My first BBO, went KERBOOM!

ffdiggs · July 30, 2015, 09:22:00 PM

yeah, Macbow they needed a little TLC. That picture was right after I shaped them, today it got the full treatment. Sanded from 60 grit to 400 grit. hit it with some .000 steel wool and burnished it. It shines like glass and is smooth as a babies bum.
I'm pulling a 36 hour shift at work so its on hold until this weekend. gonna dye the bamboo and start rubbing it down with some tru-oil. Hoping to have it finished and give to my buddy by this time next week.

Pyro43 · August 01, 2015, 06:06:00 PM

That's a good looking bow. Lovely curves, nice lines, and a perfect tiller, at least to my eyes. definitely one your friend will enjoy.

I've got to ask though, based on your anchor point, how many times have you ripped off that 'stache of yours?

JK

In all honesty, though I'm not much of a mustache guys myself, I couldn't grow one that nice if I wanted to. lol

Nice bow, good job.

ffdiggs · August 03, 2015, 11:58:00 PM

Pyro, first off interesting name, makes me wonder what your hobby might be?

Or maybe what line of work your in. But any way thanks for the compliments. the bow got its final coat of true oil today gonna hit it with some spar varnish tomorrow to dull the shine, put a handle grip on, string it up and tune it for some arrows. And to answer your question I do catch my stache once in awhile, but if I wax it enough I can hook the string on it and give my arm a rest when I'm at full draw on a deer.

macbow · August 04, 2015, 07:41:00 AM

ffdiggs · August 04, 2015, 10:06:00 PM

Well all that hard work and right now its pretty much a walking stick. Got the finish all done made a string exercised it for a while shot a few arrows and have a small crack 10" from the tip right on the edge and its going horizontal.

Its a darn shame too, this was probably the one of the best looking bows I made, I was really proud of it and anxious to give to a friend.

RIP

bowhntineverythingnh03743 · August 04, 2015, 10:15:00 PM

Could you possibly do a plug deal on the belly? Dunno if it would be worth searching it on here and seeing if it would fit for your issue at hand.

SportHunter · August 04, 2015, 10:45:00 PM

Sorry to see the bow not working out. Did you shoot the bow in much before putting the finish on? Just thinking that may have shown the problem sooner.

J.F. Miller · August 05, 2015, 06:08:00 AM

that is a drag. two very good points above. I think a belly patch would work, and I would try it if that were my bow. nothing to lose now.

personally, I'm not satisfied that tiller and weight has settled in until after I've shot a new bow a few hundred times and pulled it to full draw on my tree a few hundred more. many problems, ones like yours included, will reveal themselves during the "shoot it" period.

Pyro43 · August 05, 2015, 02:33:00 PM

Mr. 'stache

Use some good glue, and a matching patch and get that thing fixed! I don't know too much about bow building yet, but I've read lots of people's posts about fixing things like that. You can do it!

Plus I'm still waiting to see proof that a waxed up mustache can hold a bow back, maybe a 5# bow but that wouldn't be good for anything but shooting flies. Lol

Eric Krewson · August 06, 2015, 09:35:00 AM

I have fixed several BBOs just like yours. Bend the bow to open the crack, fill it full of a good quality superglue, wrap with braded serving material 1/2" above and below the crack and soak the wrap with superglue, done and bombproof.

I have tried the plug fix a bunch of times and never had one hold up for the long run. The thread wrapped bows are still shooting years later.

razorback · August 06, 2015, 09:55:00 AM

Sorry to see that, that is a good looking bow. What stain did you use, I like that colour. Give Eric's remedy a shot. Even if you decide to not give it away you may end up with a great bow yourself. You can even put a matching wrap on the other end to make it symmetrical.

wakolbinger · August 06, 2015, 01:32:00 PM

Yea....fixable. Do what Eric said. Also on future ones round out you limb corners more, especially around knots like that. It distributes the stresses better.

ffdiggs · August 06, 2015, 11:09:00 PM

I've done the serving and glue on a bow that had a small crack right at the fade out once, it seems to be holding. I wonder what would happen if I combined the two fixes. Probably not gonna get to it until middle of next week, My baby girl leaves for the Army on Monday, lots of time to make bows only four days to make some memories. Thanks for the advice all of you. I will keep you posted.

ffdiggs · August 06, 2015, 11:12:00 PM

Oh! razorback, I used Fiebings leather dye, dark brown. Put on several coats and used steele wool between the nodes to lighten it up.

ffdiggs · August 17, 2015, 10:00:00 PM

well i tried to do the patch thing, thought it was gonna work, but when I put it on the tree to exercise it , KERBOOM!

Pyro43 · August 18, 2015, 12:05:00 AM

That's too bad dude. I feel for Ya, we all have to learn, but the learning experiences suck sometimes. Get back on the horse when you're ready and get us another pretty bow for all of us to look at.

takefive · August 18, 2015, 12:31:00 AM

Hey, it was worth a shot. Wish the patch would have worked for you, but it's kind of a dicey thing. I did one on an elm bow and it didn't work for me either. Good luck on your next one!

mikkekeswick · August 18, 2015, 02:08:00 AM

That's what I suspected might happen. A bow is a tortured piece of wood! As soon as I uncover a flaw of any kind it tends to get put in the corner of shame. Wraps around limbs show a faulty construction in my eyes. A wood bow needs to be more or less perfect to withstand what you are asking it to do.
That's not to say that these patches don't work full stop but......it's not an ideal scenario.

Roy from Pa · August 18, 2015, 07:05:00 AM

I agree with Mike...

Sometimes the patch does work, but for me when I encounter a flaw in a wooden bow, I'm done with it and I cut it up and start another bow. With my luck it would break when that buck of a life time comes walking by at 5 yards..

LittleBen · August 18, 2015, 09:51:00 AM

Here is the patch I did. I have a feeling it's alive still because I put in harder wood, left it proud, and only ground off the absolute minimum amount of the original belly to remove the fret and not 1mm extra. Or maybe it was the will of the gods ... I don't know.

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=010674;p=2

I tend to agree with Mike and Roy. Once a bow is flawed I can't trust it to hunt with, or to give away, and I'm not much of a target shooter.

Anyone who's experienced the massive time that a sinewed bow takes to complete knows why this one got special treatment.