Questions about the wings

[jrbows]

I have become smitten with one wing bow the 1969 thunderbird,maybe they were black for several years I am unsure, I did see this bow on the archery history old advertisements page,and I even handled a black wing bow at denton but didn't buy it due to what appeared to be some stress lines running from some factory inserts for I guess a quiver does anyone know if these bows were problematic around the inserts(back of bow top and bottom of riser)and is there really anything that could be done to keep them from causing a problem if the lines are there.Finally does anyone have one they want to get rid of in the 55-60lb. range,and pardon my ignorance but if there were other models made by wing in black,I would be interested in them also,if they were RH and the same weight range.THANKS.

[NumPls]

Joshua -

I, too, like those Thunderbirds; I prefer to shoot bows that are 62" or 64" long. I have noticed that almost all of the Thunderbirds (and other bows) made with that synthetic black material (I have been told that it is the same stuff of which they made bowling balls) have had lots of stress lines in the limbs in the fadeout areas (where the limbs overlap the riser). My guess is that that black material expands at a different rate than does the wood and fiberglass in the limbs with heat, so it eventually causes those stress lines in the limbs. I have also noticed that those bows have a lot of cracks in the finish, especially in the grip area. I attribute those to the same cause - the expansion of that black material.

Well, those are my thoughts on the stress lines.

Ray

[Grant Young]

I agree Ray- the phenolic material seems to have been especially susceptible to stress cracking. My old phenolic Bears have all had some though my '69 had the least and none in the limb fadeouts. Joshua- as a rule the vertical stress cracks are more cosmetic issues than structural or performance ones. Very nice bows, btw.  Grant

[PAPALAPIN]

Phenolic or not, many of the old bows develope stress cracks over the years.

Verticle stress cracks appear in two ways.  Simply in the finish, and soetimes into the fiberglass of the limbs and in th riser material.

As long as it is not an actual crack in the limb or the riser, it is purely cosmetic as Grant stated.

There are many solid shooting bows out there with stress cracks.  This usually does not effect the shooting or the structual integrity of the bow.

As Ray said, many of the phenolic bows develope stress cracks in the riser material.  They don't really look that good but they are safe to shoot.

[wadde]

I have had several of these. Some had the stress marks mentioned and some were perfect. The stress marks from the quiver inserts were a problem on these bows and in most cases a cosmetic issue. The bows made by wing for browning also had this issue. It is hard to find one that does not have those marks but they are out there. It is more a cosmetic issue than a shooting issue. By the way the old wing quivers will fit browning recurves as well.