I just recently bought a 68 Kodiak hunter which had the old style sights on it. I removed the sights and found these holes in the riser. Just was wondering if it was safe to shoot? Thanks
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They look to be close to the fades, so maybe? I really don't know though, that's a tough call. Why do people do the things they do....
I have a suggestion, buy a 3/8 hardwood dowell.and a 1/4 in dowell to use where applicable. Drill those holes out and epoxy the dowell into place Then overlay with a piece of bowtuff or with a good hardwood and shoot the bow forever.
The holes are on the compression side so this should work very well and you should not have a problem with it. Oh and when you drill b e sure to tape first so you do not split the glass out.Before you put the dowels in you might go over the edges of the glass real good with very thin super glue. I use Precision Max to eliminate any glass splits or seperations. The dowell should be tight enough to have to tap it in and you will need to score it a bit for good glueing.
God bless, Steve
Filling the holes is a great idea but hundreds of these bows were drilled for sights and they survived for many 1000's of arrows.
I wouldn't shoot it like that, and I question a repair would hold on that big hole...
Wow! That's a cave.
If it were mine I'd use a good epoxy like West Systems or System Three and use a mix with flocked fiberglass to fill that hole. But even then I don't know that I would fully trust it.
I have used bamboo skewers and smooth-on to fill holes. They come in several sizes. Also can fill the hole with super glue then drive the skewers in.
Does it make any difference that the holes are on the back side of the riser? I appreciate the feedback everyone. Thanks
I have seen a lot of bows that were drilled like this. Clean up the rough edges and fill with a good two part, slow cure, epoxy.
post a link to this thread over on the TG History and Collecting Forum. Some of those guys don't hit the pow wow much, and they work with bows like this quite a bit and can assess the risk you're taking based on extensive experience.
It might be valuable to see a side picture that shows where the holes are relative to the fades.
There is a decent chance that bow was shot alot with screws in those holes so a decent epoxy fill (or epoxy and wood plug) will likley provide more systemic support than the screws.
Looks like in the photo they are on the belly side. I would far prefer that to the back. I would fill it with epoxy if for no other reason to deter further splintering and shoot it.
How do I post a link to the TG history and collecting forum?
I figured it out and posted a link to this thread to the TG history and collecting forum.
How many pounds pull is the bow? The lighter the bow, the safer a fix will be.
45#
How could some evil being butcher a bow like that? "Oh the humanity" I hope you can save her!
I'd fill the holes with epoxy, should be okay.
Here are a couple of (//%5Burl=http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/homey861/media/imagejpg2_zps057e0b9a.jpg.html%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/ag459/homey861/imagejpg2_zps057e0b9a.jpg)[/url] [/IMG] (//%5Burl=http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/homey861/media/imagejpg2_zps057e0b9a.jpg.html%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/ag459/homey861/imagejpg2_zps057e0b9a.jpg)[/url] [/IMG] more pictures.
All I can think is how someone had that bow new and drilled into it! Give me the chills to think of doing that to mine!
I agree the bow is in great shape minus the holes!! Makes me wonder what some are thinking at times.
That first hole you could park a truck in it! How deep is that? I would say it all depends on that cavern. Nothing you do at this point will restore structural integrity in any way. I'm not saying it is going to break I'm saying fix it any way you want and it will either break or it won't.
If you're going to fill with epoxy, I might recommend trying to shoot some Loctite 420 in the crevices around that big hole first, then doing epoxy. The Loctite gets drawn into the cracks and would probably give you a better chance of holding the glass than just filling with epoxy and relying on that to seep into cracks.
As mentioned above, it's too bad it got the screws put to it, but that's not uncommon with bows from the 50's and 60's.
What Ray Lyon said. You might wrap the riser with Sinue and epoxy to the limb and riser.
Epoxy will not take the compression. It gives. You need to drill it like I posted and then epoxy in a hardwood dowell of the correct size Using good epoxy.
Then overlay it with glass. That combination is the right fix and only fix that will hold it with that cavern that the bottom hole is. You should Either fix it right or hang the bow up cause if you don't its liable to put an eye out when it blows.
I have fixed a lot of bows like that and never had one break. I fixed and sold a couple thousand bows on the auction site and I honestly know how to do this.In fact I had over 3000 positive feedbacks from bow sales doing just this kind of thing.
God bless, Steve
Looks like they are all in the riser. Should be OK if he fills them to seal out moisture or humidity.
I'd shoot it. Do you have a long draw length?
I drw 28 inches
Totally agree with Sixby on this one. Either do it right, on don't do it at all.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! It is greatly appreciated!
Go with Sixby's advice to the letter. He's a professional bowyer with lots of experience on this specific fix. Don't take shortcuts on this one.
Give Bow Doc a call and send him some pictures...
Being as close to the edge, and in the fade's as that top hole is would bother me. I have a long draw, and that adds to limb stress. I personally would not shoot it.
I'm going to fix the bow . found out this am that there are holes in the back too with screws still in them. After fixing I will refinish the entire bow.
I will go step by step on the fix process and get some pics as I go and post them on either this thread or start a new one. It may not end up completely classic but it will be fixed and be clean and useable. A whole bunch safer than it is now.
God bless, Steve
Very nice of you to help repurpose the old bow, Steve!
Yes I'm very thankful for Steve helping me out!
I can't thank him enough! There are a lot of great people on this website and in the trad world, I thank my lucky stars for finding this site!
