# cracked long bow - repost-



## somoss (Sep 19, 2006)

well they say you get what you pay for. i was given a longbow for free as long as i paid shipping. i got it yesterday and saw that one of the tips had two lengthwise (tip to tip direction) cracks on them one on each side of one of the string nock points. the other end looks fine. the crack runs about 2 inches towards the other tip, and is visible only after you try and string the bow.
the bow shoots fine but my questions:
1) can i fix this? can i cut the tips down 1.5 inches and make new nocks?
2)can i attach (glue, exposy....) something to the tip to strengthen the tip and decrease the importance of this crack.
the layers of the tip are still intact. 
help.....i really wanted this bow to work out.
can someone recommend an artice or post on selecting the correct string?
thanks


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## RHC (Jul 5, 2006)

Is this a solid wood bow? Laminated wood bow? OR glass laminated bow?


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## somoss (Sep 19, 2006)

*glass*

i have take a close look, i am very new to all of this. the bow is a Ben Pearson Cougar 706-64". if that helps, from others descriptions i believe this is glass laminated but i may be wrong. how can i check?


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## RHC (Jul 5, 2006)

Not sure of the model. I have a Pearson Cougar that is a 62in recurve. Might be only stress crack in glass. Can you tell how deep the crack is when strung?


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## Fl archer (Jul 1, 2006)

Thats a tough call, even a bow that appears perfect can break. I have heard, that a bow can be shot with shallow vertical stress cracks and I have heard the cracks will get worse over time and lead to limb failure.

Any damage to a bow is suspect and tip damage is really suspect. If the crack is through the glass and into the wood, I would use it as a wall hanger or turn it over to a pro and see what he suggest. I have tried bow repairs with epoxy and fiberglass and it ended with poor results. Cutting the tips off and cutting in new tips would be a job for a pro, even if possible. It's probably not a good option.

If you feel the bow is not safe , put it away and try to find a replacement. Check Ebay... I see BP cougars frequently selling for under 100.00. That is less the the cost of an injury


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## somoss (Sep 19, 2006)

*how do i tell if it's laminated or fiber or solid?*

the cracks go all the way thru from just behing the nock cut outs down about 1.5 inches. how about glueing a nice "horn" tip over them or something else?
i am starting to think it's a wall hanger.


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## vermonster13 (Sep 18, 2004)

Post some pictures. Sometimes all it takes is some superglue to fix, depends on what's there.


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## RHC (Jul 5, 2006)

somoss,do you mean you can see light through the crack? Post pictures if you can.


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## somoss (Sep 19, 2006)

*light thru crack*

yes i can see light through the crack, pix to be posted later on tonight after work.


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## RHC (Jul 5, 2006)

I'm no bowyer but if you can see through the limb I think it would be safer to hang it up. It's not worth getting hurt or blinded.


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## somoss (Sep 19, 2006)

*finally got some pix*

herer are some pix. if i grab the tip and twis a little i can see some ligth throu the crack.


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## DanceswithDingo (Feb 24, 2004)

She's cactus, start looking for a new bow. :darkbeer: btw its a recurve


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## Fl archer (Jul 1, 2006)

It is difficult to tell much from the photos,but it does seem to be a deep crack. Again, if it's completly through the glass..... Hang it on the wall. I am no expert and there may be a fix for it..... but I don't think so. And if there was, it probably would not be cost effective. ... Good luck


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## vermonster13 (Sep 18, 2004)

Good news, you can now purchase a new bow. Bad news the one you have is ready for retirement. No fixing that kind of bow with that crack.


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## somoss (Sep 19, 2006)

*wall hanger*

i think i have a wall hanger. my first and only bow.


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## Fl archer (Jul 1, 2006)

Don't let one bad bow stop you from being part of a wonderful sport. There are many bows for sale at all price ranges. Check out Ebay and do a search for Recurve bow, or Long bow.... start out with a light weight


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## snakey122 (Jan 8, 2014)

I have only recently bent my homemade osage orange longbow, but a 2 inch crack appeared on the fade between the static and working limb. It looks to be a fourth of the way through the bow maybe even half way, but it is not very wide and I am not able to see light through the crack. Is this a problem for my bow? Is there anyway I can fill in this crack or diminish it?


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## snakey122 (Jan 8, 2014)

Please help!!!


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## guyver (Jan 3, 2012)

Pictures help


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## FORESTGUMP (May 14, 2008)

somoss said:


> well they say you get what you pay for. i was given a longbow for free as long as i paid shipping. i got it yesterday and saw that one of the tips had two lengthwise (tip to tip direction) cracks on them one on each side of one of the string nock points. the other end looks fine. the crack runs about 2 inches towards the other tip, and is visible only after you try and string the bow.
> the bow shoots fine but my questions:
> 1) can i fix this? can i cut the tips down 1.5 inches and make new nocks?
> 2)can i attach (glue, exposy....) something to the tip to strengthen the tip and decrease the importance of this crack.
> ...



