[American Flatbow] Samick SLB 69inch problem

Mightynubnub

New member
Hi this is my first time posting on this forum so not sure if this is in the right place....

Basically i'm new to archery and just took up the sport around 6 months ago... i bought my self a Samick SLB 69 inch at 60# draw weight... i've been shooting a fair few times over the 6 months in a field at a target i've bought with a friend of mine, the bow has been great up untill today [23/4/2014] where when i was at full draw i heard a snap and found that the bow has a crack down the front face of it near the shelf, and a crack along the side of the bow near the face.... i have no idea what happened...

so my question is would it be down to my technique? or over drawing the bow? is it a poor bow design? do i have too many twists in my string? or is the bow the incorrect size of myself?

I'm 6ft 4" with a 30-31 inch draw length if i measured it correctly

i'm just quite shocked that i managed to do this to a 60# bow (picture included) any advice would be appreciated as i've ordered a new bow and will need to know if i have to return it.
 

Attachments

English Bowman

Well-known member
Without seeing you shoot we can't say if there is anything wrong with your technique, but if we take that out of the equation this sort of problem could be caused by shooting arrows that are too light for the bow, or worse still shooting the bow without an arrow on the string at all. Some say that using a non stretch string material can cause failures like this, others disagree on that one. You shouldn't be overdrawing a 69" bow at 31" but the Samick bows aren't the best quality. I'd take it back, most retailers offer a year's warranty on bows, assuming that you bought it new. If it was second hand it may have been abused by a previous owner.

Are you in a club? If so that's the best place to get advice, if not I'd recommend joining one, if you get a good club there is a wealth of information available.
 

Berny

Active member
Everything EB has said & ....
These things can be quite handshocky - exacerbated by using light arrows - you dont actually say what arrows you use.
My SLB, a similar weight was even shocky with quite heavy Tonkin Boos at circa 550 grns.
It looks like your string is one of the "fast-flight" variants - again not gentle with a bow that might not be made to take it,
I shoot mine with Dacron string - just made a new one yesterday for someone else who has an SLB using mine to get the
lenght & serving position right - & test shooting.

After all that it could be a manufacturing fault - I wonder how they'd respond to your draw lenght? I would've though a modern
bow should be able to take at least the 30". Let us know how get on with return/replacement.
Without seeing you shoot we can't say if there is anything wrong with your technique, but if we take that out of the equation this sort of problem could be caused by shooting arrows that are too light for the bow, or worse still shooting the bow without an arrow on the string at all. Some say that using a non stretch string material can cause failures like this, others disagree on that one. You shouldn't be overdrawing a 69" bow at 31" but the Samick bows aren't the best quality. I'd take it back, most retailers offer a year's warranty on bows, assuming that you bought it new. If it was second hand it may have been abused by a previous owner.

Are you in a club? If so that's the best place to get advice, if not I'd recommend joining one, if you get a good club there is a wealth of information available.
 

Berny

Active member
I've just been & photographed mine & first thing I noticed is the shelf - mine is cute & slim & way less than centre-cut, yours is deep/wide
(now it could be the angle but....). Has yours been bodged (/customised/repaired) thus weakening it?
That earlier question by EB about where purchased i.e. new or 2nd hand perhaps even more relevant.
Is it an SLB II - as maybe they changed to compared to SLB (I)?
My pictures with comments can be seen here!
....or without comments below.





 

Berny

Active member
Comparison of shelf cut

Damaged to the left, ok/mine to the right
They're not the same kind of apples are they?!
 

Mightynubnub

New member
Sorry for the lack of information...

The bow was bought new from Bowsports.com (at least i hope it was new) - Bow Sports Archery Equipment, Archery Supplies, Archery targets, Archery Suppliers, UK
i haven't had any repairs done and used the string that was supplied with the bow.
I have NEVER dry fired the bow as i read/heard that was extremely dangerous and could damage the bow.

when i first got the bow i was using Mybo Cadet Aluminium Arrow - 2016 (probably the wrong arrows to use) - Mybo Cadet Aluminium Arrow - Ready To Use - from Merlin Archery Ltd

