Am I the only one who gets really annoyed at visible flaws in clear glass like this?
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll48/danking49/Flaw-1.jpg)
You're definitely not the only one. I can't stand them. It is a shame. I love the darker woods, but almost never get them in the limbs of a bow. They really show them. It seems there is really nothing that can be done about them, though. It stinks when you get a really nice bow and the glass is all streaked up...Mike
I can't stand it either .. with experience some bowyers you just expect it from them because most of thier bows have it .. others it's very limited ..I just can't pay a premine price for a bow and it has flaws in the glass.
Flaws sometimes can not be helped, but pen marks like that drive me nuts! It could always be worse.
would rather have black or brown glass then really streaky, cloudy or spotty glass.
You sure the spots you see aren't glue voids?
Not the bowyers fault, they do not make the glass. Any dark wood is going to show that, streaks, cloudyness etc. Like I said not the bowyers fault almost impossible to get clear fiberglass clear as glass.
Never has bothered me. Just look at it this way, No one else has one just like yours!
What happens is there are very small nearly invisible bubbles in the epoxy. When the bow get glued up and put in the form, it's put in a laminating oven and heated up. I usually heat it up to around 150F. those invisible bubbles expand with heat and have nowhere to go. It ends up in the form of those spots.
I really don't like using clear glass. I've lately been talked into it by some customers but I explain to them that it could happen. Also sometimes clear glass has uneven clarity that happened while it was getting made I guess.
I have tried to find the flaws in glass before glue-up and its really hard. Sometimes what looks like a flaw ends up not showing and other times you get one that shows up and I never saw anything in that spot before gluing up. Raw clear glass isn't really clear.
Haven't ran into what you are showing (usually streaks with the grain), but that size of defect would be almost impossible to find before gluing.
I find that after a while and a few scratches I add myself they don't bother me.
they bug the crap out of me.
QuoteOriginally posted by KentuckyTJ:
Never has bothered me. Just look at it this way, No one else has one just like yours!
Well put!
Jason
QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Mecredy:
I really don't like using clear glass. I've lately been talked into it by some customers
Hey, I resemble that remark,! LOL :D
I don't like them, but would rather have the 99.9% of the limb showing me the woodgrain underneath with the .1% spots than have the colored glass.
I do get bothered by them but it happens. Even the best bowyers cannot control the if the glass has streaks in it.
I've got a bow with quite a few knots in the lams and have marks like that over some of them. It got me kinda freaked out when I first noticed because I thought it was a structural thing which might cause the bow to break. After I did some research I developed the opinion that this is not likely to happen so I'm no longer concerned - the wood is still beautiful and the knots enhance that rather than the blemishes taking away from it.
Bothers the heck out of me. You pay a premium for a custom bow, wait months, and then the streaks!!! I know its not the bowyer's fault, but wish I didn't have them in my bows.
The kicker is those blemishes are under the glass where you can't fix them and definately were not there when I first recieved the bow, but developed during the first month of shooting. I've had it happen with several bows; but it seems to happen more often around the knots with yew.
They make me want to use black glass on everything. I love the classy look of black myself.
I wish Green was more available. I offer black brown and white on my order form but if somebody asks me about clear, I try to talk them out of it, but if they have that in mind I usually can't. My biggest problem is clear cost so much more than the colored sort but it probably costs less for gordons composites to make.
It doesn't show up so bad on lighter colored woods, but on Walnut, Ebony, Bocote, and other darker stuff there is always going to be some imperfections.... Nature of the beast
i take my glass and sort it to find the clearest stuff i can. If you wet it down and hold it to the light you can sort out the really bad stuff.
But we as bowyer's cannot guarantee glass to be clear that is called "Transparent" by the manufacture. They won't guarantee it for steaks or spots either. Kirk
It drives me absolutely nuts. I fully understand that it's not a bowyers fault, but I have a hard time believing in this day and time, with the technologly available, someone can't produce nice, clear glass, without flaws.
Not all of us like brown or black glass. I like nice woods and I don't mind paying extra to get them on my bows, but it sure is disappointing to pay $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 or more for a bow with streaked glass.
What Kirk said. I take the side of the buyer to the point that last year I built three sets of limbs for one bow with fancy koa veneers. I got a clean bill of health on the last set of veneers I had. I was getting scared though.
