Salvagable? Cracked Red Oak 78" Board Bow

[Soggydog]

Well, attempt #3 had some was going well, and I had managed to get my 78" nock to nock (yes, it's probably a lot longer than it needs to be) red oak bow up to brace height, but I appear to have a problem.

The picture shows a crack in the handle with a few pounds of force being applied. I think this one is probably a goner, but I was curious if y'all think there might be a way to salvage this one. Would attempting to fit a larger handle and filling the crack with glue be advisable?

Here's some pictures of the bow while it was braced.




-Shane

[Badger]

   The bow doesn't have any fades, a 78" bow should have at least 3" or 4" of fade on each side of the handle. I would start over. How heavy is the bow?? You might want to go shorter extra long bows can create a new set of problems.

[Hrothgar]

A little hard to tell from the picture, but I would probably start another bow. Part of the problem may be the sudden drop from handle thickness to limb thickness. Normally one and a half or two inch gradual fades better distribute the stresses.

[Hrothgar]

Badger, you were posting while I was typing. 3 or 4 inch fades would indeed be better.

[Soggydog]

Thanks for the quick response! I was aiming to make this one about 45# @ 28". Would you recommend attempting a 56" nock to nock 40# @ 28" hickory board bow next, or is that a bit short for that draw length?

[Hrothgar]

56" ntn is a little short for a 28" draw. For a sinew backed osage or similar wood you could do it. I've made a couple hickory bows under 60" but they were around 26" draw.

[k-hat]

Yup, start a new bow.  If you have a board that is already limited to 56", you could eek out 28" if you made it bend thru the handle, tempered the belly, and flip the tips like you did on this one. It'll take a little set, but if that's what ya got, that's what ya got.  If you don't mind adjusting your draw a touch (which really you will draw differently on a bendy most likely), settling for 27" would be a good idea. 

[JWMALONE]

Yep a new board might be best, the bright side is ya got plenty of room in that shop.

[George Tsoukalas]

Too bad that looked like a graceful bow.

There are 2 reasons for the break.

1.The transition from handle to limb is too abrupt.

2. Look closely and you will see that it broke along a wandering grain line.
The stave needs to have  straight grain  tip to tip if possible.

Check my site.

http://traditionalarchery101.com

Would not try to salvage it.

Jawge

[JWMALONE]

Like Jawge said it was a nice looking bow. Good luck on the next one.

[Mesophilic]

Would it be possible for him  to flatten he handle on the belly side, glue and clamp the crack, and then  glue on a riser?

[k-hat]

If one wanted to salvage the bow, things could be done to make it serviceable, but the real lessons to be learnt have already been.  I think the time is better spent taking those lessons and making a new bow.  maybe set this one aside and attempt a fix when there's absolutely nothings else to do, but not worth the time investment in imho.

[Jim Davis]

Forgive my assumption, but I think the best thing you could do on your next bow is to read The Traditional Bowyer's Bible Vol. I.

You either have not studied common approaches to making a bow, or have ignored them. Folks here like to help, but you can make initial progress faster by reading available books or looking at websites that give step-by-step instruction, such as Jawge's pages.

[Soggydog]

So while I was waiting for the glue to dry on another project, I decided to go back to this one. I filled the crack with glue, rasped off the old handle, replaced it with a much larger riser with 3" fades, and much to my surprise was able to finish tillering this one out for shooting! This one's now drawing about 35# at 28" and seems to be shooting fine. I know I need to improve on the tiller, but I'm pretty happy with this one






I later carved out the handle after these pictures were taken, and will upload a picture sometime if anyone is interested.

[Morgan]

Congrats on the success! It sure is great shooting your first successful bow. I would like to see the finished product. I’m surprised at the draw weight, the limbs look like they would be heavier than that to me.