St. Jude Auction Bow Final Chapter

[AZStickman]

Well this isn't the post I wanted to be writing for the final chapter for this bow but here goes......I got the bow sinewed  the Elk antler nocks applied and the snakeskin backing on her....She was tillered to 60#@25" sweated in and about 25 arrows shot through her...... I took the tiller to 60#@27" figuring she would settle in between 55 and 60# when all was said and done.....First shot from 20 yards was a perfect heart shot....( I was going to name this bow La Corazon)..... The second shot wasn't as pretty the bow made a funny noise on release and when I loooked down I saw she had split along the wind check on the handle.....I thought that check was out of play.... Ahhhh this self bowery is a humbling master.....Sorry Timo this wasn't the fate the century stave deserved.....I'll have to come up with something else for the auction...... Terry

   http://bowyersworkshop.com/auctionbow16.htm

[Dano]

Dang Terry I feel your pain. Blood, sweat, and some times tears, what a hobby!!. You were on your way to a fine bow for a great cause.    

You gotta build another!!  :D

[Steve]

Terry - I think you can fix that. Looked like a fine bow. I think i wouuld fill it with urac and clamp it up, then after it's dry, flatten the handle thickness to that of the limbs, and glue on another handle. If it didn't violate the back, then it'll work. Buck up. Steve

[the Ferret]

Oh your kidding! Man that was such a nice looking bow. I'm with Steve though, remember the "It ain't broke till I say it's broke" attitude! You can always glue it, pin it,sinew wrap it and then do a corded handle soaked with glue. As a last resort reduce the weight to a 45#er so there's not so much strain on it.

[Timo]

That's a shame Terry. I'm with the other guys about fixing her.Just CA and sinew wrap it, and take her to the woods.

Seems I remember us talking about that wind check, prior to your building her?

[AZStickman]

I'll definitely try to salvage it this was one great shooting bow.... But it's not going to be what I would feel right putting up for auction.....We'll see how she turns out....Timo...Yep we did talk about that...    I gave her my best shot and damned near pulled it off Thanks for your generosity it was a fun ride..    .... Terry

[gifford]

Being of the "it ain't broke till it's at least three pieces" persuasion; I'd echo the others, sinew and draw weight reduction. Cord wrap handle is a sound idea as well. That is a fine looking bow, with a great story, it's definitely worth a repair or three. Let us know how it works out.

[AZStickman]

Ok guys...."It ain't broke til I say it's broke!!"..... Here's where I'm at with the repair.....Terry

   http://bowyersworkshop.com/auctionbow17.htm

[Dano]

Alright!!  

[Steve]

Terry - that repair will work, but I hope you used urac - I wouldn't trust ca for that... when you get the handle on it, maybe use a couple lams of other wood for strength and beauty. Try to be sure that the handle lams sit higher than the dips some, so the stress doesn't lift it at the dip. Urac is amazing stuff... and this repair isn't all that different than a lam bow getting a handle...You'll get it! steve

[Frank]

When and where is the St. Jude auction?  I have a bow that I want to donate.

Frank

[AZStickman]

Steve...I epoxied it same as I do for Billets with a wood dust filler....It's not failed me yet....I don't have Urac never done one of those fancy BBO critters you guys are getting so good at and I'm too frugal to put out the cash for Urac just to watch it go bad on the shelf...    ...When you say let the handle lams sit higher than the dips do you mean leave a bit of a lip rather than feathering it into the limb??.......

Frank the auction was originally supposed to happen right around now.... Maybe Terry or Lance will poke in here and let us know the status of the Auction...... Terry

[the Ferret]

That's the spirit Terry. I think Steve is telling you not to let the glued on handle sit flat on the belly of the limb. Don't think that's gonna be a prob here. Looks like the glue line will be BELOW the belly of the limb.

Keep after it Terry!

[AZStickman]

Thanks Mickey.....One more question....How long do I make my glue on section.... the original handle was 4" with 1 1/2" fades for 7" of non working area..... do I keep it at 7"???.... Terry

[the Ferret]

Terry I make my glue on sections 10" or so but then cut my fade shape with a bandsaw so any excess is cut off. Better too long and have to do a little rasping than too short. I'd go 9" at least. In your case I'd shape the fade by hand and skip the bandsaw

[AZStickman]

Darn Mickey....I made a run over to Woodworkers source at lunch and picked up a couple of pieces out of their bin.....I hope I went long enough...Worse case... I get to take another visit over there tomorrow.....  :D  Terry

[AZStickman]

Ok I'm looking good on the length.... I have a 10" piece of Bubinga for my handle.....But now I have another challenge......My reflex on this bow was about 1 3/4" before the handle blew..... now that I have thinned out the handle area the sinew has flexed it's muscle and it's now reflexed 3 1/2"
 Do I try to get the 10" hunk of Bubinga to match the radius through the handle section or do I clamp the bow to the Bubinga and make it fit that way?? Or is there another option I'm not seeing?? .... Terry

[AZStickman]

Is there any reason I couldn't just forget the glue on handle and sinew wrap the handle area real well..... Top that off with a rawhide wrap and then put a leather handle wrap over all of it??...... Terry

[Linc]

I'm not expert by any stretch of the imagination but I think it would be better to clamp to the shape of the bubinga.  :confused:

[AZStickman]

I'm swimming in the deep water here myself Linc..I'm open to any and all suggestions...    Terry