Hello All,

I am working on a vine maple selfbow and got a little rasp happy. I rasped into this pin knot that is near the edge. Am i going to have to back it now or can i just give it a wrap with thread and superglue, or is it fine? I feel I have been doing well with this bow so I was a bit bummed when I saw I did that. Hopefully the pic is clear enough. Thanks for any help.
Brandon [/url] [/IMG]
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Looks like 4 or 5 rings are violated, but that does not mean you can't solve what you have done. There are solutions I know that might work ie: the meare heath reconstruction bow had a few pin knot violations, backing scratches and scrapes all were resolved by using raw hide strips. Blinding it and use to make it look designed that way. It also had the effect of making the bow quieter when shot. A lot depends on what you are willing to do with the knowledge and skill level you are at.
Post a few more pictures, a better description of where the knot is, outer 3rd, mid limb, near the fade? does it show up on the belly? Looks like you are still rasping out the bow shape. At the moment it looks like you have a few options. The better you can describe and show what you have to work with the better the advice you will get.
Luck

I don't see any ring violations from here...you like fine to me for vine maple....continue on...  

The knot it about 4in up from the fades on bottom limb. Just the top of the knot got rasped. I will be away from my stave for a few days so I can try to post another pic in a few days if people need another look. If anyone else has thoughts it would be much appreciated. This is my 3rd selfbow so I am going really slow and taking my time. I am trying to get floor tillered now. She is bending about 1-2 in in each limb. Thanks.

Brandon

 Can't believe you made me pull up paintshop.    
It looks like the knot goes through to the belly. If it does then he will have to resolve it.

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Scars, are you suggesting that on the side profile the rings of the whole knot have been violated and that more wood should have been left around the knot on the side of the bow. Is that a bigger issue than the top violation of the knot.

Nope..still don't see any ring violations on the back of that stave...your drawings are on the side of the stave....dude its fine...make a bow

Well I am going to keep working on tillering and deal with that later if need be. Thanks.

Black Mockingbird is correct there are no backing flaws it is good. Razorback Yes rule #1 follow the grain. It is not a drastic issue and bbell wants confirmation of what he needs to address. I just realized and want to correct, I should of said grain violation, not ring violation.

At 4" above the fades and if the left side is the way towards the tip then yes there is a chance that the area left of the pin knot will lift as he gets farther into the tillering process.
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This is bbells third stave, he is aware of the possiblities  and he wants to carry on with working the bow. As black mockingbird says the bow is talking to bbell. Since none of the gurus are giving him the advice he is seeking. This is what I would do if it was my stave:
First I would round over the edges of the back, continue with floor tiller, get it to low brace height keeping and eye on problem areas. Once braced I would flood the area in question with either super glue or thin hide glue, continue tiller and make sure that at no point in the tillering process the arc on that side became unbalanced.

Do I have to say it again....ITS FINE...I was hoping not to have to go into a lengthy explanation...that's inherent to vine maple and is not an issue at all IMHO...its a diffuse porous wood and not a porous wood,and grain and rings don't have to be as faithfully followed as it does for porous wood...but that doesn't mean you can make a bow with no regard to the grain and its rings...also that pin knot is so small there is not much of any flow around that knot...

Round and radius your corners carefully and send em down,and tiller it out and make a bow...trust me..I've made countless of bows

Awkward...

Wow, I was a butt this morning, I apologize.