Restoration 101 - (Holy Smokes!)

[TonyW]

More restoration tips from Don Ward ....


Just wanted to share with you guy's what can happen. Here is a pic of one of the 1959 Kodiaks.


 

It only needed the limbs to be sprayed and it was ready to send home. However in a few cases where bows have small stress cracks sometimes no matter what you do you will not see them until you put a little finish on the limbs (kind of like you did not see the dent until you painted the car?).

 Now is not a good time to find stressors. But it’s also when you got to decide if you’re going to just continue on and finish the bow as-is or are you going to take time to re-Loc-tite them and then wet sand the LT off along with your two coats of new finish?

Myself I got to re-LT and wet sand.
It sucks but got to be done. Your bow will come out looking so much better if you take a little extra time right now.

[TonyW]

Also wanted at add one more shot of some underlays if you want or need the on your bow. Easy to shape and look pretty good.

[TonyW]

Question for Don Ward from TradGang member: When gluing a vertical shelf crack, how long do I have to set my clamps after I start?

I normally have the clamps all set with no pressure hardly at all, just enough to hold them in place.
Then inject the LT and give the clamps one turn or until the LT is level with your surface.
About 2-4 pounds of pressure will close almost any gap in a bow.
Let it dry 24 hrs no matter how fast the surface dries, inside the gap takes a few hrs at least. It’s better to use 2-3 small clamps too. That will let you direct the pressure right where you need it.
Put some thin scraps of wood or leather between the clamps jaws and your bow.
Here's something else I should have added I did not know buying syringes is not legal in some states. So if you don't have access to any, place a very thin wire and it must be wire no string right on top of the crack.
Then kind of drizzle the LT down the wire due to LT's wicking formula it will follow the wire right down and into the crack.
The syringes are a bit easier to use but if you cannot get one the wire will work fine.

For full restoration details, check this:   http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=004912;p=1

[TonyW]

Question for Don Ward from TradGang member: I acquired a Bear Tamerlane that I think could be a beautiful bow, but it currently has issues. I have not done anything to the bow yet, but I would like to finish it. One of the problems is that there are small cracks in the outer glass layer. I know this is common and can be filled and finished over (like bowdoc does). However, because this layer is white, the cracks show up from the darker underlayer and look bad. So, do I just live with it, or is there a way to cover these cracks?


 

Well there are a couple different ways to tackle those little beggars. One would be to get yourself a super fine, I mean super fine tip paint brush. And some white paint maybe like Testors. You may have to add a super super small drop of a darker color to it. Because that fiberglass is not snow white (like the paint) never was snow white. 99% of the white fiberglasses do have some streaks of off white colors in them. But you may be able to just ever so gently paint over them and kind of cover them. You would want to do really thin coats of finish over the white because most finishes will melt the Testors paint and wipe the lines right off.
Another idea is to take a dental pick and pick the cracks as clean as possible. Maybe even picking a little glass out in the process. Then mix white pigment with some epoxy and fill them. Let the epoxy dry overnight (do not use 5 minute epoxy) and sand off the excess.

[TonyW]

Question for Don Ward from TradGang member: I am cleaning up a 1963 Black Widow for a family member.
Grandpa decided black electrical tape would make a good string keeper and it left a black residue when I removed the tape and replaced the string.
What would be a good way to remove the tape gunk without messing up the glue joint for the overlays?


I use Cover Girl 100% acetone finger nail polish remover and green Scotch-brite (Wal-Mart a total cost of about 4 bucks or less) that will take tape residue right off. Be very careful and scrub gently or you may scrub off some of the original finish.

[TonyW]

Question for Don Ward from TradGang member: Some bows had color painted limbs. How do we get the old finish off without damaging the paint? If the limbs need to be repainted, what paint should be used?

Yes I forgot about the painted limb bows. One thing is it’s very difficult to remove the finish and leave the paint. The paint was one or two thin layers of an automotive type paint which would stand up to outdoor use. If you do need to repaint the limbs its best to buy a hi-grade automotive type paint.

How can I tell if my limbs are painted? Any specific years? Why were they painted anyways?


