altering all fiberglass bow?

[Longtoke]

A friend gave me this old fiberglass bow. I think its a ben pearson 335 super jet but now for sure because the decals are all worn off. Anyway I am interested in the bow because it is very light weight and I want it for teaching my niece to shoot.


The problem is there is a little bit of damage to the bottom limb tip and I am afraid of it spreading into the rest of the bow. I was thinking of cutting in down and filing new limb tips and string groves.  

can I cut and file fiberglass without it splitting? does anyone have any tips or tricks to share?

[macbow]

Certainly can be done. With fibreglass I thing a CA glue (superglue) will help seal and heal any area that could splenter.

Just sand smooth and coat with the CA, then sand again after dry.

[Pat B]

Is it a solid FG bow or a lam bow? If solid you could probably add super glue to the damage and sand it smooth.

[monterey]

A picture would provide clarity.  I have a very old solid FG bow that has some iffy looking spots but they don't change or seem to be a problem and I'm just keeping an eye on it.

[Longtoke]

it is 100% fiberglass I put some superglue on it and will sand it smooth once it is dry. The worry that I have with superglue is that it does not penetrate the inside of the damage, where the splitting and separation is going on but seems more like a band aid to the outside. I will post a picture tomorrow afternoon when I have time during lunch break.  

the damaged area does not seem to change while drawing the bow, hopefully it is only aesthetic. Im just not sure and I dont want to risk it breaking and spreading to the whole limb when i could just shorten the bow by a few inches.

[Pat B]

I've seen a few of those old solid FG bows with interior cracks, etc. I think they are more old age stress cracks more than anything else...but pics will help determine that.

[Longtoke]

 

Wish I would have taken the pics before I put the superglue on

[EwokArcher]

That bottom limb is going to be stiffer than the top if you decide to cut off that much of the limb. It will throw off the tiller and could affect arrow flight a little.

[Longtoke]

I was planning on cutting both limbs, it seems to be holding up so far. Hopefully the superglue will do the job.

[Brett Leinmiller]

Not all ca glues are the same. Go to a hobby shop and look for the thin, or instant viscosity ca. We use it on our rc planes.  A trick shared with me by an old bowyer is to take one of the pocket pin vice drills, drill a tiny tiny hole or series of them at the crack. Apply thin ca SLOWLY. It will wick it's way into any voids. Do this a little at a time. If you fill a large void with glue, the inner will take much longer to cure.