But they day the crack happened was the day i got and used my new traditional wooden arrows i bought from thelongbowshop - Wood Arrows Basic barred 55-60lb | The Longbow Shop

here are some more pictures.
20140424_141012.jpg 20140424_141121.jpg 20140424_141034.jpg
20140424_141134.jpg
The wooden arrows are the ones i was shooting before the crack happened, i managed to shoot of 13 of them before it happened.... seeing as the arrows say "Wood Arrows Basic Barred 60-65lb" i assume those were the correct weight for that bow?... maybe all the times i went shoowing with the Mybo arrows caused some damage that finally gave out on the new ones?
i believe i've addressed everything.. if I've missed something out please let me know :)
 

Mightynubnub

New member
Sorry for the lack of information...

The bow was bought new from Bowsports.com (at least i hope it was new) - Bow Sports Archery Equipment, Archery Supplies, Archery targets, Archery Suppliers, UK
i haven't had any repairs done and used the string that was supplied with the bow.
I have NEVER dry fired the bow as i read/heard that was extremely dangerous and could damage the bow.

when i first got the bow i was using Mybo Cadet Aluminium Arrow - 2016 (probably the wrong arrows to use) - Mybo Cadet Aluminium Arrow - Ready To Use - from Merlin Archery Ltd

But they day the crack happened was the day i got and used my new traditional wooden arrows i bought from thelongbowshop - Wood Arrows Basic barred 55-60lb | The Longbow Shop

here are some more pictures. It's a Samick SLB II
View attachment 3997 View attachment 3999 View attachment 3998
View attachment 4000
The wooden arrows are the ones i was shooting before the crack happened, i managed to shoot of 13 of them before it happened.... seeing as the arrows say "Wood Arrows Basic Barred 60-65lb" i assume those were the correct weight for that bow?... maybe all the times i went shoowing with the Mybo arrows caused some damage that finally gave out on the new ones?
i believe i've addressed everything.. if I've missed something out please let me know :)
 

Mightynubnub

New member
Sorry for the lack of information...

The bow was bought new from Bowsports.com (at least i hope it was new) - Bow Sports Archery Equipment, Archery Supplies, Archery targets, Archery Suppliers, UK
i haven't had any repairs done and used the string that was supplied with the bow.
I have NEVER dry fired the bow as i read/heard that was extremely dangerous and could damage the bow.

when i first got the bow i was using Mybo Cadet Aluminium Arrow - 2016 (probably the wrong arrows to use) - Mybo Cadet Aluminium Arrow - Ready To Use - from Merlin Archery Ltd

But they day the crack happened was the day i got and used my new traditional wooden arrows i bought from thelongbowshop - Wood Arrows Basic barred 55-60lb | The Longbow Shop

here are some more pictures. It's a Samick SLB II

20140424_141012.jpg 20140424_141034.jpg 20140424_141121.jpg 20140424_141134.jpg
The wooden arrows are the ones i was shooting before the crack happened, i managed to shoot of 13 of them before it happened.... seeing as the arrows say "Wood Arrows Basic Barred 60-65lb" i assume those were the correct weight for that bow?... maybe all the times i went shoowing with the Mybo arrows caused some damage that finally gave out on the new ones?
i believe i've addressed everything.. if I've missed something out please let me know
 

Mightynubnub

New member
Sorry for the lack of information...

The bow was bought new from Bowsports.com (at least i hope it was new)
i haven't had any repairs done and used the string that was supplied with the bow.
I have NEVER dry fired the bow as i read/heard that was extremely dangerous and could damage the bow.

when i first got the bow i was using Mybo Cadet Aluminium Arrow - 2016 (probably the wrong arrows to use) bought from Merlingarchery

But they day the crack happened was the day i got and used my new traditional wooden arrows i bought from thelongbowshop which were Wood Arrows Basic Barred 60-65lb

here are some more pictures.
View attachment 3997 View attachment 3999 View attachment 3998
View attachment 4000
The wooden arrows are the ones i was shooting before the crack happened, i managed to shoot of 13 of them before it happened.... seeing as the arrows say "Wood Arrows Basic Barred 60-65lb" i assume they are the correct weight for that bow?... maybe all the times i went shoowing with the Mybo arrows caused some damage that finally gave out on the new ones?
i believe i've addressed everything.. if I've missed something out please let me know :)
 

Berny

Active member
I'd suggest trying to get a replacement from the retailer as a manufacturing defect.
.... their customer service & warranty policy may mean they replace without any questions (c.f. Bearpaw's 30yr warranty, any owner).
& hope they haven't read this,

Did you tell them about your 31" draw when you bought it?

