Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Aaron H on November 01, 2015, 12:41:20 pm
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Tell me the truth, Do I burn it? It's supposed to be a gift for my brother in law for Christmas.
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Maybe clean up the crack with that razor,then dab some glue in with the razor and clamp her up.
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I had a whole batch of Osage do that to me. I would have a real hard time trusting it
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I wouldn't trust it to give to someone else. Sorry, Aaron. that sucks. :-\
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Yea, pretty much what I was thinking.
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I think I will give super glue a try, but I will have to find another piece to give to my brother in law.
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To me those look like what's called wind shakes and they happen while the tree is alive. I believe it is caused by the tree twisting and turning in the wind as it grows or the contortions it went through when it hit the ground.
I wouldn't trust it either. If it is wind shake there are probably others hidden inside the stave.
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To me those look like what's called wind shakes and they happen while the tree is alive. I believe it is caused by the tree twisting and turning in the wind as it grows or the contortions it went through when it hit the ground.
I wouldn't trust it either. If it is wind shake there are probably others hidden inside the stave.
I agree 100%.
Sorry bud looks like a nice piece of wood besides that.
Patrick
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That’s a tough break Falcon. It looks like you’ve spent several hours getting it shaped (I’m guessing it’s floor tillered) and reflexed; might as well see what it has left. Supper glue and a C-clamp – then bend it to at least draw weight, Be safe…use a tree if you have one.
Just curious, judging from the opposite limb, it looks like it is twisted in the first picture. Did you have to “untwist” the cracked limb before you reflexed it? I’ve had the same experience with Osage, using a heat gun to remove a tight 40 deg. twist in about 5 inches.
Good luck,
H
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Thats from impact more than likely. I have had a fair amount of wind shakes and all were darker colored from exposure. Only if I pulled it at least one inch further back than designed at least ten times would I begine to trust it. 100 times and id be comfortable with it as my own.
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Yep, wind shakes can be darker colored if they've been there a while.
Drying checks can occur on the sides of a stave. I've seen what you've shown in your pictures develop from drying osage staves too fast, and especially if drying them with the bark and sapwood still on.
In one instance, I'm confident they weren't wind shakes because a friend and I cut a tree and divied up the staves, the ones I brought home and seasoned slowly were fine. The ones he took home ALL developed side checks. Turns out he left the bark and sapwood on and put them in his brand new wood shop, which he built upstairs above his garage. The garage unfortunately, he keeps heated with a wood burner directly underneith. It's like a kiln up there.
He gave me the remaining staves, hoping I could do something with them, which I did. I burned them... in MY woodburner :'(
Other than those checks, they were some of the nicest osage staves I've ever seen. Very disappointing.
How was your stave cared for? And at what point in construction did they appear?
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I ruined a whole batch of staves a few years back. I split them and left them in my garage bark on, bad idea. Every single one of them ruptured just like that. No wind did it to mine. Good old fashioned excess heat did. I never peel the bark, but always carry them to my basement where the temp and humidity favors perfect stave seasoning. I got lazy and ruined 15-20 staves.
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Not all osage is created equal, some looks good but is substandard lousy wood, you just found such a piece. I have encountered the same a bunch of times.
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How wide is it there? Before i did anything else with it Id narrow it at that crack untill its gone...if you still have almost an inch of width then theres still a bow in it...you might have to forgo the stiff handle and make it a bendy handle bow
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Blackhawk,, I like that idea alot,,seems like a nice piece of wood,,it also seems like there may be enough wood to make a bow beneath the crack,, for sure a sinew backed bow,,, :)
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I don't know Chris... those razor blades aren't real big. Look at it compared to the size of the stave, and look how deep it's inserted into the wood. The crack surely goes deeper than that blade will reach too. I bet it goes past the middle of the stave.
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Glue it up, clamp it, forget about it. If it makes a bow, GREAT! If it doesn't.... Oh well. There's always more staves:)
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I'm a sucker for lost causes. I'd probably start floor tillering it, as doing so is going to start to give you a better idea of what you are dealing with in terms of depth of the shake/crack. When the stave becomes more flexible, you should be able to open that crack up a bit more work glue deeper in the crack, then clamp.
Like one of the guys suggested you could instead work down to below the crack for a new back. If it becomes apparent that the stave is going to be too light for the bow you want, flatten the back and glue on a hickory backing.
