Questions on first bow build

[Cody Dorris]

Im currently building my first bow. It's a basic red oak self bow. I've got it roughed in and the handle glued on. The handle is made from reclaimed cypress from the Wild Turkey distillery. The wood is from the barrels that were originally installed in the 1920's and still smells like bourbon. I also used some tiger wood in the handle. The problem im having is that I cut the fades out before gluing it on and now after sanding the fades down the edges are chipping and the glue is showing around the edge. The more I sand the worse it seems to get, even when lightly sanding with 400 grit. Is there a trick to fix this? If that doesn't make since I can post a pic. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[Roy from Pa]

You are saying the wood is chipping away?

[Cody Dorris]

Yes around the edge where the handle meets the belly, instead of making a smooth thin transition it chips away in places.

[karrow]

pics please  

[Roy from Pa]

Has to be bad wood is the only thing I can think of.

[Cody Dorris]

Yes the wood is cypress that was saturated in bourbon for 80 years so yeah it's pretty soft.

[takefive]

I dunno...Roy's been saturated in Coors Lite for about 80 years and he's still pretty tough.    

Sorry, couldn't resist.  Can you cut it off and use a different piece for the handle?

[Cody Dorris]

I realize the soft wood is what's causing it to chip and sand away faster than the glue around the edge...just wondering if anyone knows a trick to solve the problem.

[takefive]

You could try scraping the glue away with a sharp knife or razor blade.  I did that on a piece of cherry bark I glued with Titebond 3 on the back of the handle area.  Most of it came off, but it took a lot of careful scraping and sanding.
Even if it's a stiff handle design, there's going to be stress at the handle fades when you're drawing it back.  I'd want good, strong wood there.

[snapper1d]

Are you sure its cypress.I have never heard of whiskey being stored in cypress.White oak is all I have ever heard of it being stored it.Cypress would sure give it a bad taste.Could be some badly degraded white oak more likely.

[Cody Dorris]

I thought cypress was odd to but I actually have a certificate of authenticity that I got with the wood.

[KenH]

Are you sanding down the slope of the fade, or upwards?  Should only be downwards...

[snapper1d]

Cody here is something on your Cypress.I have copied and pasted a reply from the company.

"Dear Lindell,

Thank you for taking the time to e-mail us about the cypress barrels.

Cypress fermenters were used in the fermenting process. White oak barrels are used for wild turkey aging.

Thank you again for contacting Campari America

Sincerely,

Tammy,
Campari America
Consumer Relations"

[critman]

NOT an expert by no means but I have worked with cypress a good bit. Not sure I would trust it in a bow handle. Very soft wood that splits easily. Just my 2 cents.