End of the conversation was that two customers got super fancy koa veneers that cost me a ton of money and time free of charge konwing that there were a couple of light spots in the glass. These were definately in the glass and didn't hurt the limb at all.
I understand the frustration of the customer but you ought to be on the bowyers end and feel that one.
God bless you all, Steve
Flaws like that on a bow I made myself or bought at a reasonable price wouldn't bother me a bit. If the bow in question was hi end bow that I paid a bunch for and I waited months for it I'd be really disappointed
To me it makes no difference at all...........I like a dulled hunting finish and specs like that mean nothing. I'm looking at the wood not the glass.
QuoteOriginally posted by billy shipp:
It drives me absolutely nuts. I fully understand that it's not a bowyers fault, but I have a hard time believing in this day and time, with the technologly available, someone can't produce nice, clear glass, without flaws.
they can -and do produce glass without flaws---it just that they won't inspect closely enough to find them--and the cost of culling the flawed glass falls on the bowyers ---i agree billy--in this day and age....they can see thru your clothes at the air port!!!
There was a time when we could get "clear" glass. But the builders of the glass don't care that much about this industry to do it any more. It costs more to produce and they just don't have the market to make up for the costs.
I've been looking at glass from other producers for a couple of years hoping to find the holy grail. So far nothing.
Mike
QuoteOriginally posted by Jason Kendall:
They make me want to use black glass on everything. I love the classy look of black myself.
X2
Darren
I love a pretty bow too,but how it shoots matters more than how it looks.If it's just cosmetic don't let it get you down,they all get dinged up sooner or later.Just enjoy shooting the bow.
Leland
QuoteOriginally posted by tradlongbow:
QuoteOriginally posted by Jason Kendall:
They make me want to use black glass on everything. I love the classy look of black myself.
X2
Darren [/b]
x3
My belief is that some of this happens when the bowyer grinds the edges. instantly the wood is exposed to the air and gas goes from the air back into the wood . I have noticed perfectly clear limbs get little silvering streaks when I grind the edges. I have begun sealing the edges as soon as I grind the profile. This seems to get rid of some of this but still it is a technicaly unavoidable situation. As to inspecting the glass, yes some of us do tht but you can still miss some streaks ect that are inside the glass itself. We have to live with that.
I do my best to caution and warn customers agains dark veneers but, that is all you can do.
When I do dark veneers I have found that it helps to grind them very thin. .015 However that can get very dangerous to the bowyer in that he can break so many of them that he ends up without enough to do the job. I broke two pairs building Kirks Christmas bow because I wanted to use walnut burl and had to grind it that thin. I started with three pairs of beautiful , expensive veneers and got the job done with the very last of it I had. Do that several times a year and it really eats up your profit.
God bless you all, Steve
those marks are small compared to some of the dings I'll put in a bow during a good season........
That's what I'm talking about John! To me a bow is a hunting tool. The ones I personally use are uglier than ugly. I don't have, never will have, and don't want a beautiful work of art, when it comes to a hunting tool.
But if someone wants them that way, I'll make them that way.
QuoteOriginally posted by Hermon:
I don't like them, but would rather have the 99.9% of the limb showing me the woodgrain underneath with the .1% spots than have the colored glass.
Same here. I have dark walnut limbs for my Signature and Shedua. They're perfect near as I can tell, but I'd rather risk a few blems for the wood grain. My next one is going to be light maple I think, so shouldn't be a problem.
Mike, didn't know clear glass is so upsetting but thanks for going ahead and making mine. Yes, I paln on hunting with it once I improve my traditional shooting...love the MUTT.
P.S.
Also retired USAF, twenty years of EOD
Bugs me a little, but I know it can be the nature of the beast. I have one bow that has so many streaks it looks like it has some sort of yeast infection. 99.9% of them are on the belly side of both limbs, which still makes me wonder if was a natural occurrence, or that particular glass came out of the "belly glass stack". :dunno:
That bow has been shooting just fine, with no changes that I can determine, for over a year now, so it is what it is.
QuoteOriginally posted by billy shipp:
It drives me absolutely nuts. I fully understand that it's not a bowyers fault, but I have a hard time believing in this day and time, with the technologly available, someone can't produce nice, clear glass, without flaws.
Not all of us like brown or black glass. I like nice woods and I don't mind paying extra to get them on my bows, but it sure is disappointing to pay $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 or more for a bow with streaked glass.