Most of the painted models were some 1960's and 61 62 63 64.If you check your limbs and do not see the fiberglass texture.There is a pretty good chance they were factory painted.If you strip the factory paint off you will see they have had stress cracks repaired at the factory prior to being shipped. bowdoc

     

This is a bit a rare 1959 Bear Kodiak.Remember when we talked about Bear bows with the limbs painted only on the fiberglass ? I believe we talked about 1961-1962 some 63's and 64's with painted limbs.I posted some pics of the Super Kodiak with the black painted limbs and 2 sets of silk screens ? Only the surface of the glass was painted ? here's another to add the the list.1959 Kodiak with the back glass painted brown from the factory.bd
     

And then.
     

More instruction on matching colors and filling holes here:
   http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=14&t=002771  

The 64 Kodiak Fred Bear Shelf 101 here:
 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=002562

[TonyW]

A TradGanger's story about paying it forward...

In these tough economic times for many, including myself, we did a spring cleaning yard sale on Mother's Day weekend. A young man stopped by asking about recurves and archery equipment. After asking info on type, brands, etc., he explained he was looking for a older bow he and his father could restore. He began to explain about a restoration topic that a local man had put on a site for traditional archers. I showed him a few bows, but none were down his alley on weight and price. He explained he was graduating next month from high school and was short on work. So i asked him to hang on a second that i had a early graduation present. Knowing he was following the Restoration 101 by Bowdoc I happily gave him a old Bear arrow that bowdoc signed for me and my family. I wished him congrats and good luck on his search.

This is the power of the TradGang, and even though over all we are a small family, the power of this site, and the info is huge. Only a short story of another way Tradgang is helping our future archers. Hats off to this site and BowDoc for his 101 class.

Thank You.

[Thumper Dunker]

This is way cool stuff thanks.

[shag08]

Great info here....and great pics for reference. This helped me immenseley on a tip repair.

[TonyW]

ttt

[Shane Reed]

Keep it up there Tony, and thank you! Hope all is well down your way. School is out!

[TonyW]

[TRAP]

I still own that broken up 59 from the first page of this thread.

I named the bow "Broken Heart" after the bow's severely cracked Purple "Heart" I-Beam.

The bow is a tribute to Don's talent.  Still shoots as well today as it did after the Good Doctor sent it back to me.

DD

[seboomook]

Good reminder DD, as I remember you're urging got Doc started on the tutorial.
Glad to see it back, very useful to all.

[Jimmy Pitts]

Thanks BowDoc and others for keeping this here. I recently purchased a 69-70 model Browning Explorer I 56" 45#@28. It shoots good but has a lot of dings. This will be perfect for me. Thanks again,

Jim

[mlsthmpsn]

Any thoughts on how to tell a rookie how to diagnose if these is superficial or structural? (I'm new to bows, not new to tinkering        )

   

   

     

Thanks,

[warpedarrow]

Those appear to be stress cracks to me.   I could be wrong because there is nothing quite like holding a bow in your hands when trying to determine such things.  Have you been shooting the bow?  Do the cracks widen when the bow is strung up?

A little Loctite 420 is in order.  The stuff wicks very well and is good for this type of repair.

Another hint:  you may see a little better response if you open a new thread with your question rather than tagging on to a years old thread.

[mlsthmpsn]

Originally posted by warpedarrow:


A little Loctite 420 is in order.  The stuff wicks very well and is good for this type of repair.

Another hint:  you may see a little better response if you open a new thread with your question rather than tagging on to a years old thread.

Thanks Warpedarrow....I have a dedicated thread started over on the PowWow. A couple guys say Yay, a couple say Nay. They said I should check over here and get an idea of the repair process.

The bow looks mechanically sound to my eyes,with just the cracks being just in the fiberglass and not continuing into the wood. (at least nothing near the bows in the beginning of this thread).

Were all those bows restored to be strung up and used again? If so, I think mine will be just fine with a little LocTite and a bit of refinishing.

Thanks,

[warpedarrow]

Bowdoc said that the '59 with the bad crack was good to go.  Most guys won't put the work or expense into restoring a bow just to have a wallhanger.  

I regularly shoot old bows dating back to the mid fifties that have cracking similar to your bow. Unless I am going to do a restore I do not glue up cracks such as yours.  Once you put the glue on, you have committed to at least a limb sanding and refinish.  The light colored glass is really tough to get right.

[TonyW]

 

This "+" stamp is the mark of a Grayling refinisher.