Need Opinions On This Short Yew Recurve, Firewood Or Finish It????

[Elktracker]

Ok so I cut this out last night and wanted to make a sinew backed short Yew recurve but when I was cutting it out l noticed a bad spot in the wood so had to make my limbs a bit narrower to get it out of the limb. As of now the stick is 48" curve to curve (where it starts to curve), 1 1/2" wide the whole way to a few inches before the tips. I feel like The limbs are maybe to narrow at 1 1/2"??

And then when I was heating in the recurves a crack started to develope that was pretty bad as you see so I super glued it and clamped it and it worked ok. I had planned on wrapping the tips with sinew.

So I guess my question to all of you is...... Is this bow worth the trouble of sinewing and trying to finish with the info you have? I was wanting something around 50# @ 24" but I think thats asking allot but then again I have only worked with sinew one time so I wasnt sure?

All of your thoughts and opinions will be valued and taken into consideration, and if this one has to end up firewood I wont feel bad because I only have about 35 minutes in to it so far. Thanks

Josh




These are before glueing the crack it closed up pretty good and seems ok.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Trash it if you have more staves to work on that are clean.

[TurtleCreek]

  I am not an expert, but I would go ahead and finish it.  I believe you'd want to wrap the curves after the sinew backing was on to hold the sinew down in the curves  anyways, this would further help protect that area.  I wouldn't give up on it just yet.

[TurtleCreek]

  Might wanna scratch my idea a go with PD. 

[blackhawk]

Hmmm???...my opinion is that's borderline,and I tend to stray to the side of saving it and finishing it. I don't see why sinew backing and wrapping that crack where it runs off wouldn't be a problem holding up at the draw weight and length you mentioned. Make it a bendy handle or slight bendy,and id think you'd be ok. But that's just me...and I don't know much...so take that for what its worth.

[Elktracker]

Thanks guys for the replys so far, I may just finish it just to see how it works but I am thinking about maybe doing a rawhide backing and then wrapping the curves with sinew so I dont spend so much time doing the sinew thing as you all know it isnt a fast process. What are your thoughts on that?  I am one of those guys that likes to try and take on challenges and problems in wood just to see if I can beat it and get a shooter out of it, plus I usually learn more this way. Thanks

Josh

[Steve Milbocker]

I'm no expert but given that the recuves are mostly static and you are wrapping them where the crack runs out I would bet they will hold. You have too much work into not to see it through in my opinion. It aint broke till its broke.

[Elktracker]

Thanks Steve

Josh

[druid]

Just wrap! 

[Steve Milbocker]

Josh, you might want to reconsider the rawhide and go with the sinew on the back if you really like the bow. I have a short sinew backed recurve that Marc St Louis built out of elm. The belly of this bow is full of crystles and cracks from years of shooting and being overdrawn by the previous owner and it still shoots great. Without the sinew I'm sure this bow would have broken years ago. PM Marc and ask him about "Sinbad".

[Elktracker]

Ok steve thanks I was just considering the raw hide as it wouldnt take as much time to do but I wasnt sure if it would be a good choice or not. Thanks

Thanks druid

[Steve Milbocker]

Like I said Josh I'm a green horn and have never backed any of the few bows I've made myself. But I've seen first hand what sinew can do and I was very impressed. Maybe rawhide would work ok too. Your right about sinew being labor intensive though. I watched Gary Davis do a couple of bows at the Kalamazoo expo last year.

[aaron]

burn that mofo!
haha
i hope to get down your way this winter....
don't worry about the dvd's i'll pick them up when i visit.

[Elktracker]

 Ok aaron thanks

josh

[MWirwicki]

Considerating that the string groove placement will be above the crack, drawing the bow (in my opinion) will put heavy stress on the crack repair which does seem to follow the longitudinal grain and run off the side of the limb.  With that grain violation, the failure may have happened later in the tillering process, anyways.  If the crack bisected the limb, I can visualize a tightening bow string loop might aid in keeping it together. 

I am usually one to attempt a repair but in this case, I think that I would use it for kindling.  This time, I'm erring on the safe side.