Osage selfbow cracked limb

[Nathan Shaw]

Well I’ll dive right into it. I was flipping the tips on this bow with dry heat. It cracked along the belly where there is a knot. Looking back I should have left the tips alone and had a decent longbow as I knew this was going to be an issue with the knot. I had a plan from the beginning and had a hard time deviating from that plan.

The bow was 50# at 24-25” on a slack string when I decided to flip the tips. My question is this. Is it still salvageable as a hunting tool or do the kiddos have yet another bow. Thank you for your input.

Nathan Shaw

[scrub-buster]

It's hard to say without pictures.  If the cracks aren't too bad you can fill them with superglue and forget about them.  Or you might even remove the cracked wood while doing the finish shaping of the tips. 

[Nathan Shaw]

I’m trying to upload the pics but having some issues.

[Nathan Shaw]

Maybe

[Nathan Shaw]

Maybe these will work also

[Pat B]

That will be hard to fix but it's doable. Glue it, clamp it and then add an underlay(over lay).

[scrub-buster]

When recurving the tips it's best to have the belly down to a single growth ring in the area that you are bending.  It will help prevent what happened to your bow.

[Nathan Shaw]

I appreciate the input!

Pat- What material would be best for an underlay in this situation. Keep in mind I have not experimented with underlays. With that said, I am not opposed tottting new and different techniques or processes. I have plenty of scrap Osage as well as other woods. How thick/thin would it need to be? Do I need to, or can I, re-straighten the limb to apply the overlays?

Scrub- I knew this was going to give me fits but neglected to listen common sense. I appreciate your thoughts!

Nathan

[Pat B]

The underlay should be thin enough to bend over the recurve. You can pre-bend it on the same form you bent the recurves. Be sure that both glue surfaces are flat and well matched. About 1/8" to 3/16" should work.
I wouldn't try to straighten out the recurve first. It might cause more problems.

[Eric Krewson]

I have reinforced recurve tips after they cracked but filed away all the cracked wood before I added the overlay. Your crack is a worst case scenario.

I had one bow blank crack in a similar fashion and put the blank in the "splice another limb in place and start over" pile.

[Nathan Shaw]

Well, I attempted super glue and an underlay to no avail. This one went to the firewood pile. I have since started another and have made some great progress. I have flipped the tips with no issues and we’re off to final tillering. I really appreciate the input from everyone.

Nathan

[Pat B]

Save the handle and good limb from the original bow. You can match it up later with another limb by splicing at the handle.

[Eric Krewson]

I have done it a bunch of times;