Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Marc St Louis on January 25, 2008, 10:05:31 pm
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Winter time brings dry air. How dry?
I was working on this Elm backed Maple off and on for the last couple days. Had it tillered to about 80# @ 29" with a good tillered shape, as you can see in this photo
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/Marc-St-Louis/More%20Msc%20Stuff/FullDraw.jpg)
I had drawn this bow several times to 29" and everything felt good. It had about 1/8" positive tiller and the backing seemed sound. Then I took it to 30" and one minute everything was ok then the bow was in several pieces. The camera caught the action
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/Marc-St-Louis/More%20Msc%20Stuff/Kaboom.jpg)
This is not the first bow I've had explode on me but it is the second I've caught on film. It never feels good when this happens
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probably still sweeping up chips, huh ??
man I hate it when that happens !!! >:( >:(
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Sorry about the bow Marc,it is a mighty bad feeling,but that is an incredible photo! Did your wife take the picture? Hope you did'nt get whacked to hard. God Bless, PeteC
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Actually I thought there would be pieces laying around Sonny but the 3 pieces you seen in the picture are all there were. The piece of limb heading for the fruit impaled an Apple.
I wasn't touched at all Pete. The camera was on a timer. It just happened to take the picture when the bow exploded
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.........Yikes ! Know the feeling and like ya say aint a good one. Fortunately the piece impaled the apple NOT y'all. :o.......bob
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sorry about your bow.
that musta been scarry
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I think I would be a little gun shy for awhile.Glad your OK Marc.
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Wow Marc, both limbs at once, great shot. Popped my share in dry air so I feel your pain ;)
I know bows usually fail in tension, but do you think the elm failed first?
Rich-
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Wow that is a cool picture, even if it does suck to have a bow explode. Glad your not sporting any new stitches. Justin
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Dang Mark, lucky thing you didn't break the wifes china, that would have been bad. ;D
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Ouch! I've had a couple of bows blow up too, though mine always seem to happen in the summer. (San Jose gets ~ 6-8 months of glorius, dry sunshine and then rain through the winter.) I'm glad you and the wife's china are OK.
Ron
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Yikes!!
Is that the string under your right arm in the second photo?
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That is awesome. Not breaking the bow but getting it on camera. You couldnt take a better picture if you knew it would happen. I just had a hickory backed hickory snap when I was stringing it. Sucks to see your work destroyed. Jesse
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That would be the first time I ever seen a break in action.
That Photo a keeper at least.Glad the thing did'nt bonk ya in the Head, Good luck on the next one.
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What a shot! Picture like that aught to be worth something, at least more than the bow now. Too bad about that bow..
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That could make a guy nervous for awile eh. Just goes to show that everyone
breaks a bow now and then
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I've had at least 1/2 a dozen literally explode on me and I've only been hit once or twice, I consider myself lucky :)
It does look like the Elm let go Richard
Breaking her china would have been worse than breaking the bow, lucky twice over on this one.
That is indeed the string in my right armpit.
Here is the second bow I caught on film as it broke. It was a Bamboo backed Bloodwood and this one shattered to the point that I was picking pieces of Bloodwood off the floor for weeks.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/Marc-St-Louis/More%20Msc%20Stuff/End.jpg)
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I have always heard that Bloodwood makes a spectacular explosion, don't know if I'll ever want to try that wood. Great pictures Marc, they aren't for the faint at heart.
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What a rare catch Marc. I had a bow break the same way once but it's wasn't 85#s. :o
J. D.
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Total chaos for a second or two - that picture captured it perfectly.
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Thanks Marc, Actually this thread has been a good reminder for me since I have plenty of bows living in these colder regions to remind some folks to keep track of the humidity where they store their bows..
We never use a heater here so when it is naturally dry here the elm bows are the ones we like to use, plus hickory, and guava...To see an elm backing blow like that gets my attention..
Rich
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Winter time brings dry air. How dry?
I was working on this Elm backed Maple off and on for the last couple days. Had it tillered to about 80# @ 29" with a good tillered shape, as you can see in this photo
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/Marc-St-Louis/More%20Msc%20Stuff/FullDraw.jpg)
I had drawn this bow several times to 29" and everything felt good. It had about 1/8" positive tiller and the backing seemed sound. Then I took it to 30" and one minute everything was ok then the bow was in several pieces. The camera caught the action
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/Marc-St-Louis/More%20Msc%20Stuff/Kaboom.jpg)
This is not the first bow I've had explode on me but it is the second I've caught on film. It never feels good when this happens
Did you have it tillered to 29" ? I'm wondering why you drew the bow past 29"? I've never had anything good come from overdrawing a bow :(
I once had one of my dogwood bows break after sitting in the back of my truck on the way to a winter camp. It was there for 2 hours in 15 degree weather. I wonder if the cold caused that?
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WOW! glad you didn't get hurt!
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OC
Well usually that is what you do when you are tillering a bow out. You go from 29" to 30" then to 31 :). This bow was 70" long and normally would have easily taken a 30" draw.
If you took the bow from your warm dry house then yes that could easily have done it. Cold air draws moisture to it so it would have dried the surface wood out, good for compression but bad for tension
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Holy Cr*&*&%^&P! :o :o MArc, that musta messed yer drawers!
Glad you weren't hurt in the episode...
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WOW! I've had about 6 go at full draw too. I think. None that pretty though. It's pretty dry in NH in the winter too. Who knows why that one broke. Tiller is excellent. I will say this thought I almost never draw a bow more than on inch further than I've tillered it on my rope and pulley at a safe distance away. Marc, I admire your courage. :) Jawge
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To bad about the bow Marc, but those pictures are cool! What are the chances of the timer going off at that exact second? and more than once. wow!
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Been there,done that,just never caught it on film.Cool pictures tho. :)
Pappy
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The old adage..."a bow fully drawn is 9/10th broken" comes to mind with these pics. I had an ERC ELB style bow blow a few years ago :o. I still flinch when I see pics like these. Pat