Figured out my problem

[TroyH]

Recently I had 2 different hickory bows get bad compression fractures in about the same location.  They were bad enough to render the bows useless.  I couldn't figure out why since the staves were 1 1/2 years old, presumably dry, and I had previously made a very successful bow out of the same batch.  Well, today I burned the broken pieces, and to my amazement, water started boiling out the burning pieces!!!!  The only thing I can conclude is that they were obviously absorbing humidity while in my garage.  What about the one I previously made?  Well, on that one I was working it in the summer when I knew the humidity was high, so I kept it inside in the air conditioned house while not working on it, so  I guess it was able to remain dry.  Guess I need to bring my staves inside.  I know that hickory is notorious for absorbing moisture, but this really surprised me.  One more lesson learned.

[soopernate]

That will happen but I am not sure that is the reason for your frets and compression fractures...did you measure the thickness of the wood on both sides of the fretting area as well as the fret itself. I would venture to guess...and this is ONLY a guess...that the wood was ever so slightly thicker on the limb tip side of the fracture than the fracture itself.

[TroyH]

That may be the case on the second one that fretted, but on the first one I had finished tillering and was about to work on the handle when I spotted the cracks.  The second one actually hinged when it fretted, but the first one had a beautiful tiller and you wouldn't have known that it fretted other than visually spotting them.