bow.. I have a lot of trouble tillering especially with the dips and curves. So, of course I started getting way lighter than I wanted, but still not confident I have it bending well.  Iv only pulled it 24" where it pulls ~40lbs. 
I wanted to see if I could add a bit of weight so I figured id try a little heat treating, which Ive read black locust does well with, generally.  I thought I was heating pretty slowly but of course I started to se a small crack on the edge of the belly near the handle. It was so faint you could barely see it but now more noticeable after stringing and drawing. Im wondering if it will affect the longevity of the bow (which might not matter considering my tiller anyway).  I cant really do more tillering and its also on the side and cant really narrow the bow at this point (the belly is also semi hollow).  I also heat treated for nearly an hour (I did the whole length at once) and just barely have any colour change.  It had a bit of natural deflex and maybe an inch of string follow, now sits just about straight unbraced, but ive only strung it up for the photo.
Also I think maybe I have it bending too much in the inner thirds and not enough near the tips for the profile of the bow?

I hoping someone might have some more advice about all this.  Its always a bit discouraging to keep making mistakes on your only current bow candidate.

Thanks again.

[Muskyman]

I don’t have the experience of many others on here but, I think the bend looks okay. I’m assuming the tips are reflexed a little. Only advice I might give on the crack is fill it with thin super glue. Other folks on here might have a different take on it..  Good luck either way.

[bassman211]

Looks like your bow is starting to belly fret. Locust is a wood that will do that quite easily if your tiller is off. I have had that happen with locust  over the years. Maybe try some other wood like hickory, elm, white oak, and make your bows wider, and longer until you get the feel of tillering a stave bow. Then you can again test your tillering skills with black locust, and it will test your skills as a bow maker maybe more than any other wood. Good luck in your journey.

[superdav95]

It has a nice looking bend.  Unfortunate about your crack there.  I agree it looks like a crack initiated possibly by frets.  I’m not sure how all of you heat corrections were made but if I were to need to make alignment corrections or even tips recurves in black locust I would definitely use steam!   With steam you do not run the risk of overheating the wood.  You may have used steam already on this one I don’t know but there are woods out there that are more resilient then others that are pretty readily available that would make a great bow like bassman said.  Don’t give up.  Black locust is a wonderful bow wood when it’s works and done right.  Not something I would consider cutting my teeth on in the beginning for sure.  I started with hickory and learned of its wonderful properties by pushing it to the limits!  Very strong stuff.  Takes heat very well and very resilient wood for bows.  Osage is still the best in my opinion but is pricey these days.  Up here in great white north it’s nonexistent.  I’ve traded guys here for some and made several and have come to know it’s the best for selfbows.  This being said I don’t know that I would have wanted to cut my teeth on Osage either.   Especially since it’s so hard for me to get up here.  Glad I didn’t actually.  I learned on free wood the basics and grew from there so that when I got my first peice of Osage it wouldn’t go to waist.   Yew is wonderful stuff too actually.   I’ve come to love this wood also.  It’s a solid second to Osage imo.  I guess start with what you got and what’s available to you for free or close to it.  Get all your mistakes out of the way before getting to the premium stuff.  Just some thoughts as I was typing this sorry for the long answer but as to your crack and frets… you could try and fill them in with thin ca glue but I suspect you will see it fret again when strung and shot.  If it returns it may settle and stay where it is and not spread much as it is compressed and crushed belly wood.  Aside from a belly lam of some sort you may just need to use it as is and enjoy it.  I have seen this many times and broken many many many bows!  Some on purpose to test limits but some after heartbreaking work and carefull tillering.  Best of luck and keep at it. 

[Pat B]

Welcome to PA Jake. I've had the same happen with recurve and bows with reflexed tips. Super glue is the trick. I also overlaid thin wood over the damaged area as was mentioned above.
 It's a good idea to round over all edges on the bow. Helps prevent splintering and IMO looks better.

[Bearded.Jake]

Thank you for your replies!  I agree, I should try some other woods as well. I just found a little pocket of black locust outside of town and had easy access. I am in British Columbia and good whitewoods are hard to come by unless getting lucky with a urban removal or something.  I also don't have experience identifying those species.

At some point Id like to try and find a nice piece or two of serviceberry, or chokecherry. We have mountain ash or sitka ash also, which are not true ash trees.. has anyone heard of those making decent bows?

Pat,  my original post was for cracking when I reflexed the tips, and those actually did disappear after working the tips down. This latest one, however, cracked while I was trying to heat temper the belly.  It happened a couple inches under the handle on the lower limb.

Thanks again, all. I suppose ill fill with super glue and hope it lasts awhile to have some fun with

[medicinewheel]

.... Worst case scenario you could thin them back to where the cracks are gone and then do underlays on the tips. I’ve done this once or twice and it was surprisingly easy. ...

Done that, too. Worked out nice and easy...