Piking a fiberglass recurve

[Eric Krewson]

I bought a 1/2 price el-cheapo metal riser target recurve for my granddaughter to shoot on her once a year visit. She is 5'8" and big for her age of 13. She has been growing so fast any selfbow I made for her would be outgrown in short order. I also wanted something easier for a beginner to shoot than one of my creations,

The bow is 66" and was supposed to be 35#@28", it is actually 31# or less. I wanted it to be around 30# at her draw length but it will be closer to 25#. I could send it back but there is no telling what I will get in return.

I have made a ton of selfbows and alter them frequently if they need adjusting.

I was wondering about the possibility of cutting an inch off each of the limbs on the bow I bought, narrowing them slightly and gluing on new tip overlays to bump the poundage up a little. I have smooth-on in my shop to use as glue.

I am not a lam bow guy so this is new territory for me. I only have $75 in the bow, half price from Cabela's.

[styksnstryngs]

It's a recurve, that will decrease efficiency and likely make the bow a dog, as well as maybe not even changing poundage because of the lack of preload. Thinking the tips down alone could reduce weight, even.

[Eric Krewson]

I wonder if any one has tried such, speculation is one thing, experience is another.

[TradBowyer]

yes it will work. I've done it as an experiment and the previous poster is spot on. it changes but not for the better. performance suffers a lot and stacking happens quicker. that being said  if you are just wanting to have it for a fun bow then it's probably not a big deal. if it is, you can pick up a used bear recurve for 75-100$ all day long. I have a used trad bow shop by me I can hook you up with if interested

[Eric Krewson]

This is a 66" bow, very low poundage and very wide limbs. I checked the bend out and found the last 2" of the limbs are static, no bending and won't be affected by the shortening or narrowing. As for stacking a bow this long doesn't stack.

I have made a a number of static recurve osage selfbows, once you get past the bend what you do to the tips doesn't matter. I make them very small and narrow.

Like this;

 

[Holm-Made]

Is it a 3 piece takedown?    If it is then can you change the angle of the limb beds by adding a wedge under the limbs?

[mikkekeswick]

Longbow - no problem but not worth bothering with most recurve designs for the reasons mentioned above.

[Eric Krewson]

It is a three piece take down, good suggestion on the limb beds, I hadn't thought of that.

[bamboo]

wedging the limb pockets is the best bet--and reversible

[Wolftrail]

Those tips are sure pretty.

[Eric Krewson]

I did a little testing today, an 1/8" wedge raised the poundage 2#.

[Wolftrail]

I guess an 1/8" wedge is minimal.
Just curious if you use a 1/4" or thicker wedge it changes the limb bolt angle .. correct.?

[4runr]

I have two 1959 Bear Grizzlys that had the tips broken or cut off at one point in time.
One is now the best shooting bow I have ever owned. It was originally 62" and about 47# @28.
It is now 59" and about 52# @28. New tip overlays, narrowing the last 10 of the limbs, and carefully removing a small amount of glass from both back and belly. It is still a recurve and I shoot fast flight. I've been shooting it about 8 or 9 years now. no issues.

The other one was more drastic. It's now a long bow. I bought it off fleabay for $35 cause the Rosewood in the site window is frigging beautiful.
My son was only about 7-8 at the time, and he wanted a bow just like dads.
Those limbs were cut around 3-4 inches shorter. Just at the end of the curves. That one took me a long, slow time to re-tiller.
I never checked the final poundage on it. I would remove material and have him try to draw it. when it started bending for him, i tillered it on the tree to make sure it was safe.
He went to many-a shoot with me back then. We were quite the attraction with our Snake skinned 59' Grizzlys.

Eric, with the amount of skill you have and all your experience, I would not be afraid to tackle that bow.

[Eric Krewson]

On the new wedge, the limb bolt goes through the thinnest part, I feathered that portion of the wedge out to about 1/32".

On a $75 bow, as long as the bolt will screw in the hole I am happy.

[Eric Krewson]

I found a better solution to the low poundage, call the company.

Turns out they use the same limbs on a 62" bow and the 66". A pair of 35# limbs on a 62" bow will be 35# ,put the same limbs on a 66" bow and they will be closer to 30#.

I was surprised to find the company had great customer service. I explained my low poundage problem, he acknowledged how it could happen and said he would put a set of 40# limbs in the mail for me today. The 40# limbs on a 66" bow will be closer to 35#.

He even included a prepaid mailer to send the old limbs back.

Gotta' love good customer service!

[mwosborn]

Can't beat a deal like that!  Especially since it was an "el cheapo".  You contact Cabelas or the manufacturer of the bow?

[Eric Krewson]

I didn't expect the bow to be under poundage so I threw away the return shipping label to Cabala's. I wanted to keep the bow but get the right limbs for it.

The bow is Chinese but Fleetwood Archery is the distributor in the US and were the ones who had such good customer service.

[kennym]

Excelllent customer service!!