Bow got here today and I cleaned the holes and filled with smooth on. Its setting as we speak. Next I will drill the large hole and put in dowell. The holes were not even close to being as bad as the pic looked. The large hole was only about a quarter in deep and then went into a very small hole. I spent an hour poking smooth on into the holes LOL. Its like playing dentist.
God bless, Steve
Mike,
You are going to be in for a huge surprise when you get your bow back. It is in the hands of a Master Craftsman!
My hat is off to you Steve!
Good Shooting,
Craig
I can't wait!! There is a great number of kind and helpful people on this sight. I'm really thankful!!!
The sight window is really deep and wide on these old K Hunters. If there is ever a problem with this bow its sure not going to be from these holes. The hole closest to the fades was a tiny little screw. It was only 3/8 in deep in a one and 1/8th in deep area. This is really a nice old bow , it doesn't even have any crazing or stretch marks in the finish. If it was not for those holes it would be a collector. NOw its going to be what it was designed to be , a really great hunting bow.
God bless, Steve
That is great to hear! I'm super excited!
Sounds like the refinish is coming along nicely!
I had to make a decision here to either put this aside a bit or to fix it immediately without the fix along. I chose to fix it immediately. Here is where she is at and what I have done.
None of the holes were large enough or even close to large enough to need dowelling. I filled them with smoothon after I went around the edges of the holes with some Gorilla super glue to make sure none of the glass was loose.
The holes were super tiny so no need for any more than the smooth on . In fact to drill them out would have actually been detrimental/. I then ground out an overlay from some Bear Brown glass I had and overlaid the entire area. I now have to sand the overlay in and sand and refinish the bow. I will definitely get some pics of all that.
God bless, steve
Thanks Steve,
I can't wait to see it!
Homey88 & Steve,
I'm going to stay tuned to this thread & see how this bow comes out.
I'm a fan of the K Hunter. ;)
I can't wait to see this when it's done....... :campfire: :coffee:
TTT........how's it coming?? :dunno:
I finally got the bow finished and its curing out good. Will get some pics today or tomorrow and ship Monday LOrd Willing.
It came out really nice. God bless, Steve
I mailed the bow off today. Before it left I took a whole bunch of pics and will post some up now. Here is my problem. Its called dumb. I have to cop to being dumb. Somehow in all of the pics I took I did not get one of the finished overlay over the holes. I did take one right after I applied the overlay but it is unfinished. Perhaps Mike can take one or two when he gets the bow and post them up for you. Anyways I apologize. I am a better bow builder than I am a picture taker.
God bless, Steve
This is the overlay over the holes right after I took it out from under the lamp. It is dark brown glass and works so well with the dark green that after it was finished you did not even notice it.
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(http://eaglewingarchery.i8.com/images/Kodiak2015/kodiak2.jpg) (http://eaglewingarchery.i8.com/images/Kodiak2015/kodiak4.jpg)
(http://eaglewingarchery.i8.com/images/Kodiak2015/kodiak5.jpg) (http://eaglewingarchery.i8.com/images/Kodiak2015/kodiak6.jpg) (http://eaglewingarchery.i8.com/images/Kodiak2015/kodiak8.jpg)
Wow, that is beautiful thanks for sharing.
Nice....... :thumbsup:
If anyone could pull that off, it's you brutha Steve.... Nicely done bro....
I have a 74 Super K I think I might do the same thing to. No holes in it though.
God bless, Steve
Steve,
wow! That is unreal! I am blown away! That is truly amazing! I'm speechless! Thank you so much! You are a master craftsman! Unbelievable work you do!!thanks a million!
Wow!
I will definitely post some pictures when it gets here!
Working on those old bows is something I really do enjoy. I love to see them come to life. They are really great bows that hearken back to a different time.
I can remember when my dream was to someday own a Bear. Now I am almost 70 and have owned hundreds of them and they still hold a charm to me.
God bless, Steve
Steve,
I agree. My pap gave me his 67 Kodiak Hunter before he passed away and Told me to kill something with it. So my goal this year is to kill a turkey and a deer with it. After I do that I may retire the bow and hang in on the wall. I noticed a slight limb twist in the bottom limb but it shoots fine. I really do enjoy shooting the bow. I can't wait to shoot the bow you refinished! That will be my go to recurve after harvesting something with my grandpas bow. Thanks again and I can't wait to receive the bow!
And the old beàr bows are very nostalgic!
Bravo master refinisher :clapper:
Now it is safe, sound, and filled with mojo.
Hard to retire a Grayling Bear.
I had to come back for another look at that nice bow!
I jus received my bow from Sixby and I must tell you that the pictures don't do it justice! It is so nice I'm almost afraid to shoot because I don't want to mess up the finish on this bow Sixby did a outstanding job and I can never thank him enough here are a coupe of pictures and one of the area that had the holes in it. Unbelievable work!!!!
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That old girl is meant to be shot.......he did a great job! Enjoy........ :thumbsup:
He did a awesome job. It will get plenty of shooting! :)
Can't stop checking out this post....i got a kmag on the way but it's gonna look like yours originally did!
Would love to see pics of your kmag!
Your bow turned out great!
Homey88- there's another thread with some pics of the one thats on the way (refinishing kmag). In no way as beautiful like yours however it will continue its life being shot finally once I get it! Mainly at fish! I've always wanted an old bear I hope I like it I'd enjoy having a beauty like yours to shoot as well! I've always loved the history of bear bows ive just never owned one ..yet!
I agree I love the old beàr bows as well! Takes you back in time. Will check out the thread
That is a beautiful bow, it needs to be taken hunting! :clapper: