board bows are good practice for tillering skills, but every once in awhile you get one that doesnt want to cooperate. my sisters bow was one of these, i soaked the cracked areas in superglue then wrapped them in wool yarn which i saturated in superglue and then tillered around the patches. bow turned out great, shoots exactly where you look and is super quiet. dont let one bad experience make you think all them will be bad, its all part of the learning curve. personally if every bow i started went smoothly without any hiccups i dont think id have much fun doing it anymore.