WWA Info Exchange

I have been shooting archery for 60 years. I bought one of the very early compound bows in 1977. That's back when bows were artwork. Mine was made of wood and was a really nice 70 lb. bow.
I loved that bow.
A couple weeks ago I was shooting it in my backyard and at full draw it failed and broke the riser in half. I did not get hurt but I was crushed.
I've been shooting that bow for 45 years.
I was able to track down the bow manufacturer to see if somehow a new riser could be found. They said no way. They said if someone could be found to make one, it would be cost prohibitive.

My only option is to throw it away or try to make my own riser. The riser is the middle part of the bow that the limbs attach to.
It does not flex. Only the limbs do that.

I decided to try to see if I could do it. This was just a test.
So, I traced out patterns from the broken piece. One from the side and one from the top.
I took a scrap piece of hardwood and traced my patterns on to it, cut them out on the band saw and started shaping with an angle grinder and carving tool.
I progressed to a sanding disc and then to a palm sander. Finished it out by hand with a piece of sand paper.

The limbs bolt on to the riser with two bolts. I did not try to set the receiver for those bolts yet.

I'm please with how it turned out. I think I can make another but I'm not sure what wood to use. I have contacted the manufacturer to ask that question.

Here are some pictures.

My bow in a 1977 catalog.



Before it broke.






After it broke. The wood is gray inside. Don't know what kind that is.








My attempt at making one. I purposely made it a bit bigger in some places.















We will see what the bow maker says.
I have thought about using epoxy to glue the broken pieces back together. There is a lot of surface area there. I could even put two 1/4" bolts through the riser in the broken area. I'm pretty sure it would never break there again.

Surprisingly, I don't have but about three hours in the new riser.

Zulu

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Zulu's website
http://www.jmelledge.com

Looks like it should work. I remember the first attempt to make a self bow for my grandson .I spent three days cutting and laminating the ash wood and when I tried to tiller it it broke. Thee days work down the drain. My second attempt worked but I did not realize that he was still small,I tillered it for twenty lbs. at twenty eight inches by the book, I did not realizie he could not pull twenty eight inches. I gave it to a larger girl at a rendezvous. The third try worked! I ended up with a weeks work to get a bow that could have been bought for $50.00.

Zulu that looks like a good match. I am a little concerned about that knot like thing 2/3 over from the left. Can't tell for sure by the pic if it would be a weak spot?

Norman Maclean is "Haunted by waters." Zulu is haunted by weapons!

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"To all those who work come moments of beauty unseen by the rest of the world." Norman Maclean

reelinron,
I mentioned above that this was just a test. I used a piece of scrap hardwood just to see if I could do it. The wood is junk and has several flaws. It was never my intent to use it for the final product. Just a test.
I'm trying to find out what type of wood to use in the real one.
Zulu

Gotcha Zulu my coffee hadn't kicked in yet!

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"To all those who work come moments of beauty unseen by the rest of the world." Norman Maclean

Hey Zulu,

I've made a number of bow using severely compromised wood, the last using some very gnarly mesquite that was full of voids. The trick is to laminate in a layer of thin phenolic board or bidirectional pre-cast fiberglass. The riser is split fore and aft and so the laminate is at its strongest orientation. I have made bows up to 65 lbs draw weight (not compounded) using this method. I usually fill the voids with epoxy and crushed turquoise or malachite.

Cheers,
Tom

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"There is no path to peace, peace is the path."
Mohandas K. Ghandi

Except for the grip area, I'd think that is good place to switch to Aluminum. Some how I can't quite figure a way to do the grip though. A LOT of that other "artistic" stuff can be eliminated.
...lew...

If we eliminated the artistic stuff, we wouldn't be artist. That's half the fun!
Zulu

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Zulu's website
http://www.jmelledge.com

I'm an "Engineer", That "artsy" stuff I don't touch.
...lew...

"I'm trying to find out what type of wood to use in the real one". ROSEWOOD

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Mango
The land some where in the middle
20 47 00N -156 26 00W