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I've never had any luck glueing side checks in ring porous woods. They always seem to split in the early growth and the crumbly nature of that part of the ring just doesn't hold a glue line for me. I have managed to glue side checks in ERC and other junipers though. Josh
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Blackhawk- that razor blade it's probably at least 3/4" deep, and the limb is about 1 3/8" wide.
Non backed- no twist to speak of in the stave, although I did steam it too add reflex
DWS- the stave was cut in January '13 and dried slowly, I have also got a few other bows from this same tree with no delamination problems
Brad Smith- I may have enough room under it too make a light bow, but was hoping for something with some poundage.
Thank you guys, but I think I will try to glue it and clamp it and keep it for myself. I have got a number of hours into it, so I might as well see what happens with it. I will keep you updated, although it may sit in the corner till I get my brothers bow finished.
Aaron
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Josh, sometimes I'm hard headed and just have to find out for myself.
So, since I have decided to glue, I have another question. Unibond 800 or super glue?
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Lol! I'm much the same way. Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer for you. I've only ever tried superglue and I've never used unibond at all. Josh
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This isn't quite a delam, but it has a nice crack that runs out the fades and the sides of the limb. I used 'tite chairs' glue and clamped it up. Bow shoot great and has been put threw its paces.
66" long 65#@28" exercised out to 30"
Not to say that you will get as lucky as me but yah just never know sometimes.
(http://i1346.photobucket.com/albums/p696/Bryce_Ott/E351DD70-FEB9-4788-B2CC-3D4A016F5473_zpsygu8xkqs.jpg) (http://s1346.photobucket.com/user/Bryce_Ott/media/E351DD70-FEB9-4788-B2CC-3D4A016F5473_zpsygu8xkqs.jpg.html)
(http://i1346.photobucket.com/albums/p696/Bryce_Ott/34A49330-BDA7-4B64-A7EA-E6722FF9AE63_zpscctepct1.jpg) (http://s1346.photobucket.com/user/Bryce_Ott/media/34A49330-BDA7-4B64-A7EA-E6722FF9AE63_zpscctepct1.jpg.html)
(http://i1346.photobucket.com/albums/p696/Bryce_Ott/41B55855-F6FC-40C8-9C61-1AF6C4A9E8ED_zpsauoeoxyg.jpg) (http://s1346.photobucket.com/user/Bryce_Ott/media/41B55855-F6FC-40C8-9C61-1AF6C4A9E8ED_zpsauoeoxyg.jpg.html)
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if you go down past the crack and have enough for light bow,, sinew would give you the weight you want,, I would try glue clamping first as suggested,, :)
keep in mind you would shorten the bow to sinew back it,, maybe to 56 inches for a 28 inch draw,, this would increase the weight as well,,
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Have you tried clamping it to see if it closes up under pressure?
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Use thin viscosity superglue. It will wick itself down to the very essence of that crack. Far beyond what you can presently see. Fill it. Let it dry. Repeat until the crack is filled. If that seems to be taking too long, after several application of thin, it will be ok to use thicker viscosity superglue at that point to help fill the void. I've had good success with such repairs. I would NOT clamp it.
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If Marc has had success with clamping,, I would try that,,
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I've personally had success with warming it up with a heat gun before applying the glue. Not as hot as you would to bend it but good and warm. Then fill it with glue and clamp the heck out of it. It has worked several times for me and some friends. Even the few that broke didn't break where the repair was done.
Patrick
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x2
like Patrick said, I would try exactly like that
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The reason I said I wouldn't clamp it is because I've fixed many such checks/cracks without doing it and they were permanent fixes. If it went back together with light to moderate pressure, clamping shut a razor thin check would be fine, but I certainly wouldn't concern myself with closing that gap if it seemed stubborn.
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I've done both clamp and no clamp, quite often they won't clamp back together, but prefer clamping if possible.
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Marc, I checked it this morning and yes it will close up with light clamping pressure
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I ruined a whole batch of staves a few years back. I split them and left them in my garage bark on, bad idea. Every single one of them ruptured just like that. No wind did it to mine. Good old fashioned excess heat did..
Had a similar experience with a windfall of black locust I came into. I peeled and spit, but left them too big overall and they had drying checks in several directions. I saves a few, but lost a lot.
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I have done this a few times. When I se this in a stave I try to work around it . But if the stave is a realy good straight grain stave I open the crack and get as much thin glue in it as possible. One of the bow ended up being IBO champion when put in the hands of James Hicks . This man is as hard on a selfbow as anybody. 30" draw jerks it back and holds a long time. But he can shoot. If it's a great looking stave I would try the glue. Arvin