Yep,you got what you paid for, if you consider the shipping cost as valuable education. Lots of things are possible, whether it's prudent or not is another story. I see several cracks on the bow that are sure to cause a serious failure and possibly injury to yourself or someone else. Your best bet, take a hacksaw to it so that no one tries to use it in the future.Sorry, but you just don't have the experience and expertise to attempt a repair.


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## FORESTGUMP (May 14, 2008)

snakey122 said:


> I have only recently bent my homemade osage orange longbow, but a 2 inch crack appeared on the fade between the static and working limb. It looks to be a fourth of the way through the bow maybe even half way, but it is not very wide and I am not able to see light through the crack. Is this a problem for my bow? Is there anyway I can fill in this crack or diminish it?



Like I told the other guy, lots of things are possible. In your case the crack probably goes deeper than it appears. Even if you make repairs it will likely continue to fracture internally. I would venture to say the crack was already there and not visible until you stressed the wood. Personally I don't think a repair would work and might result in a good pop in the noggin. If you are fond of those, then go for it. Just kidding.


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## snakey122 (Jan 8, 2014)

The first picture and second are pictures of the same crack on a front view and side view; the 3rd and 4th pictures are of different cracks on the bow that look to be some type of concern as well for me. Can I back the entire bow with bow glue? Or does anyone have any other suggestions on how to fix these cracks? Or should I not worry to much about them, are they going to be a problem?


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## JimPic (Apr 8, 2003)

I've seen bows that were cracked like that....the string sawed right down the limb from the nock. DON'T SHOOT IT


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## Dave V (Aug 13, 2008)

Don't even try to save it. Start over.

I'm no bow builder but I've finished a bow or two from blanks. What are you using to shape this? It looks like it was whittled with a pocket knife. I'd expect long, smooth cuts, not small gouges. Either a draw knife, or a lot of hand work with a set of rasps and files. 

What you're looking for is straight, uninterrupted grain from tip to tip. Cutting into the grain like that weakens it greatly.


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## Sanford (Jan 26, 2009)

Don't shoot that! It's gonna give real soon.


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## guyver (Jan 3, 2012)

Still hard to tell from here. Is that a bow you have been working on or building from scratch? looks like a board bow. And very over built but hard to tell. Are these cracks the result bending the wood with dry heat? Next go around try removing more material from belly start at about 5/8' or a heavy half inch.

If you are going to continue building the bow, throw a couple coats of super glue in the cracks. but it may be time to build another.


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## snakey122 (Jan 8, 2014)

I used a draw knife to cut it and in certain parts of the bow it was very difficult to carve the wood because there were knots in the wood on both ends of my plank. Is there any way in which I could put super glue in the crack? Does anyone have any suggestions on a better bow to buy, or a better type of wood already carved as a recurve, or a blank? I am really bummed this bow didn't work because it cost me a fair amount and I spent a lot of time trying to build it.


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## Dave V (Aug 13, 2008)

There are blanks readily available. I bought mine on ebay. Knots aren't good. You really can't carve a recurve. It needs to be laminated and formed in a jig. Superglue is relatively brittle so I wouldn't trust it in a flex area.


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## snakey122 (Jan 8, 2014)

I have been working on it for a couple of weeks because it was very difficult to carve it with knots on both sides of the blank, and yeah I am building it from scratch. These cracks are all the result of bending the wood, but I used oil the entire time I was bending it. I am going to have to remove a lot of material from the working limb which is where part of the crack is anyways because it is an inch and a half thick. I am going to have to remove 5/8" of and inch from the belly to anyways, but with that crack I don't know if it is even worth doing.


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## snakey122 (Jan 8, 2014)

Yeah, but it is difficult to find blanks of osage orange wood and ones in which are big, long, thick, and good enough to buy in hope of carving a bow out of it. I carved the bow straight as you would any blank, and then curved it using a jig, a lot of oil, and a heat gun.


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## snakey122 (Jan 8, 2014)

Scratch that there are many osage orange bow staves that are possible to make good bows out of,


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## FORESTGUMP (May 14, 2008)

snakey122 said:


> I used a draw knife to cut it and in certain parts of the bow it was very difficult to carve the wood because there were knots in the wood on both ends of my plank. Is there any way in which I could put super glue in the crack? Does anyone have any suggestions on a better bow to buy, or a better type of wood already carved as a recurve, or a blank? I am really bummed this bow didn't work because it cost me a fair amount and I spent a lot of time trying to build it.



Sorry about that, but that's the worst piece of wood I've ever seen anyone try to make a bow from. Time to count your loses and move on. 
Was it a kiln dried board? It appears to have been cut wrong(for bow wood) cured wrong and 'carved' wrong. And that on top of the fact that it was a bad piece of wood to start with. I can see about a dozen obvious defects that you don't see and about a dozen more that will soon become obvious even to you. 
My suggestion, back to school. There are tons of good build alongs and videos out there. The first course of study should be about choosing the right piece of wood. Maybe start with something cheap and easy to work with for practice. Check out poorfolkbows for lots of good information.


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