Hey Billy, if it makes you feel any better i went through 30 sticks of glass looking for something as clear as possible for that ebony. and i lucked out on the first set of limbs.
Unfortunately all a guy can do is try and cull the obvious stuff, and pray a lot on a set of high end dark wood veneers. I'll bet i have 20 sets of perfectly good limbs that have streaks in them that i set aside rather than send it to a customer. One of these days I'll mount em on risers and send them into you to get dipped Billy. :thumbsup:
No clear here unless the bow is finished and I can see it in the sunlight. I'll take black glass.
Since glass is the topic many years back there was some thought that white was the fastest and clear the slowest.
Bowyers was this fact or fiction???
Anyone have a pic of what would be a typical example?
Don't need to show the whole bow...so this doesn't turn into a "this bowyer has streaky glass" thread.
I'm glad to fine this thread. I think I'll go shoot a bow I was worried about.
QuoteOriginally posted by lpcjon2:
Flaws sometimes can not be helped, but pen marks like that drive me nuts! It could always be worse.
"pen marks"??? Not sure I know what that means. I'm not particulary concerned about the barely visible streaks you see to the left of the original photo, but the cross grain white marks around the knot that may or may not be a glue/wood failure point. Not that the bow will fail, it probably won't, but it is uglier than a routine surface scratch or ding to me.
your drawing on the picture to show the white marks...he was joking! :)
If I pay top dollar for a very long wait...then yes I dont want them there but if it is a mark that I would NEVER notice unless shown by someone...then it is what it is.
I recently bought a brand new Robertson Fatal Styk from Dick that he reduced due to it having two of these really small marks like you would get on a fingernail. It is clear glass over juniper so where the dark red is you can see it...took me two weeks to find the marks with casual search.
Until I read this thread I had not worried or thought about it since...and to be truthful never noticed or searched for them on any of my other bows I have bought new (Jeffery, Habu, Noble) as all my others were pre-owned.
To me, not a big deal...if I pay $1500 for bow and it has one or two that are very noticeable due to location or size....not going to make him do the bow over but may ask for a slight discount due to the imperfection.
They are hunting bows...not meant to be hung in the Smithsonian. :)
"your drawing on the picture to show the white marks...he was joking! "
Doi, woosh, right over my head with that one. :banghead:
Yes! Some things in life just don't add up and this is one. "We" put a man on the moon 40 some odd years ago but, they can't come up with truley CLEAR glass..... :thumbsup:
Its not that they can not produce CLEAR glass.They can. Like Wingnut said, it's just that the clear glass market is very small and not worth their time or effort to make improvements. From what I was told. When the major producer of clear glass in the USA was asked about improving the quality of the clear glass the over all theme of the message was "Suck it up your lucky we make the stuff at all".
I have been told that the streaks happen when the powder that is on the fiberglass strands does not get completely blown off before it is layed up into the sheets.I took it as that powder was there to make the strands come off the spool better. :dunno:
And YES it bugs me too.All we can do is cull the stuff we can see and do the best we can with what is left.
Bill
Wish I would have seen this thread before getting a Bocote lam bow from Dwyer. Fortunately there is only a small wiggle near a knot on the belly. Hardly visible. Otherwise he did a great job!
Pretty lamination. I already have some dings worse than that from hunting with my 10 month old Zipper. I sometimes get called out for not taking the best care of my stuff, but I don't see it that way - I just use stuff for its intended purpose and stuff happens.
I prefer to shoot my bow, not look at it!
If people are that torn up over Character, why do they get clear glass? The marks all depend on the eye of the beholder but not on the be-shooter!
This is actually good to know, if I ever need another bow, I will just ask bowyers if they have limbs or bows with a lot of marks art a reduced price.
I like a bow that is a Looker, but a small mark or two in no big deal to me.
QuoteOriginally posted by Leland:
I love a pretty bow too,but how it shoots matters more than how it looks.If it's just cosmetic don't let it get you down,they all get dinged up sooner or later.Just enjoy shooting the bow.
Leland
x2
QuoteOriginally posted by LimBender:
Pretty lamination. I already have some dings worse than that from hunting with my 10 month old Zipper. I sometimes get called out for not taking the best care of my stuff, but I don't see it that way - I just use stuff for its intended purpose and stuff happens.
