Well, another oak board bow blew up in my face... :scared: 63" n/n 2" paddle bow disign..sure was purty... :mad: Ya think I should get a moisture meter? Or is it just the luck of the draw??
good grain on this board..was looking good..and bam boom bang....
Shawn...
as soon as you finish the bow, do you exercise the limbs a bit before draw it all the way, or do you draw the bow to your anchor right after you finish tillering? I did that mistake before, cut my thumb too lol
what are the details on the bow? kind of wood? backed? if so, with what? How and where did it give?
got a pick of the break?
Ya know, I wasn't done tillering it yet.. did not draw it very far..maybe 16-18" ..and I do "exercise it" quite a bit..It was red oak..1.5 at handle..2" at mid limb.. paddle bow disign..no backing...It broke lower limb about 2" from fade..upper limb 4-5" from tip where it narrows.. I guess I'll take pic.. :smileystooges:
How about some pics of the break. Pat
That design is too short for the wood. Make red oak 70" and you'll have better luck. Make sure you have chosen your wood well. Here's something that may help: http://residents.bowhunting.net/sticknstring/brdbows.html
O.K. thanks guys..now trying pic's
(http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm337/smonte_2008/003-2.jpg) (http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm337/smonte_2008/007-1.jpg)
hows that??
Shawn...
Thanks for the pics. A pic is worth at least 1000 words!
As shallow as the breaks are I'd say you didn't pay attention to the grain along the edge. For that short of a bow, a bit of bend in the handle may have helped along with a rawhide backing but the grain is the most important. Pat
Pat, I did not pay attention to grain along the edge..what should I be looking for?
:eek:
Shawn...
After looking at the picture a few times, it looks as if there was to much belly wood remaining and the back broke under tension. 16" inches of draw may have been to much for the thickness of the wood at that point.
Grain runout may have been a partial cause, but I think if it had been backed, you'd still have problems at that point.
Shame it happened, it was looking really pretty.
Man, that's a shame. The bow was looking really nice.
That sucks. No pics of the victim? ;)
Glad you're ok.
The grain on the back and sides should run straight from one end to the other or at least with only a few long run offs. George Tsoukalas' site has a description I believe. Pat
Pat, thank you, I was careful to choose a board with grain that ran striaght along the edge..I'm a thinkin now that what tim said is relivant.. and maybe I was a bit over zealous...impatience is my worst enemy... but I've been warned about that before.. how many more will I break before I learn?.. :banghead:
Shawn...
Impatience is the worst enemy to the wood bow builder. Sometimes it takes a few fat lips to realize this. d;^) Pat
:biglaugh:
Shawn...