Learning Experience Turned Out To Be Just That

[Jaenak]

So I bought a you finish it bow from Bowstick Archery and got it in the mail earlier today.  I opened the cardboard tube, took the cut bow downstairs into my basement and figured out just what I got myself into.  *sigh*

I got it as a hickory selfbow of 40 pounds at my 26 inch drawlength, and 60 inches long.  It was cut on a laser cutter to very specific dimensions and the website said it wouldn't need much if any tillering work.  Well, that's all I'll believe from that website after carefully inspecting the bow.  It took quite a bit of sanding to get the black layer off the surfaces the laser cutter went over, and even more work to round the corners down to reasonable and smooth everything down.

The problems though are the following...
*A long but shallow gash (for lack of a better term) on side of one bow limb from I would assume to be someone holding a grinder and sneezing.  It sanded out nicely though, no harm, no foul.
*Several little nicks and small gouges to fill in.
*One limb has a natural deflex of about 1.5 to 2 inches where the other has one of about 0.75 inches.  Both limbs need to be straightened.
*Both limbs lean towards my grip arm about 0.75 inches.  I would like to straighten them both to stand up straight.
*One limb has a large nick in the wood about 0.5 inches wide and 1/8th inch deep.  I need to fill this in and keep it in mind as it might make that spot bend too much.
*About 1/4 inch toward the handle from the bottom edge of the large nick, the grain is separating to form a crack.  It starts on the limb edge and thins out in a diagonal angle towards the limb tip and the other edge of the limb.  The crack at it's deepest is on the limb edge and is about 1/8 inch deep (roughly 1/3rd the thickness of the limb) and thins out toward the surface for about an inch before reaching the surface of the limb.

I tried to take pictures but they just wouldn't turn out no matter what I tried.  Sorry.

Questions...
1.  How should I fill in all the tiny nicks and gouges?
2.  How do I undeflex the limbs so they are straight?  I'm afraid of the resultant handshock, accuracy loss, and loss of poundage if I just leave them as-is.
3.  How do I straighten the limbs so they don't lean towards my handle arm?  If this solution is too hard I might just skip it and not worry about it.
4.  How do I fill in the large nick and if needed, strengthen that part of the wood so the missing wood doesn't cause it to bend too much?
5.  What do I do with the crack?  I've heard of warming the wood a little, putting tape on the limb edge to seal it up against leaks, slightly bending the wood to open the crack slightly, then putting LockTite in a syringe and injecting the superglue into the crack, then tapping the limb with the handle of a screwdriver to get all the air bubbles out of the crack, then letting it dry and harden.  I could very easily do this as I have tape in great supply and my wife is diabetic and as such have a ready supply of used syringes should I need one.  However, I'm afraid if I string this bow, the crack will quickly spread and snap the limb before I get the second arrow shot.  Since this bow is a learning experience for me, should I fully back this bow, then wrap the superglued crack with sinew and hideglue?  Will that keep the afore-described crack dormant?
6.  What are the commonly used types of backing material and how do they affect the bow?  For a couple examples, my dad was telling me that he thinks fiberglass would be stronger than rawhide.  And I read that sinew shrinks and tightens as it dries, (which by the way, is that the same for artificial sinew or does only the real stuff shrink)?

I don't generally find much money to put into this hobby so I'd really really like to be able to make this bow functional, not just educational.

Thanks for the help up front.

*Jaenak*

[Hojo]

Before going any further, I'd contact the company you bought it from and see if they'll replace it.  The more work you do on it, the less likely they will be to help you out.

[Pat B]

I agree. If they advertise good staves or glue-ups you ought to get a good stave or glue-up. If they are reliable they should stand behind their work.
 Pics would help but you can fill the "cracks" with superglue and if they are big ones, use fine saw dust and super glue.

[Steve Kendrot]

Pics are always helpful. Most of the fuzzy pictures I see posted are due to getting too close to the subject. Many point and shoots have a macro function that let's you get very close to your subject. Canon's macro icon looks like a tulip flower. Not sure about other makes. See if your camera has such a function and try retaking. Sounds like shoddy workmanship. You might try looking for a oak board at home depot. That way you have control over the whole production process. Probably cheaper and a more complete learning experience to boot.

[Broken Arrows]

Call Boystick tell them you are unhappy with the bow you received. you should be able to ship it back and get a new one. Or go with Rudderbows I know Jim at Rudderbows he will do a great job for you.

Dave

[Broken Arrows]

Should have said Bowstick.

[Jaenak]

Oh, another thing I forgot to mention is the nock grooves on one limb are uneven.  They're off by about 1/8th inch.

I'm not looking to return this bow, I'm looking to repair this bow and hopefully get this shooting.  Please understand I'm not delusional enough to think this is a good bow, this is a piece of junk and I got ripped off like crazy.  I'll never ever buy another bow from that bowyer ever again.  But even so, the lessons this bow will teach me would take a long time to learn if I waited to encounter them until a quality bow project needed these repairs.  You get what you pay for and I got less than what I paid for but the learning experiences I'll glean from this will more than make up for the lack in quality and durability.

What I'm looking for is ideas and know-how on what to do with these flaws to fix them.  Thanks.

*Jaenak*