Knotty Question

[Whip]

I'm working on bow #1 for me, and have run into a little problem that has me concerned.  There is a knot about 10" down from the fade on the upper limb.  It runs at an angle, and I thought when I was cutting the bow out that I would be eliminating it, but now I don't think I can.  

The picture with the nail in it shows the angle of the knot - it does not go to the back of the bow.  At the point of the knot the limb right now is just under 1 1/2".  To totally eliminate it I would probably need to narrow the limb to 1 1/8".  

I've had a couple people suggest that it will probably be OK as is and to leave the limb a little stiff through that area, and that makes sense to me.  But I thought I would throw it out here and see what other opinions there might be.  

Any suggestions?
 

 

 

[Ralph Renfro]

I think you'll be OK! I have made many with worse than that. The thing that would most concern me is a combination of that know and all the pin knots across the limb beside that knot. Saturate it with CA (super glue) and continue on your merry way. Good luck and keep us posted. Ralph

[mmgrode]

-What kind of weight are you pulling right now, Joe? and what kind of weight are you shooting for?  If you're still heavy you might end up working it out with tillering or you could narrow the limb if you are still thick enough to make weight. If the plan is for a lighter weight bow you could probably just leave it as is.  

-How much are your edges rounded?  You might be able to facet both your belly edges a bit more and lose the knot.(rounded belly) This will also bring more of the compression force to the center of the limb reducing stress on the knot.

Keep us posted on how it turns out Joe.  Best of luck, Matt

[JBiorn]

*taking notes*

[Whip]

Matt, I'm hoping that I can bring the bow in at between 50-55# when I'm done.  I don't know where I'm at on weight right now - haven't gone to a short string yet.  I'm close to trying that, but trying to figure out how I want to deal with this knot first.

I'm new at this, so not really sure, but it seems to me I would have to remove too much wood if I tried to reduce the facets or narrow the limb enough to eliminate the knot.  Is there any kind of formula to help me know if the limb were 1 1/8" wide how thick it would need to be?

[John Scifres]

I think you will be fine.  That's just character.  I have left many knots worse than that in.  You should round the back corner a bit - not too much - to prevent a splinter lifting.  I'd also carefully remove all the punk and bark that was on the limb.  It can sometimes hide other stuff under there and it makes tillering less predictable.  Definitely tiller slow.

[George Tsoukalas]

Just continue to leave it a little wider. Jawge

[Adam Keiper]

I've made a couple or so osage bows with the same thing.  No sweat.  (If it were running almost right "across" the limb, you'd have cause for concern.)  Like Matt said, continue tillering by working the angled facets to make the finished belly as round as possible.  A rounder belly will be deeper, so it will bear the stress farther from the knot on good wood.  Round the back edges nicely, too, to keep a splinter from popping like John said.  Use a knife to scrape the scaly part away.  After tillering and block sanding with grit 80, you'll probably see very little of it left.