Hey everyone, I picked this Shakespeare Kaibab up recently, and I am curious if this bow is shootable with this crack. If it isn't, is it fixable?

There seems to be 3 different pieces of wood, the part with the crack in it, some sort of I-beam type of shelf, and then the piece on the other side of the I-beam. I don't know if it matters, but the crack is only in the first piece of wood, it doesn't extend into the I-beam.

I realize that nobody can say for sure just by looking at the pictures, but an educated guess or two would help =)

Here's some more pics if anyone is curious, I'd appreciate any input.

Oh, and I will only be online for a little longer, so if you have any questions I will answer them tomorrow morning. Thanks in advance for any help!

I would fill the Crack with epoxy or loctite and Markthe eedges to see if it grew after that. It doesn't appear to be in a critical part of the bow and could probably be shot as is with no worries. It's hard for me to tell on my phone

Thanks for the tip Dkincaid. If I had to guess I would say that it can be shot as is, but I am not too confident in my knowledge on this particular subject (not yet anyways), so I thought I'd get some more experienced opinions.

I'll be ordering a new bowstring for it in the next few days, that is if I can't find the 52" string I already have laying around (somewhere)...

If it will close under clamp pressure, loc-tite it and clamp it shut. As the other poster said, mark it, and watch for further cracking.

Yes

The zebrawood I-beam looks intact and carries the large part of the stress in that area. Just clean it out with air or something to clear dust, etc., out and fill it with Loctite or epoxy. I think clamping it may put more stress on the I beam (back to front compression) and be counter productive, since you can't clamp the outside bubinga piece by itself. Just guessing though, so maybe someone more associated with glued structure will chime in.

The picture of the shelf is telling. I see the offending crack. I also see other tiny cracks radiating out from the I beam. Maybe this piece of Bubinga was cut near a knot. I've seen cracks radiating out from a knot in other hardwoods. I would opt for drilling a 1/4 " hole from the back of the shelf, but not all the way thru, and glue in a hardwood dowel thru that area to strengthen it. Also filling the big crack with the locktite. Just my 2 cts.

Thanks for all the input everyone!

I'm definitely not confident enough in my ability to try and drill a hole and put a dowel through it (although I do know I could do some research and figure it out). However first I'm just going to try marking the ends of the crack, and then stringing it up to test it out (and see if the crack grows). Once I've tested it out I will decide whether I wanna try going the dowel/clamp route, or just fill it with the loctite/epoxy.

I'll come back to this thread with an update, once I make a decision.

I'd strongly suggest filling it before much shooting. It may in fact be ok not to but for $3.00 and about 5mins you can have a lot of added insurance. Plus that Crack with hang ob stings such as a bow case truck seat hand etc and can lift a splinter.Just nmy 2c

That crack isn't going to go past that glue line. It'll hold up. It's mostly just an eyesore. That center piece of wood, (what is being called the I beam) is the part that bares the stress of the bow being shot. Some thin super glue will run in that crack but I'm not sure clamping it would help.

I don't believe clamping that cracked piece would be a good thing.

I had a Martin with the same crack- in the outside of the shelf- for 20 years. It never moved. I think it will be fine. I would put some glue in the crack to discourage moisture from entering.

Thanks again everyone, I'm planning on ordering some Insta-Cure super glue (got a recommendation from another member via PM) when I order a string for it. I will update once I get around to trying to fill the crack.

if you use the super glue in the crack avoid any of the acrylic finishes over the repair, the two react.

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