Even with wrongly spined arrows the arrow weight would be approx. the same for the same kind of arrows e.g. 2016 v. 2314/2512,
so whilst they may not shoot great they should've been ok weight-wise.

Was it a Dacron string? Seemed to have a lot of strands in it


Sorry for the lack of information...

The bow was bought new from Bowsports.com (at least i hope it was new)
i haven't had any repairs done and used the string that was supplied with the bow.
I have NEVER dry fired the bow as i read/heard that was extremely dangerous and could damage the bow.

when i first got the bow i was using Mybo Cadet Aluminium Arrow - 2016 (probably the wrong arrows to use) bought from Merlingarchery

But they day the crack happened was the day i got and used my new traditional wooden arrows i bought from thelongbowshop which were Wood Arrows Basic Barred 60-65lb

here are some more pictures.
View attachment 3997 View attachment 3999 View attachment 3998
View attachment 4000
The wooden arrows are the ones i was shooting before the crack happened, i managed to shoot of 13 of them before it happened.... seeing as the arrows say "Wood Arrows Basic Barred 60-65lb" i assume they are the correct weight for that bow?... maybe all the times i went shoowing with the Mybo arrows caused some damage that finally gave out on the new ones?
i believe i've addressed everything.. if I've missed something out please let me know :)
 

Mightynubnub

New member
so apprently beeing 6ft4" with a 31" draw length it's recommended that i get a 70"+ bow... is that correct? or can i make do with a 68" bow? if not can anyone suggest where i can get a 70" flat bow around the ?150 mark.... or is it easier to get one custom made? (thelongbowshop offers custom built Falco bows)
 

Erkat

Member
With that draw length you definitely want a 70" bow in my opinion. I draw 31inch and have a 70" Falco Spirit (35lb) and a 68" Falco Spirit (49lb). The shorter bow can be drawn to 31" but it tends to stack a lot (exponential jump in poundage at that draw length) which makes for uncomfortable shooting. A custom Falco Spirit will set you back ?240 with double carbon laminates (you will want the carbon). A 70" one will be a custom build but it's still ?240. Contact Falco directly to discuss your needs (they are very helpful) then order the custom bow through the longbow shop. Expect to wait about 6-8 weeks. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't enjoy shooting a Falco they are lovely bows and great value for the excellent quality.

Another thing that can cause a bow to fracture like this is a very low brace height as a large amount of power will transfer back into the bow on release.

Just get a Falco and you'll never regret it.
 

Mightynubnub

New member
Ive been looking at getting a felco legend custom build as its ?160... whats the benefits of the extra carbon laminates?... I dont get the option at add them to the legend

the brace height was fairly far from the bow.. about the length og my thumb
 

Erkat

Member
The Legends are great bows as well so no problem with those. The carbon will add extra strength to cope with your draw length and also make the bow faster.

On the brace height point, when you say the length of you thumb do you mean a fistmele (hand in a fist with your thumb pointing out like you were hitching a lift) or just the length of your thumb? If you're using a fistmele then you should be in the right area, if you're using just the length of your thumb then that's way too low. My Falco's brace at 6.5 to 7".
 

blakey

Active member
so apprently beeing 6ft4" with a 31" draw length it's recommended that i get a 70"+ bow... is that correct? or can i make do with a 68" bow? if not can anyone suggest where i can get a 70" flat bow around the ?150 mark.... or is it easier to get one custom made? (thelongbowshop offers custom built Falco bows)
Most custom bowyers recommend a minimum of 70" for a 30" draw. If you're 6'4" your true draw length could end up round 32". I would recommend that you try and get at least a 72" bow. Flagella Bows of Hungary are Ebay internet specialists who make cheap bows. Their quality and finish leaves a lot to be desired, but they are robust. I think they do a 74" Flatbow. They could give you a cheap start- up while you find out if you want to stay in the sport. Cheers
 
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