how much harm is there really?

[Shawnba67]

Hello everyone, new here did some searchs and can't find the answer I'm looking for. I bought a beautiful sinew backed red elm bow from a friend, the bowyer apparently mismarked the bow 40lbs as it is 70 at 28in. My friend thinks this is hilarious and insists on offering to let anyone he feels like shoot it to show off this humor. My Question is can any harm come to the bow form this? I have grown quite attached to this bow and dont want any undo harm to come to it, or undue offense to my friend. I feel these bows come with a shorter lifespan due to the materials they are made from is there any truth to this?bow is rectanglur in cross section with grip about same with just turned 90 to limbs.

[PEARL DRUMS]

It was probably a 40# bow before the sinew was added. Who knows. As long as its tillered correctley and your not drawing past the tillered length it doesnt matter who pulls it. They dont have a shorter life span. Properly cared for your bow will easily outlast you, and I have no clue how old you are.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Just like Pearl said, Don't let any one over draw it.

[Shawnba67]

Thanks very much for the info. Was worried some yahoo could tear it up without knowing how he did it. Will watch for the over draw. I know i cant do it, 70lbs is stout. I keep hoping I'll grow strong enough to shoot it well one day.

Could sinew really almost double the draw wieght?(this is a question  of my own ignorance, not of your experience)Sinew is some powerful stuff.

[PEARL DRUMS]

It sure could Shawn.

[John Scifres]

It really depends.  Sinew can do some magical things but if the bow wasn't designed for 70#, it could be a very dramatic disintegration.  What is the length and limb width?  Got any pics?

[Nim-rod]

I think the general act of letting "yahoos" draw YOUR bow is more detrimental to it's lifespan than anything else. You can watch for overdraw all you want but it can happen in a split second and so can someone letting go of the string and dry firing it. Proper stringing is also key to longevity. Put your bow in a safe place and keep the "yahoos" away that way you can enjoy your bow for many years to come. Your friend is only your friend if he understands this.

[Grey Taylor]

A friend of mine was showing a self bow he had for sale to a young woman who assured him she was self bow knowledgable and had a 28" draw, what the bow was tillered to.
As he stood next to her and watched she drew the bow to 28", paused, and then in a split second had it to 31". The back "ticked" and she let it down. My friend couldn't find any splinters on the back but is now perenially worried about that bow and letting anyone try any of his bows.

The only people I let try any of my self bows is other self bow makers who I personally know and they use my arrows. A lot of work can go down the drain in a fraction of a second if someone doesn't know what they are doing.

Guy

[Sal]

If this bow is dear to you, just to be safe, don't let anyone but you draw this bow.

[Shawnba67]

Cant quite figure out how to post a pic at this moment. Bow is approx 65 long 2in wide taper to 7/8 at knock point. thickness is 5/8 just above grip taper to about 7/16 at knock point. grip is 3/4 wide by 1 3/4 thick. It is extra pretty I'll prove it soon as i figure out how. My compound draw length was 30.5in havent measured it on the recurve I can pull yet. Have a heck of a time just getting this bow to 28in as of yet. Thanks for all your great help and info so far. Last note, Any Idea's on how to politely tell someone hell will be hard frozen before you let them shoot your bow?

[Shawnba67]

this might be a good pic of it if i did it right.

[scrub-buster]

I met a guy at the Classic last year who had a good idea to prevent people from overdrawing his bows.  He tied a piece of B-50 from the fade to the bowstring.  The piece of B-50 was long enough to only allow the bow to be drawn back to the proper draw length.

[Grey Taylor]

Try this:
 "I've had problems with broken bows in the past. Now I get a $400 cash deposit before anyone draws one of my bows. Red headed women may be substituted but they've got to be able to skin deer and cook."

Guy

[canopyboy]

What if you only let someone draw the bow in front of a target, and they have to have an arrow with broadhead on the string?  I'm sorry, but I *%!#ing guarantee you I won't draw your bow past the length of the arrow in such a situation....

[Roy from Pa]

Just say no:)

[red hill]

I let my next door neighbor look at my first red oak board bow. I'd been shooting it for a couple of weeks and it seemed okay. He drew it past my short 26" draw and we heard the "tick" also. A few days later... No more bow.  No one draws my bows now unless I want them to.

[macbow]

That's a good looking bow. If you plan to keep it I would not let anyone else draw it.
The only reason I'd let someone else shoot it is if I planned to sell it.
Ron

[Duncan]

I gave my brother a take down recurve. He allowed a friend to draw it that knew nothing about bows and apparently the guy drew it back to his ear because the the riser snapped like a twig. Guess I forgot to tell him about that. Oh well, now he knows!