# Hack: Can I shave sides of a recurve limbs to lower Draw weight?



## rustycase (Oct 27, 2015)

Not really a fixit or repair/mod section for recurves here...
And this is really a hack.
I've got a line on a recurve, glass over wood core which looks nice, but draw weight is far more than I want to deal with for backyard target shooting only.
Instead of shaving the belly side of the limbs, as in tillering, can I just begin a cautious process of shaving the side of the limbs?
Has anyone done this?
It's a discount offer, but I just can't use a 65# bow!
Tnx
rc


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

you can lower the weight of a limbs basically in 2 ways...thinner in thickness or narrower in width. Once the limb is made, thinning the lamination isn't really an option so you narrow the width.

Personally I'd send the bow off to be done...far to easy to screw up.


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## ted7 (Jul 7, 2009)

Yikes, I don't agree with the last post. Adjusting the width is asking for catastrophic problems; I would NOT do that. Your best bet is to sand the glass on the belly and the back - taking care to remove the same amount from top and bottom limbs. If it is 65#, the glass is probably thick enough to give you some ability to lower poundage. To be clear though, you are only going to be able to lower it 3-5 pounds max.

Adjusting the width may be tempting because recurve limbs are typically about 1.75"-2" at their widest points, but if you do it, you will probably twist a limb and won't lower the weight much. Trad bow weight comes mainly from lam thickness not width. Also, recurves typically only have 2 wood lams sandwiched in the glass, compared to longbows which typically have 4. This is one reason why they can twist easier.

In my opinion, I'd just look for a lighter bow; you may find yourself in a situation where this one is ruined if you do too much. Bottom line: recurves don't have adjustable draw weights. 

... I'm not an expert, but I have made about 20-25 glass laminated recurves and longbows, so I am speaking from some experience. FWIW.


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## rustycase (Oct 27, 2015)

Tnx Fury, I'm functioning at the low end of the budget scale, so it will be DIY if it happens.
Definitely, I do believe in the skills of experts... At one time I was at craftsman level in the building trades, but never made it to expert level. 
I do know why they got the big $'s.

Ted, I am able to exercise caution when removing material, in a slow process, to avoid creating a "Yikes!". But I do understand what you meant.
My thought was to avoid the back and belly of the bow so I did not compromise the integrity of the fibers protected by the resin. ..if I removed from the width, it would retain the integrity of the mass, layed up by a professional.
Twist becoming evident,I could compensate for by shaving the opposite side, then the other limb, in a tillering process... from what I've read and viewed in bow construction vids.
Is that incorrect?

Of course I've never done such a thing before! lol
That's why I'm asking for pointers before actually undertaking such a frankenstein hack. 

Oh, yes. It would be best to have patience and wait for a lighter bow to come along... I do have a vintage 20# recurve, but it is far too light. The plan is to set it up for the better half, and get her interested, so I can proceed with my own. 30yrs does teach a lesson or two.

Best
rc


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

Do not thin the glass...just asking for problems if you do. PM me and I'll send you the number of a guy that makes bows for a living...

If you grind the sides evenly, you won't have an issue. Well, sort of. It's possible that since the wood isn't 100% uniform you could get a little twisting...but that's easy to fix.


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## rustycase (Oct 27, 2015)

Tnx fury,
This is all new to me, just learning, so I might take you up on the phone call if it looks like I'm getting into a pickle.
I do have a 36" belt sander, just need to build a tillering press.
Today I took the ratchet strap off my boat to use in repair of this old compound bow I have that needs repair.
Plenty of projects..
rc


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## ted7 (Jul 7, 2009)

Just so you know, the fiberglass is sanded by bowyers ALL the time. This is how they adjust tiller. There is nothing wrong with sanding glass (with caution). How do you think glass is ground to a particular thickness? It is sanded. Look at two bows by the same bowyer that are 10 pounds different. Are the widths of those two bows different? Nope. The lam thickness is. Fury isn't correct about this, with all due respect. If you change the limb widths,you WILL ruin that bow. If you send it to a bowyer, they will tell you one of the following: 1) I won't even try because recurves are not adjustable, 2) I may be able to take a few pounds off by sanding the glass,or 3) if I try to do what you ask, I am going to have to charge you $150 and I might ruin your bow. 

... You can get a bear grizzly at 45 pounds for $100 if you keep an eye out. Cutting the widths of that recurve is a path toward despair and limb twist.


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## ted7 (Jul 7, 2009)

just note - I do want to be clear that I don't think you SHOULD sand the glass because you most certainly should not. And it is correct that if you take much glass off you will get in trouble. But, you can take a few pounds off this way without major harm.

