diagnose this failure... a fix?

[Buemaker]

Perhaps you listened to much to some guy from PA.        Bue--.

[Bowjunkie]

How did you prep the glue joints? What glue did you use?

It was likely a combination of the grain direction change and pin knot that allowed this to happen... and the glue joint may have been fine otherwise, but just couldn't stop the break.

Since growth rings run one direction, and grain runs perpendicular to them... a piece of wood could be perfectly quartersawn or rift sawn and have potentially threatening grain run out. This appears to have been the case here. Unfortunately, if you don't saw the lumber yourself, it may be very hard or impossible to know ahead of time.

[Roy from Pa]

Hey Bue Boy, don't make me make a trip over the pond.. LOL

Eric, how many beers did you consume when you were gluing it up?

[Echatham]

Jeff i used unibond 800, and i prepped the glue surfaces by scoring with a hacksaw blade and cleaning with acetone.

Roy, I don't remember.... is that bad?    

[Roy from Pa]

Not bad as long as ya had some:)

[Echatham]

there were definitely "some"

[Roy from Pa]

Ok then that wasn't the reason it broke:)

[Eric Krewson]

I don't think the acetone clean up is necessary. I quit degreasing about ten years or about a hundred bows ago, no glue failures so far. I use Urac but will switch to unibond when I run out of urac.

When I was degreasing I always wondered if all the solvent cooked out of the wood or if there was a little left hiding in the wood cells to cause a glue failure.

[Roy from Pa]

I used to use denatured alcohol to clean up, now I just blow the wood off with an air hose. Never had a glue failure with urac or unibond yet.

[Bowjunkie]

I don't degrease anymore either. I wondered and worried like Eric about solvent left behind and whether it would inhibit the best adhesion.

Instead, I try to grind the pieces immediayely prior to glue up, and be careful not to touch the gluing surfaces at all before I get them glued together.

[cunruhshoot]

Just when I am ready to jump into a tri-lam bow i read a thread like this and I get a bit overwhelmed and I think maybe i will wait awhile before getting into the all wood bow world and stick with my glass bows a bit longer. Someday...

[PEARL DRUMS]

Proper ingredients equal a lasting bow. Don't be overwhelmed, just get boards with good grain and go to town. That swirl was the killer IMO. Im a round edge guy myself, but Id say this one was plenty rounded and not the fault.

[Echatham]

Pearl it is pretty rounded. got to be the grain swirl.  i used the best quartersawn osage i could find, but it wasn't perfect.  i will try another laminated bow one day, but im gonna stick with sticks for now.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Cant blame you Eric. Im a stave guy myself.

[Zradix]

sorry about the tough break Eric.
...sounds like you've found your niche anyway...till ya get bored and need to try something new...lol

[Roy from Pa]

It was not pretty rounded, you can see a crisp edge on the belly. Not saying that's why it broke, but it's a possibility along with the grain swirl. Just keep making them, Eric. And there will be more break in your Bowyer Adventure. Happens every now and then when building wood bows. And store this thought Eric, a radius belly is better than a flat belly with wooden bows.

[Echatham]

Roy it might have been a trick of the camera or just your tired old eyes... But there was no crisp edge anywhere on that bow... All nice and rounded.  Now why dont ya go open up one of them sissy beers and take  a rest  

[Roy from Pa]

OK:)

[Echatham]

Lol!  Not gonna put up much of a fight ehh?

[Echatham]

So... Torges style patch or ca glue and a wrap?  Might as well try to save it.