Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: Predictable on October 15, 2013, 05:50:37 pm
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my bow that i made out of a red oak board has a crack in the back. it is bending atm, but the crack is visible. i have a fiberglass backing on it and the crack looks like a line when the bow is unstrung, but when i string it up again it is a visible crack. please i do not want to scrap this, i spent a long time on it b/c i do not have any power tools.
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Unfortunately there is irony in your handle as red oak board bows are predictable in that they will almost always eventually crack. Does the crack run up and down with the grain, or sideways against it? if it runs with the grain, you may be able to get a little more life out of it by wrapping it with a f/g patch. if it is against the grain I'd call it a loss. Either way, I'd get a good hickory, elm or osage stave and get started on a stave bow. They will outlast a board bow and look much better! best of luck! no sense stopping with one bow anyhow! No need to power tool when building primitive bows anyhow. welcome to the addiction. You break one you build one!
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A good hatchet or machete and rasp are all you need to get a bow done in a good two days work, no need for band saws and belt sanders.
+1 twistedlimbs. I'd also suggest getting some artificial sinew (or real sinew, it's better), it's a very useful and versatile material you could use to repair a grain-following crack.
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If it was my bow I'd trash it and also I don't have power tools either. I agree with everything said by twistedlimbs
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will you post pics of the crack and where it is in the bow?
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Get a decent hickory stave, rough it out with a hatchet (1hr) draw knife the limbs down to about 3/4 of an inch thick and file down to about 5/8 and rough out the handle (1 hr.) Cut out width of bow to the width you want. W a draw knife and sharp chisel. (2 hrs). Finish out the whole bow w a finer file to within 1/8 of final dimentions and floor tiller (2hr)
I am sure some of the pros could do it faster. I only have 12 bows under my belt but giver her a shot. ;)
BTW,
I do them in pairs so if one doesn't work out ya got a backup. ::) Voice of experience :laugh:
Been there done it. :)
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will you post pics of the crack and where it is in the bow?
heres the crack and its position on the bow
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Looks like an ender.
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That happened to me on my first bow last year. I sighed a deep sigh and tossed it in the rafters for a while and when I was emotionally ready I threw it on the fire. I had spent countless hours on that bow.
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That bow is a goner. Sorry man, send it off with a funeral pyre and build a new one. If you didnt have fglass on there the bow would be in two pieces already
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That happened to me on my first bow last year. I sighed a deep sigh and tossed it in the rafters for a while and when I was emotionally ready I threw it on the fire. I had spent countless hours on that bow.
i spent so much time on this, i even shot a couple arrows through it and i was literally thinking: all i gotta do is stain and seal it and im done, i have made my first bow, wow. i feel like a pile of shit at the moment.
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Don't. If you build others, and it sounds like you will, you'll get one done and forget this one. Hate to get one that close and lose it, but there's lots more to make.
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i used to get devastated if I broke one. it's small potatoes, build a new one you'll love even more. Just go with a stave this time now that you have the basics down
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That happened to me on my first bow last year. I sighed a deep sigh and tossed it in the rafters for a while and when I was emotionally ready I threw it on the fire. I had spent countless hours on that bow.
i spent so much time on this, i even shot a couple arrows through it and i was literally thinking: all i gotta do is stain and seal it and im done, i have made my first bow, wow. i feel like a pile of shit at the moment.
I know how you feel man. I was already fantasizing about all the great hunting trips were going to go on but in the final stages of tillering it popped a splinter. I wasn't terribly devastated after hearing great bowyers tell about breaking their first ten bows. The best medicine is to grab another piece of wood and start again. You're already ahead of the curve!
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Is that Titebond glue over fiberglass mesh? It looks like the crack is only at the surface and does not extend down into the wood. You might be able to sand off the backing in that area (3 inches to either side of the crack) and re-apply the mesh and more Titebond. Scrape down the material to see how far the crack goes down. You might not even need to replace the mesh.
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Hey, it is an addiction. If that was mine and I really wanted to save it, do anything to save it even if it broke again because at least you tried, I would get a hickory backing that was pretty thick 1/8 or 2/8" (really whatever I thought was sufficient) and I would back it. It is the back that is broken, so make a new back! Of course you would have to rip the tape off and sand the back and wait for the glue, etc. But I bet it would make you feel better and more interested in this. Other guys may say it's done, but I think as long as it is somewhat together, I could make something out of it! After this I say go to staves if they are available. It may be a ton of work, but the back is flat so that helps with gluing surfaces. Try it if you want. Hope that makes you feel better!!
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An as weird as it sounds, it gets easier if any brake or pull a splinter because it is really not a ton of sweat for something so beautiful and something so cool because only a small percentage of people even know how to make a legitimate bow. Just keep on making! Where do u live? If you are by OK I could show you a little better how to make a bow out of a stave. I may even have a stave of osage for you if you could swing by.
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Tough luck,that is why I always tell beginners ,don't fall in love with that piece of wood, it's only wood not you wife or girl friend, it will and does sometimes break your heart. The only way to get over it is get started on another. I think I broke 7 before I got a shooter. :) Still do from time to time,man needs fire wood also. ;) :)
Pappy
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Cut the bow in half just after the handle on the side where the limb is cracked. Make the remaining limb and handle into an atlatl. Not all is lost.
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My "first" bow was that type of design, also. That is...before I found this website. It shot for a bit, then it chrysled badly from a poor tiller. I didn't have stave access so I went to building maple or hickory backed ipe bows...english longbow style. Broke about 8 being in a big rush then got a couple of shooters. They were ok but could fling in arrow!
Ordered my first stave online (hackberry) and didn't sand out all the little tool marks from the back. Well, it lifted a splinter eventually. Found a mentor and got a piece of Osage. Took my time, sanded it well. It lasted for years before developing a little splinter at a pin knot. It isn't really lifted or broken...but that bow is retired, because really...THAT was my first true bow.
It's a process, enjoy the ride, and remember arrows are just as important as the bow...maybe more!
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sorry guys for posting again so late, but i thought it may have been worth mentioning that the crack goes into the wood less than 1 mm, but its in the wood none the less. dont worry about telling me "nope, no difference at all, your bows gone" because i am done with it, i got over it now after thinking about it for so long, so this was just on my mind.
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Hadn't notice it was glass backed,thought it would be better here,should read closer. :o ??? ;) :)
Pappy