need sinew advice

[tah-gah-jute]

been working on osage bow.stave had some cracks on belly when i started.was hoping they would be removed by time got close to finished bow size.have nice ring followed on back.have put on tillering stick bent to 14"-15" so far.two fine cracks still on belly they are running long ways with grain one 6-7" the other like 3".not pronounced but you can faintly see line on back of bow in same places as belly.i have some sinew was going to use on e.r.c. bow.does this osage sound like one that should get sinew?and if so at what point should sinew be added?should that be done now before proceeding any farther?would appreciate your advice,thanks

[John Scifres]

Sinew only when designed into the bow.  You can wrap the spots if you think they will fail.  But, it sounds like they should be fine.  I would keep tillering and watch them as you go.  It wouldn't hurt to mark their ends now and see if they move.

[2treks]

Keep scraping and put some thin super glue in, and they should be fine. I have bows that have slight recurves in the tips that look as if the are delaminating in the curve. Applied some super glue and they still shoot today. That was 6-8 yrs ago. Longitudal cracks are not that bad.
In my opinion.
Chuck

[Roy Steele]

Finish your bow in super glue.Or at least put it in the cracks.Or just forget about it,finish your bow and shoot it.

[tah-gah-jute]

i had done some others with minor cracks,but not where they showed on back.thought maybe it would be a good one to practice sinewing back before trying on better ones.guess i'll go ahead and finish up without sinew and see how it turns out.thanks for the advice.

[WoodsmanPA]

I was making a osage bow with 17 cracks running with the grain, some showed completely through the bow. I sinewed the back and I'am happy to say it's still shooting great. By the way, I made the bow in 2000, and it's still holding a reflex!

[Roy Steele]

Through the years I've built a few bows that had a crack or two in them.I did'nt do any thing special to them and they are all still shooting that I know.As long as there no running off and edge you should be fine.