Some $th explosions happened right in my own living room tonight.  I had some family over and my newest creation was in the bow corner... all the sudden CRACK!.  I looked over, thinking a string broke or slipped.  All the strings looked tight.  And then I found this:


Back to the drawing board I guess... for some reason I wasn't to enamored with this bow anyway.  Maybe the dryad decided I wasn't worthy....
anyway, I think from what I see it was just wood failure in the bocote vineers.
Mike

Man that sucks, I had a bow years ago do the same thing and it could have hurt someone if they had been close to it when it went.

It was a patriotic bow, Mike.  

I would put that one back together.

I agree with James.  I'd have to try a repair.

Dennis

That bow looks like it might be fixable. It looks like a bad glue line.

I may try a fix.  Don't know if it'll work.  I'll do one of three things I think...
Try a fix and see how it goes.  Really narrow the limbs to take off weight to be on the safe side

or

glue it up and hang it in "the bow shop" aka the garage

or

canibilize it.  Several knife handle in the riser.  Great, tight grained bocote and save a limb for display and one for a template.

We'll see.

Dave,
it was a patriotic bow!

Mike

not a good look bro

Did you figure out what caused it?

Kinda looks to me the clear glass delaminated, but held onto part of the veneer breaking it.

That does look fixable.  Good luck.

I had one do that I decided it was a poor glue job but the other 25 I built have had no trouble

This is my first failure on a fiberglass bow.  Pretty disheartening to be honest.  I am still not 100% on the cause of the failure, but I don't think it was glue lines.  I check each bow over very carefully as I go along and notice any thick glue lines or thin glue lines, etc.  So I just don't know.
Mike

Duct tape it...just kidding!