Belly crack advice please

[Green]

These photos are of a crack that has developed in the the upper limb of my Miller Sage.  The bow is three laminations of Osage with a bamboo back.....no glass.  The bow is 5 years old and I am either the third or fourth owner.  The crack developed this summer during two months of steady shooting in the Texas heat.  

I'd really hate to make a wall hanger of this superb shooter.  I'd appreciate any and all advice that would help me make a hopefully successful home repair.

 

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for the expertise.    

[fujimo]

sorry to see that bud, looks like an awesome bow.
seems to have followed the bad grain run out on the belly section of that wood .
was there an unintentional dry fire, or did someone else bend her the wrong way.
but it sure looks like a candidate for a "Torges patch" and a sinew/ hide glue  or nylon/ca wrap- maybe do another matching wrap on the other limb!
 http://www.bowyersedge.com/patch.html
I have a few bows like that know- cos I just wont kill them and put them out of their misery- just keep on keeping on!

[Pat B]

Generally a belly will fret(chrysal)if there is a hinge but this looks like a crack following a swirl in the grain.
 You can do a patch as per Dean Torges or grind down the belly and add another belly lam.
 I'd say it was the makers fault for having that swirl in the belly.

[Green]

Thanks for the advice y'all.  I talked via email with David Miller about a month ago.  He said I could ship it back for him to look at, but that he doubted there was anything he could do.  I know he's backlogged at least a year with bow orders so I just kind of dropped it at that point.

I don't think grinding off the belly lam and replacing it is within my skill set, and I don't know that I have the tools/means to do a Torges patch either.

This is a string follow bow, so let me ask about the viability of clamping the tip and riser to my bench and getting some superglue, or like product, inside.  Would that help or hurt the situation?

[Pat B]

I don't think any other option will work. Someone else might have an idea.

[Green]

Thanks Pat, I appreciate your advice candor about this bow.  There's a gentleman in my neck of the woods who I think I'll have take a look at it, and see if he might be interested in doing the repair you suggest.

[Eric Krewson]

Like Pat said, a lam replacement is your best option.

Your other option is to spread the crack by bending the bow backward slightly, filling the crack full of superglue and putting a superglue soaked thread wrap over the crack and 1/2" past the cracked area on both sides. I use braided serving thread for my wraps and have done a bunch of them, some with much worse cracks than your bow has. Every one of the bows that I have wrapped is still shooting years later.

     

[Green]

Thanks very much Eric, I shall give it a try then.  At this point, I've nothing to lose and plenty to gain.

Edited to add that I've done this....the use of superglue dissolved the very thick gloss finish David had on this bow and then the crack in the belly lam was very evident.  I'll let the superglue cure for a bit, then give it a good wrapping.  Will update in a few days when I see how this repair holds.

[fujimo]

dont forget to saturate the wrap with superglue, when you are done- real nice finish- and seals it well

[bornofmud]

Yes, thin CA glue can work wonders for this type of thing.  Thinner than water, and the capillary action gets it deep into the crack.  Sounds like you already started the fix though, hope all comes out fine!

[Green]

Things were going great on this repair after Eric's suggestions.  It took three times of bending and filling to get the entire length of the crack filled level with the wood (the superglue took the finish off with the first application).  I let the bow sit overnight and just as I was getting ready to wrap with #4, I noticed two other cracks have appeared in this belly lam above and below the first.     :mad:  

At this point I think I'll contact David regarding y'alls suggestion of grinding off the belly lam and see if he'd be interested as I know a full re-tiller is going to be involved.

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!