Red oak blow out!

[John Malone]

No it aint a sale folks. It was so nice out there today I decided to take all the bows ive made and choot em. I think it was the 3rd successful bow I made, all red oak, just short of a thousand shots and she snapped into mid top limb. All the rest seem to be doing fine.
 Hope every one else had the chance to enjoy some good weather.

[Wolftrail]

" just short of a thousand shots "  that is a bummer after that many shots.  I broke my share.   Spring is erupting 'bout time.

[Pat B]

John, can you tell why she broke? I do post mortums on all broken bows so I know what not to do on the next one.

[John Malone]

Ill take a pic Pat, probably wood selection. It came from Lowes.

[mwosborn]

Bummer.  Only thing to do is build another.    

[John Malone]

No biggie I guess. like I said I was shooting all the bows ive made so far, which ive been shooting them all off and on. This is the fun part as well, research. Couple dozen with one bow then another. This one shot pretty well, cant remember the exact specs, red oak 66 t2t 1.5 wide out 6 inches tapering to .5 tips and was only 42 pounds. It broke midway of top limb.
Pics aren't so great, looks like it broke straight across the back then blew that piece out of the belly. Got the board from lowes, I needed to make a bow at the time. This was my third bow
 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=014791;p=1#000000
 
 
 

[Pat B]

The way it broke I can't tell if it failed in tension or it blew out the belly causing the tension failure. If the break is along a lateral grain line on the belly it could cause the tension break.

[Forwardhandle]

When I first started making wood bows I made a red oak D bow  like in the end of TBB 4  shot great tuned arrows for it I was going post it so had the wife take a full draw pic got to full draw and bam

[John Malone]

Pat, I think it was a tension failure?
Yellowwood, I well make one from a stave one day. These boards seem dry to me as well but who knows. They have been using red oak as long as anything else, so I'm curious, but I wont be using any from lowes.

[George Tsoukalas]

That looks like a petty violent break. Glad you are ok. Jawge

[John Malone]

I wear safety shooting glasses when shooting. Not that I don't trust my work, I wear em cause they look cool. lol

[BMorv]

The same thing happened to me.  This was after a few hundred shots as well.  If you notice it even had mesh sheetrock tape as a backing.  Funny thing, I quit making bows with wood bought from Lowes, and they quit blowing up in my face.  
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[John Malone]

Yea.don't think ill use any more, but I would like to try a red oak stave. That break looks a lot like mine.

[BMorv]

I would trust a red oak stave 1000 times more than a red oak board bought from Lowes.

[John Malone]

Ive read they have found red oak bows in archeological digs. Maybe not their go to wood but interesting, could've have been an I gotta eat type thing? But I figure there had to be a lot of them made for us to find any at all. The mystery is part of the fun I guess. Good thing I'm not a cat, id have been dead along time ago.

[Pat B]

You never know how the red oak was handled from the stump when buying boards from big box stores. They are probably fine for boxes, furniture, etc. but it's a gamble with bows. That said it is still a good option for beginner bow builders.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I'm different than Pat. I think beginners should start with a good bow wood that affords them a chance at a keeper bow. That's why I didn't teach my boys to winter drive on bald tires so they could learn how to handle a spin out properly.

[Wolftrail]

Try Maple instead of red oak,  I have ended up with a few splinters here and there but I think its more forgiving than the Oaks.

"winter drive on bald tire"  snows in our parts to, I have not bought snow tires for over 24 years.  I just nurse the car around town in the snow anyway.

[Roy from Pa]

John, try to find a rew elm board. It will be better than oak.

[Pat B]

Hickory would be better than red oak for a beginner but it's not always available like red oak is. I've never worked with hard maple so I can't comment on it.