bow crack -- is it fixable?

[J. Cook]

Okay friends, I need some help here.  My father's Clan Gordon developed a crack...this was his first bow and is now 45 years old or more.  Still shoots great, but we noticed a small u-shaped crack in the riser just before the fades.  See in the pics, I hope it shows up.  It's not all the way through, and shows no separation if you string or draw the bow.  In fact, these pics are taken while at full brace.  What do you think?  Is it shootable?  If not, is it repairable?  Or worse, is it now a decoration?

Thanks,
Cook

 
 
 

[PAPA BEAR]

i'd not shoot it until you get it looked at by a bowyer

[Dave Bulla]

Well, it's hard to see in the pictures but the bottom one shows it ok.  Looks to me like the glass or a lam in the riser might have started to crack and it spread into the surrounding areas.  Appears in the last pic to go down into the riser wood a bit.

How far up the back of the limb does it go?  Can you even see it in the fiberglass?  If it is NOT in the fiberglass, I'd probably try to get some thin super glue in the crack maybe at full draw if it opens up at all then, and then unstring it so it closes back up and call it good.  Maybe mark the current end of the crack with a fine tip sharpie so you can tell if it goes any deeper.  It is quite common for the older bows from the 50's, 60's, 70's etc to develop surface stress cracks that run longways up and down the backs of the limbs and they hurt nothing in the shootability of the bow.  However, being on the inside of the sight window radius, your crack may be more structural as that is a weak point.  If there IS a matching part of the crack in the fiberglass, you've definitely got something structural going on.  

If it IS visible in the fiberglass on the back, you may still be able to do the same thing and have it work but I'd probably try some kind of patch over it.  A little bit of fiberglass cloth (maybe quarter sized.  Half on the back and the other half down over the wood?) and some clear epoxy would probably work but wouldn't be all that attractive.  It will nearly disappear when the liquid epoxy is put on it but will still be a built up area.  You'll need to sand it down nice after the patch and see what you end up with.  Matter of fact, you'll need to sand the area a bit before you patch it and I'd still do the super glue thing before the patch too.  If you are careful, you might not have to refinish the whole bow.  A drop or two of true oil after the patch is finished and sanded might blend it to your satisfaction.  Maybe fade it very thinly out over the riser down to the shelf to blend things.  If you don't sand all the way to bare wood in the beginning, your color should stay close to the same.  The existing finish has yellowed nicely and if you go to bare wood it will probably be much lighter.  Just clean well and scuff sand with medium/fine paper to "clean up" a bit.  

Me, I'd probably go ahead and put the patch on it IF it needed it as I feel bows are made to be shot and I'd want to extend it's life.

As for looks, don't think of it as a patch per se, rather more of a battle scar!

[J. Cook]

Thanks Dave, the crack actually does NOT show at all in the glass on the back, and yes it does extend slightly into the riser wood.  I'll wait a day or two to see what else the good guys on here have to say, and then try the patch I believe.  We are like you, in that we just don't buy shelf bows...all are shot.  

Thanks again guys!

Cook

[J. Cook]

ttt

[vermonster13]

Cracks in the fades make me nervous. A lot of stress in that part of the bow. If the bow means something to your Dad, I'd hang it on the wall and try to pick another one up somewhere to hunt with. It won't cost much to replace.

[JL]

There's an old saying....

Cracks never get smaller. The pic's are a bit off focus but I'd be careful with that one.

JL

[Dave Bulla]

Cook,

One other question, do you know how long it's been cracked?  Just going by my gut looking at the pictures, it looks like an old crack.  There appears to be kinda 'matching' old age crud/grime in the edge of the crack.  Just doesn't look fresh to me.  Is it possible that it's been that way for years and nobody noticed it?  If so, how much has the bow been shot in recent years?  If it's been shot now and then lately, well, that's some good to know info.

[J. Cook]

Thanks for the input guys, Dave...to be honest we've never noticed the crack until just a couple months ago.  It's been shot quite a bit again in the last few years and we haven't noticed the crack -- that doesn't mean it wasn't there...we just didn't notice it.

Thanks again guys!

Cook