After my hazel bow failure I thought I would try again with the last piece of dry wood I had. It is a stick of Elderberry.

The stave has a lot of character and I have it to the stage on being on the long tiller string. It is bending nicely but I have noticed a small crack in a knot on the upper limb.

Before I go any further I thought I would get some help from the bowyers here. How should I handle the 3/8" crack at this stage?I have filled it with super glue at the moment.

Should I just keep bending and see what happens? Cut out the crack and see what is left? Wrap with thread and glue before it gets worse? Any advice is welcome

SD

Here is the knot from the belly side.

..and the offending crack in the knot.

The handle section.

The crack is along the side...not on top.

I filled the small crack with super glue and it looked like it was going to hold together so I proceeded on long string tillering. I need the practice anyways.

I got to the stage where I could put a short string on the bow. Here it is at 4 1/2". It is bending pretty evenly.

The bow at 16" draw. The weight is now 45# @20" draw...still a ways to go.

I have been informed by one of the best bowyers around that the crack at the knot is probably a fatal flaw. I will continue to work on this Elderberry bow until she goes!

SD

Looks like fun and a great way to learn. Good luck

Here is the bow at full brace of 6 1/4". It looks ok.

Now drawn to 20"... It is now 35# @20". I need to have it bending more at the fades I think.

The faults really show at 24" pull. I am getting a hinge behind the knot on the right limb. I still have a little wiggle room with draw weight to try and get it corrected.

This final tiller is harder than it looks..trust me. My hats off to the great bow makers on this site.

SD

SD, keep at it. I'm interested in the results.

I agree with B arthur interested in the end results.

Hugh

That is one large knot ,and two smaller ones. If it were my bow before I would shoot another shot out of it I would drill the knot holes clean ,and pack the holes with with crazy glue ,and saw dust.Then wrap it with hide glue ,and sinew, or at least thread ,and wood glue. Looks ominous to me.JMO.

I hope to have caught the hinge before it got too bad. Both limbs are bending about even now and it is 45#@25". I will only draw it to 26", so am close to where I want to be.

We have a lot of elderberry on the coast. As the plant grows it seems to want to twist, so getting a piece to make a good bow is rare. Of course the center is all rotten and pithy and must be removed.

Don't leave this bow in the rain..it will fill up like a swamped canoe.

SD

I pulled to 26". I have just noticed some crysals (compression fractures) on the belly, about 13" in, each way, from the middle of the handle.

Probably not safe to pull it any further. I will heat treat the belly now to see if that helps with strength. I am learning a lot as I go along.

I filled knots with sawdust and super glue as suggested. If it survives much longer I will wrap knots with thread and glue.

SD

Theres a facebook page called selfbow nation. Elderberry bows have been posted there by several bowyers. If you go on the page, search elderberry. They can be quite beautiful! I grow elderberry for tonic and jelly, so pruning all the canes at 3 yrs rarely leaves a cane big enough in diameter for bowmaking. Keep on man its cool!!

Glued on some acrylic tips. They need to be fine tuned some.

Well it is shooting. Drawn to my 26" pull.

Notice safety glasses for eyes and mask for covid/dust. Also hides my devastating good looks.

Well that is it for me regarding posting.

Here is what elderberry looks like in the rough!

I still have to sand, heat treat the belly, fine tune the tips, wrap the knots, stain, seal and put a leather handle on it. Boring stuff.

If it holds up for 1000 shots, I may have a bow.

Thanks to all that posted and gave advice.

SD

Nicely done. Hope it holds up for you.

Look at how much better bow #2 came out! That’s a helluva lotta progress! You seem to be fairly of what needs tweaking, and that is half the battle. Can I recommend a pulley gizmo, rather that the static one you are using? They’re easy to make and allow you to work the limbs while seeing the whole bow. You also don’t need to leave in a stressed position for long periods. Otherwise please keep us posted on your great progress.

The final tiller looks pretty good. Congratulations!

Regarding the knot, next time leave a little more wood around the width and when you tiller leave that area a little stiffer than the rest of the limb so it does not bend as much...just a little.

Regarding the chrysalis, when you remove wood take long passes and go a little past the area that needs it. Remove wood in small amounts. Check tiller frequently at short pulls 10 times or so that the wood removal registers.

All in all a very good effort.

My site has more.

http://traditionalarchery101.com

Jawge

Jawge

What Jawge said... good job. I have lots of elderberry here on my farm, but it never gets bigger than a bush. Congrats. You might make yourself one of Eric's 'gizmo' tillering tools...they REALLY help even out the curves.

I strung my elderberry bow this afternoon and heard the dreaded "click" sound; known to all bowyers I think. I looked the bow over and could not find any problems with the limbs. It has been shot 400 or 500 times roughly.

Further examination of the lower handle section showed what the problem was.

Well another stick for the burn pile, I guess, and back to the drawing board.

SD

That's too bad. Jawge

I'm not into bandaid bows much,but some people don't mind it...but

That bow is totally salvageable with some super glue shot into the crack,and wrap it. That's on the belly side and it just tried to "split" it's self. Doing the former right will hold it together. I'd do the whole handle from fade to fade. If done right to make it look like a handle wrap it would be totally covered up and no one would ever know. It's not like it's out mid limb for all to see. Besides you might like it better with a handle wrap?

nice, SD. I've never seen anything like this. Didn't know elderberry is even an option. Thanks for sharing, you are doing us a service even though that wasn't your total plan. I learned some things here.

I am for glueing and wrapping too. Give it one one more shot or send it to me. That hollow makes for a very intriguing bow.>>>----> Ken

Heck with all that work. Lol. Put glass on it

You have to consider why it cracked, then consider what a wrap would actually help. Wraps are good for one singular fix, run out split on the edge of limbs. Other than that they don't work for anything. We can start another thread to discuss wrap fixes, if you would like.

I think it's a neat bow. I'd try to save it.

Joe

I'm impressed that you got it as far along as you did. That was a tough stave for sure. Hope you can save it.

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