... Again, you should just buy a 25 year old Grizzly.


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## rustycase (Oct 27, 2015)

Tnx, ted... Don't worry, I don't even get chances to be near high dollar fancy bows! lol
But I Always enjoy a challenge... You seem certain I WILL ruin a bow if I continue on my path.
Motivating, that is...
Guess I better check and see if the boys have left my jitterbug, da, and inline sanders behind.
Of course you are correct that I Should buy a 25yr old Grizzly. Seems they were pretty high production and one should come along.
...I'm thinking maybe I should experiment with some discount offerings for a while until I find out if I'm gonna get out of the back yard with this.
Already I've been looking at a martin super diablo, and a samick red stag. I'll wait on them. 
Best
rc


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

You are absolutely right to only work on the edges. Do not touch either face of the limbs. Even if you don't take much off, it can easily ruin the cast.

If you decide to do this, you stand a high chance of ruining the bow. One thing you can do to help you go slow and reach your goal is to build a tillering tree. Use this to be sure you are taking it off in the right places. If you take off too much in one spot, you develop a "hinge" which is an area of excess bending. If you are getting a flat spot, you need to take more off. Of course you want to be sure both limbs remain in balance. 

Tillering is one of the more difficult skills for a bow builder to develop. It's also the one skill that is critical to a handmade bow. There are quite a few tillering videos on YouTube.

Take if slow, frequently check the tiller, watch for hinges and you may be able to do this yourself.
Good luck,
Allen


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

ted7 said:


> Just so you know, the fiberglass is sanded by bowyers ALL the time. This is how they adjust tiller. There is nothing wrong with sanding glass (with caution). How do you think glass is ground to a particular thickness? It is sanded. Look at two bows by the same bowyer that are 10 pounds different. Are the widths of those two bows different? Nope. The lam thickness is. Fury isn't correct about this, with all due respect. If you change the limb widths,you WILL ruin that bow. If you send it to a bowyer, they will tell you one of the following: 1) I won't even try because recurves are not adjustable, 2) I may be able to take a few pounds off by sanding the glass,or 3) if I try to do what you ask, I am going to have to charge you $150 and I might ruin your bow.
> 
> ... You can get a bear grizzly at 45 pounds for $100 if you keep an eye out. Cutting the widths of that recurve is a path toward despair and limb twist.


the only thing that is reasonably accurate is getting a Grizzly for around the price you mentioned.

Oh, and slightly altering the tiller...there are other ways to adjust tiller though


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## kballer1 (Aug 31, 2010)

How many # are you trying to remove?


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## Arrowwood (Nov 16, 2010)

Rustycase, there are a few legit bowyers visiting the traditional forum here. 

Here's a link that describes narrowing the limbs:

http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=220492&category=88

I read of a guy losing a few pounds with a palm sander on the belly side of the limbs (shooter's side), but I'd be surprised if it's enough to make a serious dent in a 65# bow. Never tried it, though. Let us know what happens.


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## rustycase (Oct 27, 2015)

Thanks Allen, Fury, and Ted...
The whole deal has fizzled for me... I think someone put an idea in the guys head that the bow was worth far more than I would pay for it.
Obviously, it wasn't what I was looking for, which is a further problem... I'm not sure what I'm looking for!
But I do enjoy working on projects. lol

Yes, Allen, I spent a bunch of hours today watching more bow construction vids concerning glass over wood and lamination process. Pretty much as I recall, from back when. A minimal amount of resin, just enough to saturate the glass, is all that is required, before a gel coat for surface finish which provides no strength to the lay-up.
Now I'm interested in what kind of cloth is used, e, or s, and what bias weave and weight, along with tow size of cf, if it's even available in small lots at reasonable prices.
All the West System stuff was expensive years ago!

Yep, I'd be better off watching for a $100 25yr old Grizzly. Maybe. I'm concerned about de-laminating, over 25yrs of use. What looks nice does't mean catastrophic failure won't occur at any point in time. Bear probably used as good or better technique than anyone. I expect materials and process have improved since then. I've looked at a few of the old ads... unfortunately the dollar won't buy what it would back then! There will be no changing that.

Best
rc

...You bet! When I do start a hack project, I will definitely take a few pics and post them for criticism.

.


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## Fury90flier (Jun 27, 2012)

don't worry about delaminating...many bows out there that are quite old that still are going strong.

A bow that was well made in the 70's or even earlier will still shoot well today without any issues so long as it's taken care of. I've got a couple bows that I know were made in the 70's that I personally have put over a thousand shots through and never once had an issue with them....just shoot 10gpp or better arrows and don't worry about it


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