:thumbsup: x2
I hate it when that happens. It is not the bowyer, but the quality of the Gordons glass. Most of my bows have it. In the beginning they are not there, but sometimes they dissapear out of nothing. I also have one bow where the glass looks like it has hairline cracks about one ich long. The bowyer assured me it is just cosmetical. Still I don't like it, because it is not what we are paying for.
I hate it and admit it bugs me, but it's not anyone's fault, it's part of the bow.
There's probably a simple answer to my question that I should be able to figure out, but wouldn't it be possible to put glass (clear, colored, carbon, whatever) over the core and then the fancy veneer over the glass?
Naturally it wouldn't be as durable, but with the veneers as thin as they are, it doesn't seem as though it would rob any measurable performance over having the glass on the outside of the veneer.
The small ones don't really bother me as much as the big long streaks. I like for the wood to show on my bows but even then I prefer more of a dull finish. I also like the black or brown glass as well. I see some beautiful bows but would not drag some of those through the woods.
It does bother me, but I try not to let if bother me all that much. The one with the most I have ever seen is my personal favorite bow. It has some streaks and mars from use and a bunch of bubbles on the back of both limbs. The veneers, I forget what they are, have a bunch of knots. Those knots produced a bunch of white spots. I have probably shot that bow 40,000 shots and 3/4 of those shots after the bubbles started to show up. So far so good. One thing for sure, I will not have to worry about hunting it and will like not sell it due to how it looks and how much I have shot it. Early on when I first owned it and some bubbles showed up, I thought about selling it. I stuck with it because I figured it would be hard to sell with the glass flaws. I am kind of glade now that it has it's flaws because that did keep me from selling it then, and I would never sell it now due to other reasons then the flaws. I may get some skins on it one of these days to dress her back up again.
Yes it does. I have a real shooter that I'm considering camo dipping because of it.
I hate those spots but I know it just happens sometimes too.
Bisch
QuoteOriginally posted by Swamp Yankee:
Am I the only one who gets really annoyed at visible flaws in clear glass like this?
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll48/danking49/Flaw-1.jpg)
Like that? Not so much. But like this, yes! :biglaugh:
(http://i.imgur.com/miTzODW.jpg)
Too bad good things sometimes do not last. Some years ago Bjorn Bengtson of Sweden produced the worlds best bow glass, absolutely clear. They do not produce it anymore, it was a little more expensive than Gordon's, I guess you can figure out what happened. Luckily I still have some of it. Bue--.
I stand by all the comments made here by other bowyers. My personal bow has black glass. I like the rich old school look of colored glass. Believe this, when your building awesome wood type under clear glass and you later find a flaw. It sure isn't very exciting.
Streaked and unclear glass REALLY bugs me...enough that I do not care to own bows with clear glass anymore. It's mostly the expectation of receiving something worthy of "a price" ($1000 plus). Even when glass is clear initially, it seems to become hazy and cloudy after years of use. I know it's not the bowyers fault, most of the time, that's why I've resigned myself to black or other opaque finishes...paint, skins, etc.
Wood veneers under clear glass are pretty for sure but they just add mass to limbs and do nothing to enhance performance. I have some bows with perfect glass and after a while you just say uhhhh...so what, you don't look at them anymore. I'm practical about my bow use and tastes now.
Kris
Are there veneers that are much less likely to not cause the bubbles? I see most of them in knots or other density variations in the grain. I know light color helps with the streaks showing. It would be good to know what the better options are for clear glass limbs.
I don't care for black myself. It is okay on some bows, but I like the green and brown glass a lot better. I wish there were more boyers using green glass out there.
There would be if they could get it. Steve Turay and Jerry Brumm went together and had to buy an entire production run to get the green glass they use. Sure is good quality glass--nice consistent color. I love colored glass on limbs like my green glass Shelton. Steve told me it's older guys like me who really dig the colored glass. It takes us back to the great bows of the past, I guess.
As long as it shoots good . Most people will never see them. Adds charactor to the bow.
It doesn't bother me much because I scratch up bows anyways so the imperfections just blend in lol
could care less...it's not gona be perdy after the first horseback trip anyways...i care more about funtionality than looks
wish it wasnt there but nothing can be done about them...and they are there under the colored glasses too...just cant see them.
i dont mind too much really...as 99.9% of the limb is perfect in my mind and a scratch or two that is going to occur under my use will be fare more distracting.
yep, just paid $1600 for a custom recurve, glass is streaked from one end to the other, may not be the bowyers fault but maybe they should have checked their stock a little better, this is a well known bowyer with a long,long career in the bussiness. Thats alot of money to pay for something not even close to acceptable, just sayin! I will say other than the glass the bow does look good and perform solid, that is the most important part but the flaws do bother me at that price.
