Can Drae Weight be REDUCED by a Sanding and Refinishing Project?

[Nala]

Hey all,

I have a 70 or 71 Grizzly that I got for XMAS last year and it's a SPECIAL bow for me because my mom get it for me.  Naturally I wouldn't want to do anything that might compromise the integrity of the bow.

The problems I have with it aren't very bad at all.  The limbs are in great shape, no stress cracks or lines, no separation anywhere and the overall finish on the limbs is shiny and looks great.  The only thing is that there are marks on both the back and the belly where a previous owner used one of the spring arm type quivers and it left a few unattractive marks that I would like to get rid of.

As for the riser, its in good shape too.  It could stand a slight sanding to smooth things out and get the surface uniform and I think it would be a MUCH prettier bow if that was done.  The thing is that I have never done anything like that before and it would be S-L-O-W going for me in a project like this.

The reason for my original question about reducing the draw weight is becuse despite being marked 45X, it is MUCH heaver than that.  I am guessing near 50 or so.  Since I draw to about 29 1/2 inches, that's a lot of extra (and uncomfortable) weight for me.  If it really 45#, I'd leave it alone and enjoy it the way it is.

But if you all tell me that I can reduce the draw weight a few pounds if I do one of these REHAB projects on it, well I just might have to give it a LOT more thought than I have been.

I really don't want to refinish an entire bow unless it needs it or there is another goal trying to be achieved.  Sure if there was a method to remove the spring arm quiver marks on the limbs and it was relatively painless and not too difficult, I would probably do that.

So can you all tell me what you would do in my situation?  Can the draw weight be reduced by a fairly straightforward refinishing job that we read about being done on here all the time?  Or would it be a more detailed operation that is fraught with potential error and mistakes and should only be taken on by someone that KNOWS what they are doing?

What'cha think?

Thanks for your time and help.

Nalajr

[Jeremy]

The marking conventions come from the AMO standards and state you're "supposed" to mark a bow 45# if it's 44-46 and mark it 45X if it's 47-48. The pattern repeats going up or down.  Add about 4-5# to that for your draw on that bow and you're getting up there.

You can reduce the weight just by sanding, but that's hard to do evenly and keep the tiller.  The bows I've dropped weight on I did by evenly removing material from the sides of the bow.  That's much easier to keep even (put tape on the limbs and file/sand to a line) not screw up the tiller and it has the added bonus of reducing tip mass by narrowing the overly wide tips on those old Bears.

It's doable, but not for the faint of heart.

[David Ricke]

you can reduce the weight on your bear as Jeremy sugests, If you decide to go that route only expect to lose a couple of pounds. Good luck.  Knifemaker