Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: gograntgo10 on June 20, 2017, 12:42:00 PM
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Never got around to posting this story here and thought you guys might find it interesting. It has been a year since I did this repair and the bow is still going strong. Wish me luck.
So a while back I got a great deal on the auction site for a Shakespeare Custer.
(http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj563/gograntgo10/small%201_zpsuvsgj4fh.jpg) (http://s1268.photobucket.com/user/gograntgo10/media/small%201_zpsuvsgj4fh.jpg.html)
It had some limb twist, which I dealt with, and was missing a lot of finish. Still, I wasn't too worried, I love refinishing bows. Well, fast forward a few months, half way through the refinish I noticed a crack that looked like it was running the full length of the shelf.
(http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj563/gograntgo10/small%205_zps2h8xzud3.jpg) (http://s1268.photobucket.com/user/gograntgo10/media/small%205_zps2h8xzud3.jpg.html)
It was hidden under the old finish. At first I wasn't too worried, then I strung it up and noticed that the crack extended under the shelf by an inch and got bigger when the bow was strung.
(http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj563/gograntgo10/small%207_zpsnm4exm5f.jpg) (http://s1268.photobucket.com/user/gograntgo10/media/small%207_zpsnm4exm5f.jpg.html)
This meant that the riser was flexing at the crack. I was pretty bummed about this, figuring I would have to hang up this old beauty. I decided to try to fix it. It is only 40lbs, so if it explodes hopefully it won't kill me.
Part 2 coming soon.
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It was around this time that I started jokingly calling it Custer's Last Stand because I figured it would just explode the next time I strung it. I decided to try an old gunsmithing trick for fixing gunstocks. First I spread the crack as much as I could and filled it with epoxy. Then I drilled a couple holes smeared them full of epoxy and screwed in some course brass screws. Then all I had to do was cut off the screws, file them down, and sand everything flush. Ok, so it was a lot of work, especially since I have no power tools besides a drill. After that I refinished the riser with 10 or 15 coats of tru oil and polished it back out.
Here is the finished product:
(http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj563/gograntgo10/small%203_zpsbv342azp.jpg) (http://s1268.photobucket.com/user/gograntgo10/media/small%203_zpsbv342azp.jpg.html)
(http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj563/gograntgo10/small%204_zpsjhz6viya.jpg) (http://s1268.photobucket.com/user/gograntgo10/media/small%204_zpsjhz6viya.jpg.html)
(http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj563/gograntgo10/small%202_zpson1jqm30.jpg) (http://s1268.photobucket.com/user/gograntgo10/media/small%202_zpson1jqm30.jpg.html)
Here she is strung up:
(http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj563/gograntgo10/Small%201_zps6ylfwzvy.jpg) (http://s1268.photobucket.com/user/gograntgo10/media/Small%201_zps6ylfwzvy.jpg.html)
It has been about a year now and the repair is still holding. No movement in the riser at all. I know it is still probably going to break, but at least I got to shoot it a little bit first. I still where eye protection when I shoot it, and I won't ever sell it, but after a few thousand arrows I am feeling pretty good about this repair.
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Glad it's workin out for ya. But gotta say.....you're a braver man than I. I have an old York recurve that has developed a vertices crack where the two halves of the riser were glued together. Im scared to shoot it anymore.
But I can't bare to get rid of it as I used it to kill my first trad deer. Maybe someday I'll use the zebra riser as part of a bow build.