I'm like henry Ford "build'em any color your want as long as it is Black" ! Love Black Glass! :thumbsup:
I just glued up a clear glass bow this morning. To be sure all the dust and any finger oil is removed I spray brake cleaner on the rough side minutes before the glue is spread on. This is when the imperfections can show up before. On these particular strips of glass there were a couple of small white sploches. And this was applied over black walnut lams. Guess I'll have to see the outcome once the tape is peeled off.
Oh well, at least no one is going to be paying $1,000 for it.
Not really, my bows are tools and I have owned some beauties, still do but I end up marking them up worst than a few marks under the glass. Does it suck, yes and if I paid over a grand for a bow and it was all streaky and had more than one or two small marks I would expect the bowyer to compensate me in some small way. Shawn
When things like that happen with clear glass, it nearly gives me a nervous breakdown. I HATE using clear fiberglass. Period. I like the outcome usually, but if it were up to me I'd never buy it. I had at one time quit using it, but had a cuatomer talk me into it, then he posted a picture, and then I was aked "why do you use it for him and and not me?" SO then had to start using it for whom ever wanted it. yada yada yada....
Sorry, just venting, I'll get over it.
I must be lucky. I've owned several bows with clear glass and never had a blem.
I have one bow that gets milky looking when exposed to several hours of rain. I thought my beautiful bow was ruined last year at Hog Heaven. Two days after returning home the bow looked like new. ????????
Nah, it doesn't bother me too bad. It's no different than a scratch on a rifle or wear on a good knife. A bow is a tool meant to be used.
It is beautiful because of what it is and how it works. I like to see the woods beneath but don't get too torn up when they get used and have imperfections. With that said, I take care of my tools as best I can so that they will take care of me when I need them to.
I picked up a beautiful used bow from a highly respected bowyer. It has a silvery streak running full length on the face of one limb. It's the only flaw on the bow I can see. But I didn't have to wait 1+ yr for a bow. I didn't pay close to full price. And I'll be darned if any of my arrows notice it.
If I could get brown or dark green glass that would be the ticket on a pure hunting bow.
It's interesting to me that people will go out of their way to get wood veneers with "character," meaning flaws, and then will turn up their noses at some character in the Fiberglas. Really, as long as there are no structural problems, it's all the same thing.
QuoteOriginally posted by LongStick64:
I hate it and admit it bugs me, but it's not anyone's fault, it's part of the bow.
X2
QuoteOriginally posted by McDave:
It's interesting to me that people will go out of their way to get wood veneers with "character," meaning flaws, and then will turn up their noses at some character in the Fiberglas. Really, as long as there are no structural problems, it's all the same thing.
Exactly right! :archer: :archer2:
This can be funny in a frustrating way. I buy hundreds of pieces of glass at a time and we grade them. 1,s 2,s 3,s. there are seldom any ones and this is just what we can see while soaking them.
I try to use the best glass I can and ocasionally have to eliminate a few pieces due to too many flaws. Most know that the imperfections show up every time over dark veneers, yet 9 out of 10 of my customers request "something dark".
Now we build the bow and when it's done, if there are any visable flaws, we should have to discount them?
Wait a minute, I understand the limbs that have terible flaws, but I can find flaws in every limb ever built, by me or others.
You know all of us bowyers are living a secret life where we rake up our money in big piles in the back yard and then jump in them and roll around laughing. "If they only knew how rich they are making us by buying our bows" hahaha...sob,sob,sob.
If the guys can stay busy building bows and get $1000's of dollars for them, they have earned it and they have probably sacrificed much of there health breathing toxic dust and fiberglass to get there.
Now lets complain about the price of bows...oh yeah, culling lots of glass and then culling bows...that will make the price go down. I hear it all the time, "I can't believe so and so gets so much for there bows, I'll never pay that", well then you won't get one.
It is said about every bow from the cheapest to the most expensive.
I would love to know how many people out there that complain about bow pricing would put in the hours it takes to make a living at building bows.
