Introduction and questions

[Sakuryu]

Hi everyone, I've been lurking here for a while to read over things. I'm pretty new to Archery having only started out abit over a month ago. I started with a cheap 10-20# bear set for kids to see if I loved the sport. I did and I got to hitting bullseyes pretty well.

 I'll skip the story and just say I got a 1957(I think) Black Hawk Yellow Jacket, but it's got some cracks and such. Someone referred me to this site for the amazing tutorial    Here  But


I'm still not sure on a few parts like how to redo the shiny coat on my fiberglass, and if both sides of the bow are fiberglass or is it just the front? Here's some pictures.

 Bow Pics

It's my only bow at the moment and I was actually told by a few to never shoot it, so a friend helped me get this one -    Shakespeare Mancos X-40
(EDIT:Well Known auction site which I didn't know I couldn't say)
(Which is supposed to arrive Monday)

But after taking it to a local Bow shop he inspected it and said he'd seen worse and to shoot it if I want. Well, after reading the tutorial I'm actually kind of eager to get her back into shape but I wanted to know a few things.

-The wood in the tutorial is very shiny wheras mine doesn't really feel like it has that "hardwood floor" finish, do I still follow the directions?

-Am I doing anything to the fiberglass? or just putting the Loctite on and sanding off the excess?

-Do I need to clamp any of the wounds my bow has? I can't really tell.

-Does my bow have fiberglass on both sides or just the yellow side (Also why is it such a stark bright shade of yellow?)

-I was told I can take a razor blade and "pick" out the lines with the dirt in them, Is this advised? and can it just be fixed with the loctite or should I get some epoxy?


I've never done a home improvement like this before but I'd love to get into the work. Old bows like this need love and care and if I can restore mine I'd love to jump into fixing others too.


Also I'm just starting out so please feel free to offer me any tips, tricks, or old stuff you don't want because I'm doing this as a way to relax and have fun during my college career, and maybe shoot in tournaments when I can hit the target consistently

[Pine]

Welcome to the gang .      
I'm not an expert about fixing a bow but there are some very talented people on here .
You might want to post this on the bowiers bench .

[Msturm]

Fairly new to this as well. I have only restored 3 bows.  I would definitely try to restore the bow you have pictured.  My only worry would be that crack in the glass perpendicular to the limb.
-Your bow has a glass belly and a glass back.
_Pick out the cracks with a sewing needle, It makes the cracks fill better and you don't glue in the dirt and grime.
_sand/Scrape the old finish off of the entire bow wood and glass alike.  Re assess the quality of the glass at this point.
_Fill cracks with lock tite. It does not look like you need to clamp anything, but perhaps there are Issues I cannot see.  Delamination?

The glass is bright as all hell because it was made in the late 50s or early 60s there were some weird colors of glass coming out in that era. mint green, bright red, yellow orange etc.
__Varatane Spar Urethane worked good on my 68 bear cub restoration as a finish.  Lots of coats with steel wool between coats.

Have fun. Its a fun project.
MSturm

Welcome to the Gang!

I hope you figure it all out and get to shoot it for a long time!

Bisch

[Sakuryu]

Originally posted by Msturm:
Fairly new to this as well. I have only restored 3 bows.  I would definitely try to restore the bow you have pictured.  My only worry would be that crack in the glass perpendicular to the limb.
-Your bow has a glass belly and a glass back.
_Pick out the cracks with a sewing needle, It makes the cracks fill better and you don't glue in the dirt and grime.
_sand/Scrape the old finish off of the entire bow wood and glass alike.  Re assess the quality of the glass at this point.
_Fill cracks with lock tite. It does not look like you need to clamp anything, but perhaps there are Issues I cannot see.  Delamination?

The glass is bright as all hell because it was made in the late 50s or early 60s there were some weird colors of glass coming out in that era. mint green, bright red, yellow orange etc.
__Varatane Spar Urethane worked good on my 68 bear cub restoration as a finish.  Lots of coats with steel wool between coats.

Have fun. Its a fun project.
MSturm

Thanks for the tips,  There's no delamination, the main problems are the shiny finish coming off the glass, nicks, scrapes and a few chips in the glass, and the cracks you can see in the [pictures, Oh and one tip is pretty chewed up, I'm assuming from aggressive stringing.

[Sakuryu]

Oh, before I forget. Does it take away from the authenticity to redo the writing? I really like the handwriting and I'd hate to lose it but I've read that scraping off the finish also toasts the writing.

[Captain*Kirk]

Welcome to the Gang!
Many times you can mask off the writing area for the major sanding, then rough the varnish over that and blend in the finish coat. Might take a couple tries, but you've got nothing but time and nothing to lose.

[Sakuryu]

I'm not gonna wreck it with a refinish right? and lemme get this straight just to be sure, I pick the lines clean, inject them with 420(which I need to find for cheap since I'm overdrawn) Let it set overnight, then sand the wood, and the finish off the glass? Then follow the tutorial from there on finishing? Though Honestly I'm not sure how to finish the glass off.

[Petrichor]

Welcome to the camp fire.

[Sam McMichael]

Welcome to the group! I can't help you with the bow repair, but you will certainly find a number who will be glad to steer you in the right direction.

[Sakuryu]

Thanks for all the support guys you're super supportive  

[Sakuryu]

Here's the Shakespeare, As far as I can tell the only problem is the color and a few minor lines in the fiberglass (really surprised how thin this bow is in comparison.

 https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0B3Zg3cWGemUkNJM29mbWFwaUU

[Sakuryu]

Can of worms question here, Leave them strung or unstrung? The person I bought the Black Hawk from said to leave it strung for as long as I want, it won't effect it due to the fiberglass. The Mancos is a good bit thinner, newer and a recurve so I'm wondering if it's okay to be left strung or not.

EDIT: I'm just gonna post this here, instead of continuously multi-posting, First off I consolidated my bow images to one link    My Bows  Second, When I purchased the Shakespeare the ad doesn't show the really worn out area on the fiberglass, or the bolt-hole. Should this determine if I'm asking for a partial refund? I'm getting my bow examined tomorrow to check the weight and etcetra but I'd like opinions here too since the local guy isn't a big buyer online.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Welcome.  OK to leave it strung but best to lay it flat or hang from a peg or 2.  Do not leave a  strung bow leaning in the corner for a  length of time.

As far as the Shakespeare but would say you should always inspect a used bow if you do not know the source.  I would either back out, ask for a  better price or learn from your experience. If you are referring to the insert hole, that was probably put there by the factory, not a big deal and actually very common.

Holes in the riser are common on old bows and may not be an issue on yours.

[Sakuryu]

Originally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
Welcome.  OK to leave it strung but best to lay it flat or hang from a peg or 2.  Do not leave a  strung bow leaning in the corner for a  length of time.

As far as the Shakespeare but would say you should always inspect a used bow if you do not know the source.  I would either back out, ask for a  better price or learn from your experience. If you are referring to the insert hole, that was probably put there by the factory, not a big deal and actually very common.

Holes in the riser are common on old bows and may not be an issue on yours.

The hole does seem to be a factory edition but has a very thin vertical line running through it.  As  for the inspection and the crazing, what would you suggest I ask for in a partial refund out of the $60 I paid?

[Cyclic-Rivers]

LOL, 60 bucks is quite fair.

I would shoot it and enjoy it until it fails or you pass it along.