Oh my...Help!

[Mike Most]

Ya done good bud....

These guys are great....

[mwosborn]

Yep they are - can take one look at some pics and give ya good advice!

[mwosborn]

Finally took a break from hunting and got back to this bow this past week.  Really want to do some late season doe hunting with this bow!  This is my 3rd bow - first one was a kids bow - the second one I missed weight by a ton and ended up with major set (dried it in attic).  Think I might be able to hunt with this 3rd one!

I tillered as suggested (the best I could) and then quit when I got to 47# at about 27inches.  I shot it for a few days and it shot ok - bit of hand shock (but that is compared to my RER recurve).  It shot 3555 GT with 135 zwickeys pretty well and I was grouping nicely at 17 yards.

After putting some stain on it to tone down the white color I noticed  small "stress lines" in a couple of spots on the limbs - one on the belly and one on the back - different limbs.

A couple of questions for anyone that has the time to reply...

What are these stress lines? - don't know what they are and don't know what caused them.  They are not cracks - but the stain really highlighted them.  

Should I be concerned about them?  They don't appear to be getting any worse and I have shot quite a bit.

The one limb has taken on some set but appears to come back after resting for a while.  Will this get worse the more I shoot it - meaning the bow won't last long?

Couple of pics...

 


Bottom Limb - belly
 


Top Limb - back
 


Thanks for your help guys!  I am getting really excited to shoot a deer with a bow I made from a tree I cut down myself!

Mitch

[Shaun]

Nice work Mitch. Those cracks are called crysals - check out the vocab post at the top of this forum. This bow may break eventually but I would use it to hunt and see. Ash is very tough and it may hold up.

Two "rules" to avoid crysals, set and other damage while tillering: Never pull past final draw weight and never pull past a visible tillering flaw. The Catch 22 is that "visible" is a learned skill that only comes with practice.

You done real good on that bow. Good Hunting!

[Art B]

Shaun is correct, belly chrysal/fret may only cause addition set and hold up for quite a spell. But that crack on the back of the upper limb is another story. It's sure to fail soon IMO.

Just my personal opinion here, but I think much of your difficulty is due more to using "unseasoned wood" more so than your bow building skills. Fresh but "dried wood" I've noticed presents more problems than well seasoned wood when it comes to the bow's limb fretting.

[John Scifres]

[mwosborn]

Thanks for the help guys!  I really appreciate it. Thanks to the help I've gotten on here I am gradually getting better.  Eventually will make a good one I hope. Think I will shoot this one until it breaks just to see how long it lasts and as of now, it seems to be shooting pretty well.

Art - you are right in that the wood was not truly seasoned.  It was cut last spring, split into staves and then I started working on them.  Tried drying some in the attic which resulted in a terrible set.  This current one was rough cut out and drying in the house until August when I started tillering it - better than the attic one.

Good news is, I cut a bunch (ash, elm, hackberry, serviceberry, mulberry, and osage) and it is all drying now - only a matter of time until it is seasoned.

Thanks again.

Mitch