Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Scrub_buck on February 07, 2010, 01:04:46 am

Title: Failure #1
Post by: Scrub_buck on February 07, 2010, 01:04:46 am
A picture is worth a thousand words.

I used copious amounts of Titebond III the length of the fracture and clamped it tight for several hours. The clamps are now off and I am going to wait till tomorrow to see if it will hold for at least a few shots.


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Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: RyanY on February 07, 2010, 01:08:49 am
Holy cow! I don't know how that can happen. Good luck man. I hope your fix works.  :'(
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: Josh on February 07, 2010, 01:13:22 am
...I'd wrap it too with some linen thread set in super glue too just to give it a little bit of added protection...  you can always cover your wrapping with a leather handle wrap.  If you used tite bond glue let it set a few days, since titebond is a water based glue I always give it a few extra days. I didn't know they could come apart like that...  Good luck on your fix man!    :)  -josh
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: zenmonkeyman on February 07, 2010, 01:40:32 am
I'd like to see a front-on shot of that.  Do you have a theory on why it happened?
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: Pat B on February 07, 2010, 01:43:04 am
I use hemp cord from Wally World for a handle wraps and set it in Massey finish(2ton epoxy thinned with acetone). Makes a very strong wrap and a good all weather, positive grip wrap.
  I don't think I've seen a selfbow handle split like that before. ???
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: oneeye on February 07, 2010, 02:28:22 am
you think maybe the fades were to abrupt ?
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: El Destructo on February 07, 2010, 03:24:58 am
I sure would have liked to seen what the Bow looked like at whatever it was Tillered to...before it Blew...just to see what it might have been to cause this to happen...I am like Pat...never seen the likes of this from a Selfbow....had to be trying really hard to bend through the Handle to cause this....JMO
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: Jude on February 07, 2010, 04:34:08 am
I had that happen to an old bow with a casien-glued riser.  I glued it back with TB2, then did a rawhide handle wrap, set in TB2 for good measure.  I would definitely wrap it.  Looks like it may have just been a weak growth ring running out at the fade, $#!^ luck :-\
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: Del the cat on February 07, 2010, 06:21:42 am
It certainly is a weird failure mode.
I can only guess that there wasn't enough work being shared by the outer limbs.
A thread and glue repair should hold it, but I'd be tempted to re-tiller it with more bend in the outer 2/3 of the limb, or even go fairly whip ended.
Del
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: zenmonkeyman on February 07, 2010, 04:47:50 pm
Without actually seeing pictures from the front, I can only guess at the problem... But I'm pretty confident that there was a hinge inside the fades.  The side shot shows a bend at my arrow there, and the connected threads in that area show that the handle moved down and left, causing a lateral shearing force along the grain of the wood.  I doubt there's much point in regluing the handle unless something is done to strengthen the area where the hinge occurred.  Hope this helps!

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j191/zenmonkeyman/handleshear-1.jpg)
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: radius on February 07, 2010, 05:30:21 pm
you might also drill 2 or 3 holes straight through the handle, front to back, and dowel the handle together.  I don't think there could have been a hinge there...that handle was just too thick to bend:  no bend, no hinge...can we see pics of the entire bow, as in:  the limbs? 

Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: El Destructo on February 07, 2010, 06:08:56 pm
                                                                  Dowels.......... :-X
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: Scrub_buck on February 07, 2010, 06:26:41 pm
It is no more.  I did get a chance to shoot it a dozen times before the stress got to it.  I re-glued it and am going to cut the handle off at the fades to use as a reference for my next bows.  That handle with the shelf was outstanding and fit my hand like a glove.  The pic is it at full draw today just before it blew. 

The 'sour grapes' thought is that it wasn't the best piece of osage.  It had some twist in the top limb and the bottom limb had a pretty good bend to it, as well as having several pin knots ...two of which were side by side 1/2 of an inch apart right out from the bottom fade.  I couldn't get it to bend like I wanted it there.  The top limb was still a little stiff past mid-limb, but wasn't bad and that was what I was working on when the handle cracked yesterday.

BTW:  I was wanting to see if everyone could guess what happened to make that failure.  The short story was that I dry fired it (accidentally of course).  The string I was using for tillering was a take-off of another bow I had.  The strand and serving combination gripped the carbon arrows I had loose, but OK, however I grabbed a D. Fir shaft in my haste going out the door to shoot it.  The wider nock slipped the string when I was drawing it and it stayed on the string, but slid down the string while shooting it.  The arrow ended up flying nearly straight up and landed about 10 feet from me while I stood there gripping the shattered handle.  At least that is what I think happened.  (LOL!!!).     

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Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: Scrub_buck on February 07, 2010, 06:33:01 pm
Radius ... I thought seriously about putting 3 or 4 oak dowels through the riser like you mentioned late last night.  That might have helped it.  If it was a premium piece of osage, I might would have gone through the trouble to have attempted that.

I knew it wasn't going to hold.  When warming it up before I shot it, I could see the glue line flexing slightly, it was just a matter of time.  BTW, it didn't just split down the original crack, this time it followed the exact spring growth wood from the top fade to the bottom.... so the glue did hold from mid handle to the bottom fade.  Kind-of ironic I guess. 
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: Ryano on February 07, 2010, 06:35:59 pm
I did the exact same thing once to a sinew backed mulbery bow. Dry fired it on the tillering rack when the wooden handle on my tillering pulley string let loose....bumer.  :P
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: wodpow on February 08, 2010, 02:28:25 am
I had a bow pull apart in the handle like that because I think the handle was to thin. It didn't bend till it pulled apart and the upper limb like folded over when the handle area separated kind of like popping a glued on handle.
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: Pappy on February 08, 2010, 07:50:59 am
Wow ,to bad.I have had them do that on the form when trying to bend a hum out close to the handle,never had one do that while shooting. :(
   Pappy
Title: Re: Failure #1
Post by: recurve shooter on February 08, 2010, 11:05:11 am
that sucks. it was a nice lookin bow.

love yer shirt in the first pic by the way.