Limb delamination

[Mountainboy]

My brother wanted me to post this so I'll describe it the best I can.  He was in the process of glueing up a new longbow.  Bocote lamination with clear glass on top.  He used Smooth-On for glue, had it in the heat box for 6 hours then the electricity went off in his house.  He let it cool down for about an hour and then he proceeded to taking the wrapping off of the limbs and his hand caught the end of the clear glass and pealed it back to the mark indicated.  He reglued it but didn't get the glue back quite far enough.  He is needing to know if it is salvagable or is it trash?  If it is possible to repair, what could he do to fix it?  Also, he stated he wiped down the bocote several times with alcohol before glueing.
Also, it is on the belly side of the limp.

[eman614]

did he saturate the wood with the alcohol? i had the same thing happen to me and the only thing that was out of the ordinary  was that i spilt some acetone on one of my lams. it delamed when i was almost done with the bow. pissed me off pretty good in fact.

[jess stuart]

I have mixed feelings about using alcohol and acetone before gluing.  I have done it both ways without problem. I have been told not to use anything on lams with high oil content, as the alcohol or acetone will bring more oil to the woods surface.  I was instructed to clean with brass brush and then proceed with glue.  I have also been instructed to always use acetone  to clean any oils off of the wood.  Recently when I use acetone I let everything dry at least overnight and am careful not to contaminate the gluing surface.  I am sure others have different ideas.  Lets hear them, I am all ears.
I am thinking along the same lines as eman614 it should have not come apart after six hours in the oven.

[don s]

the question is, can the bow be fixed? if it delaminated once, i would think it could be done again. if it was put back in the box. can it be heated enough to pull the glass off? if yes, i would try and clean it up as much as possible and try again. why not? whats the alternative? to scrap the bow, correct? it sucks when you work hard on a bow only to have something happen. keep us posted as to what your brother does.
   don

[JamesV]

If the glass pulled off that easy after 6 hrs in the heat box I would trash the bow. Something kept it from adhering. I don't use any type of solvent on oily woods and have never had a problem.

James....................

[Hootsbow]

you said the power went off in his house, Are you sure the bow got up to the correct temp and for how long.
I keep a digital theomoter in my box so I can keep check every now and then, bow needs to be above 150 for four hours, my oven starts out  slow but gets up to mid 170's for the last 2 or 3 hours 6 hour total then let bow cool in bow back to room temp.
I grind my lams. and clean good with stiff brissel paint brush to remove any dust, heat for and hour or so and glue up.   Hoots

[Swissbow]

If the glass comes off that easy then I wouldn't trust that one. I had once a bow delaminated completely while trying to string it up for the first time and there was no visible sign that the glue had not cured correctly. A glass bow delaminate while in use is some scary **** you don't want to happen.

----------
Andy

[Mountainboy]

I'll pass on all of the replies to my bro.  Thanks everyone!!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by JamesV:
If the glass pulled off that easy after 6 hrs in the heat box I would trash the bow. Something kept it from adhering. I don't use any type of solvent on oily woods and have never had a problem.

James....................

Ditto what James said here... I stay away from solvents as much as possible... a freshly sanded piece of oily wood adheres just fine using smooth on.... if you leave it over night, it's not freshly sanded anymore...

sounds like the epoxy wasn't mixed right to me, or the solvent soaked into the wood too much.....

[legends1]

I also agree with James and Kirkll.

[Lee Robinson .]

I have never wiped my lams with alcohol, but I also wonder if the epoxy was mixed well? I have had real good luck with smooth on, but I mix it very well.