I love it by the way and wouldn't change much although my wife would like me to change a few things. Maybe I would cut it down to 6 1/2 days a week.
BigJims rant for the day
:thumbsup:
We have pretty much quit using clear glass because there is none. Cost us some business but no more complaints about streaks or a bubbles,, now just the price now.
Big Jim's got it right on.In fact I am going out in my backyard and roll around in my pile right after work today. :bigsmyl: Bob
We are not moaning at the bowyers. We all know they do a fantastic job. And they really earned rolling around in their piles after work.
We understand that the price of a bow can't be low, because there goes tons of hard work in it and a lot of experience and knowledge.
Therefore we love our bowyers, they are our heroes and we adore them.
We also like the fantastic veneers and woord on our bows.
The only bad thing here is the quality of the Gordon glass. I think it can be frustrating for the bowyer and the customers.
I try to live with the flaws, enjoy my bows and shoot the heck out of them!
I noticed nobody responded to my post about putting the veneers on the outside, so I'm going to tick everybody off by repeating it. How about some of the bowyers educating me for free? Obama would :)
In all seriousness, I do have a bow with two layers of carbon under the veneers. What am I giving up? Durability, speed, smoothness?
Come on guys,I wasn't trying to sidetrack a thread, I think it actually follows rather closely to most of the responses as I don't like to see blemishes under the glass, but hate to give up my beautiful wood.
Ron
I'm not a bowyer.
But I'm pretty sure the glass helps A LOT to keep the wood from splintering when it's flexed..and shot.
Do the bows you mentioned also have glass over those veneers?
Of course there are lots of all wood bows out there.
But with those the wood is thicker AND made so they follow the growth ring.
I have a strong suspicion that a thin layer of veneer that is cut through the grains like normal would basically disintegrate if laid outside the glass.
Also, a thin veneer would be very easy to damage/crack.
times 2 being not a bowyer also
The veneers on the outside look amazing. I've tried it several times and it worked a few, Really not worth the way they work now. They either split on the edges or had them crack sideways. the only thing at this is good about on the outside it doesn't effect the strength of the limb if they do split. Still working on a way to use them, as I said they look better than any I have ever seen glass over.
Bowbldr, this is the bow that prompted my question and the first I've had any experience with. The Griffon GL indicates "glass-less". You can barely see the veneers from the side - they appear thinner than the carbon layers.
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Archery/Border%20Griffon/DSC_0017.jpg)
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Archery/Border%20Griffon/DSC_0016.jpg)
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Archery/Border%20Griffon/DSC_0011.jpg)
Most bows we build are short 60" and under. A longer bow may get by with the glass less veneer, Ours won't and I don't plan on myself shooting anything near 66". A recurve is even more prone to split.
Big reason why I love my Green Glass Northern Mist Retro Classic Longbow, you can keep those sexy veneers, just give me the Green !!!
Personally I think a bow looks darn classy with Brown Glass or Antique White Glass.
My next bow will have brown glass. Not due to streaks and such, just want another one built that way.
Bladepeek , Looks like I got baited in again. Good thing I'm friends with both Sids. I'll bet they will not advise on a 58" bow. I does look great on your 66" bow. I can't remember the last 66" bow we built?
Bob, I hadn't even thought about that. That's why I wanted someone who understood bow building to chime in. Makes sense to me now. And no, I don't want to compare speeds :)
Ron
Thanks to the great bowyers that have responded on this thread. I really appreciate your experience, wisdom and candor.
I knew there were some challenges with clear glass, but I had not understood all that it takes to use clear glass successfully.
Last year I started charging the $25 option price for the clear glass. That covers having to toss a glue up every now and then. It also keeps me from having to raise my prices on everyone wanting Black, Brown, Green or Gray.
Also one thing I didn't see covered. Wood isn't perfect, those expensive woods with extra grain, curl & burl are far less than perfect. It just doesn't absorb glue perfectly. Many of those "spots" are places where the glue was not absorbed, just as the fibers in the glass do not absorb the resin perfectly.
Now I'm off to play in my piles of sawdust and fiberglass, wish I knew Big Jim ordered up those piles of cash. :)
Those left to right "stress" marks (especially the ones that grow or new ones appear) I believe come from veneers or lams that were sanded very fine to bring out the beauty. The beauty is brought out but the glue doesn't have enought to grip onto and continually lets go.