Analyze This...

[cunruhshoot]

I seem to have an issue that has become apparent in the riser of one of the two options for my trad bow...

What do you think is causing this?

 

And do you think it is a problem. I have been shooting this bow in and have about 100 arrows through with no issues but I dont want an issue.

I have attempted to sand it out and I don't seem to be able to get rid of it...The riser wood is Walnut.

[bornofmud]

I'd fill it with thin CA glue.  Not sure if it'll cause problems, but best to fill it just incase.  What poundage is the bow?

[razorback]

I have had walnut in the handle area of a couple of bows for cracks and also in over lays. Don't know if the forces involved in shooting just cause it to crack or not. Not real helpful, I know, but I feel your pain.

[cunruhshoot]

Ok so I continued to pick at the area and then sand carefully. It seems to somewhat of a flake rather than crack. As I have sanded it is moving down the riser. Here is the new location...

 

Do I continue to work it down until is is gone?

[cunruhshoot]

Well it appears to be gone... it moved down the riser until it faded away...

 
I will do some shooting and watching to see that is in fact not an issue.

[cunruhshoot]

That last picture is upside down from the first two...just for reference to the previous pics. Any insight or cautions are welcome.

[bornofmud]

Did you by any chance build the bow when it was damp out?  Sometimes you get cracks like that from humidity change.  Looks like it's gone though.  If you think it might be humidity related, let it sit out on a warm dry day (or say in the hotbox with the lid cracked) and see if any more cracks/checks appear.  I had to sand off the finish of my most recent bow because I built it during a very wet week, when it dried back out I had a couple small cracks/checks.  I filled with CA and sanded it back down.  Have been letting it sit now and will wait for a stretch of dry weather before finishing again.

[Robertfishes]

I live in a high humidity area. I have a enclosed 12x24 shop. I have to run a dehumidifier or air conditioner to control humidity. I was lucky and bought 2 good dehumidifiers at yard sales for cheap.. I could not spray bows without running one of them in my 8x12 glue up/spray booth room. I store most of my wood in the house, but have a few long boards in the shop.

[Beanbag]

I recently bought some walnut for some lams.Got them all cut and ground, they looked pretty good. Grain was nice, gave them a flex test and had all of them explode on one end, almost looked like they were dry rotted??? Kind of similar checking to what yours looks like.Do you have any left over wood that you could test . Talked to a couple of people about it because the wood did not look bad. One of them thought it might been salvaged from a river?? Anyone familiar with this?? I would be careful with it, if you hear any funny clicks coming from it I would beware.