Cracks in Osage

[stickhead]

Just finished a 67" osage flatbow its very snaky shoots great tiller looks good.but i was shooting it and heard a crack and found it to have developed a crack in the back running with the grain.i was told it would not hurt anything so i shot it some more and it has developed a second one running 1/4"beside the first. one is about 9" one 4" should i wrap the limb with sinew i tried superglue at first but i noticed it got longer since.

[Pat B]

How long did you dry your wood? Sounds like drying checks(cracks). Will you post pics?
  If it is drying checks you can seal the back well to prevent any further checks.

[Dano]

Sounds like drying checks to me too. I would wrap the bow in Saran Wrap and slow the drying down to prevent further checking, then in a month or two super glue the checks and finish it.

[stickhead]

Pat,I'm sure you saw the stave at hickory it was the one the guy selling all the cane shafts had that he didn't want to sell.He said it had been cut over a year I tested it with my moisture meter it read 8.I shot the bow quite a bit in my shop and it has not taken and set but when the cracks came in it was it's first trip outside and it was 95 in the shade.you say seal it I put about 6 coats of tounge oil on it before it left the shop should I seal it with something else

[Dano]

Tounge oil does not resist moisture, you might try Tru-oil, it's just as easy to apply.

I live in a very dry climate, when ever I bring seasoned wood home from the Midwest, I have to wrap it in saran wrap or it will check badly, the last few % of moisture is criticle. Just my 2 cents, take it for what it's worth.

[Pat B]

The back especially needs to have a good vapor barrier. When I get a stave without bark I seal it with shellac no matter how long it has been cut. The changes from where it was cut to my house are enough in some cases to cause checks.I also like to let wood acclimatize to my shop for a while before I mess with it.
   Tru-Oil will seal the wood better than tongue oil. IMO      It is easy to apply and easy to repair when needed.

[stickhead]

Thanks for the info

[Pat B]

On the lower level of venders at Hickory?  That was David Knight.

[Hermann From Bavaria]

i got the same problems with my osage flat. in my case the drying was the problem. i waitet till the cracks stopped moving, then i used superglue to fix it. now i shoot the bow about one year since the repair without any new crack.

greetings from bavaria