Upper limb problems

[Schultzy]

My take down recurve recently lost 12lbs In draw weight this last fall. In mid summer I checked the draw weight being my arrows didn't seem to have the normal zip to them that they previously had. Sure enough I was pulling 61lbs at 28". For the last 13 years this bow has been 73lbs at 28". My 1st thought was that my limbs might be getting weak being I've shot a ton of arrows out of this bow the last 13 years. It didn't drop anymore In draw weight the rest of the year but the 2nd week of November or so I had just got back from hunting and I went to take the bow out of the case to hang It up and low and behold I see a bunch of tiny slivers splintering off of the outside edge of my top limb. I got real nervous when I saw that and went outside right away and to shoot some arrows and see what would happen. Nothing ever did happen beside me missing my spot by about a foot being I was nervous as heck shooting the bow not knowing If It was going to blow up or not.   As time went on It didn't bother me none anymore but the last day of season It lost another big sliver In the same spot It had before. There's a grove about a 1/16 of an Inch deep from where the slivers are coming out. It's about an 1/8th of an Inch wide. You can see It In the pics but not as good as I was hoping. You can see where the paint Is coming off and that's where the splinters are coming from. I've posted this on a few different forums asking advise on what to do and I've gotten some pretty good answers. I thought I'd post It here once and see what you all thought a guy should do or not do and just retire It. I really don't want to put this bow down If I don't have to, It's kind of a part of me. If retiring this bow Is the best thing to do, I need to hear that from the likes of you all who've had expierence with this stuff. Thanks In advance everyone.  

My bow Is a 62" WindWalker Take Down Recurve. The company no longer exists from what I know. Here's some pics..

 
 

[jrchambers]

retire, no question. but im no expert if you are loosing limb material it is only a matter of time before failure

[vermonster13]

Better to retire the bow than an eye. Also you don't know what might be happening beneath the paint that you can't see yet.

[Bjorn]

Too bad about your bow. Try the classifieds-some good buys on there right about now.

[Orion]

Looks like what happened is that the finish initially got nicked on the side of the limb.  Over time, water gets in and swells the wood, which in turn breaks the glue bond and pretty soon the limb starts coming apart.  After drying thoroughly, you could try drizzling some epoxy into the area.  That may hold it together.  Or it may not.  Can't tell how bad the damage is from the pix.  However, if the bow lost that much weight, the limb is probably on the verge of snapping.  I vote to retire it as well.   To keep that from happening in the future, give your bow limbs a good coat of wax a couple times a year.  And if you chip the finish to bare wood, touch it up with varnish.