# Used bow repair help



## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

I just bought my first adult bow, a used bow from eBay, and it looked fine.
Nice blond and dark wood recurve, 45#@28" with string.
Tested the weight, and it felt like a 45# bow to me, was able to draw it fine.

I was practicing my draw every day, pulling to full draw and letting it back to rest. I left it strung for a few days, with the hook of the limbs on the armrests of the couch, so it was suspended, because I read that you shouldn't string the bow and unstring it that often. Stringing was difficult, but doable using the step-through method, bracing the lower limb curve against my ankle.

At the end of the week, I looked at the string, drew and fired the bow at the range for the first time, and the arrow flew fine.

The second arrow was more on target, but the string snapped! :angry:
The bottom loop of the bowstring broke, a bit of string stuck where the string loop goes, a few splinters of fiberglass where the string was, taking the wood on the back of the bow (the part facing away when holding the bow) where the string is held with it. 

Surely this has happened to others... 
At least I'm completely uninjured.

The question I have:
1. How do I know if its safe to repair and restring the bow?
2. How would I repair the bow?
3. How do I measure to ensure that I purchase the right length string?
4. Any recommendations on brands and locations to purchase a new string?
5. If this is irreparable, any advice for a ~$100 replacement recurve or traditional bow?

Thank you all,
-Steven

Link to the ebay page:
ebay item number: 320946733507
It was a link, but the spam filter is banning me from posting a direct link.

I'll post photos when I figure out how.


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Steven -

Leaving the bow strung did not cause the failure, but stringing and unstringing the bow WITH A BOW STRINGER, won't hurt the bow either. My main bow is assembled/strung and taken down at least 4 times a week. 

Going by your description, you're looking at a partial delamination or separation in the glass itself. (That's probably what caused the string to fail.) The former is usually repairable, while the latter might be a little trickier, but possibly not impossible. Seeing a picture of the affected part would help. 

By the listing, the bow looks like an old wing presentation or a knock-off, because the limb tips are wrong for that bow.

Viper1 out.


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## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

*Photos*

Photo of the bow back:







Photo of the bow front:


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## GPW (May 12, 2012)

Simple repair job , even if you have to carve a new wood tip plate to epoxy on ... :thumbs_up


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## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

It feels like the wood glue on the fiberglass broke, and broke the wood as well, leaving a chunk still glued.
It did split slightly on both sides of the tip, leaving the bit of string stuck fast.
Bow back, no flash:








Bow front, no flash:


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## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

Viper1, could you post a photo of what the tips should look like?
Or a link to a site which could show me various tips and why they're used for different style bows?


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Steven

That might be repairable, but I don't think it's going to be an easy fix, unless you know exactly what you're doing. The glass needs to be repaired with a resin (or at least a filler) and than filed/sanded perfectly smooth, else you'll keep cutting strings. 

Don't have a picture of the Presentation tips handy, but they are smaller and triangular and the limbs are much narrower.
The difference was usually just due to bowyer/manufacturer preference. There was always a balance between limb tip strength and unneeded weight.

Viper1 out.


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## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

I have never done any glass work, nor do I have resin.

Can I just use bondo, sand it smooth, and lacquer the it until its sealed?


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Steven -

I don't think bondo will have the strength to handle the shock the limb nocks will be taking. 

There are other things that can be used, but I'd try to get a bowyer or someone familiar with that kind of stuff to look at it in person. 

Viper1 out.


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## GPW (May 12, 2012)

For a proper repair , the surfaces need to be thoroughly cleaned , inspected for true damage , and re glued , preferably with a compatible adhesive. (usually Epoxy) A new wooden tip plate needs to be fabricated and secured to the tip, again proper preparation of the surfaces essential for success ... If you’re “Handy” this is all within your limits ... if not do as V1 said and find someone qualified to repair it ... and while you’re at it , might have them check out the other tip and the entire bow ... :thumbs_up

Although not mentioned , could be the string that helped cause the damage ... was it a "fast flight" string ? ... some older bows don’t like that...


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## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

I have no idea how to identify a "fast flight" vs any other kind.
A guy at bass pro looked at the string, and thought it was hand made.

I'm handy enough. I can do epoxy, but I don't know how to inspect for further damage. 
Where would you suggest look to see how to inspect and repair these things? Bass Pro is the nearest bow place, and that's more than an hour away.


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## GPW (May 12, 2012)

You must look really Close (good magnifying glass) to see where it’s split... it must be split grabbing the string bits like that ... maybe give it a little gentle flexing ...see where the trouble is ... once determined you can glue and clamp that , and move on to shaping a new wooden tip plate ... 
Some guys I know use a good grade of Super glue to fix small splits in fiberglass , a practice I cannot condone, but it seems to work ... but I would definitely Epoxy on the wood tip on ... and not that 5 minute stuff , but a good slow drying epoxy ... and be sure to sand the contacting surfaces thoroughly and GENTLY wipe them down (wood too) with Acetone on a clean rag to remove any grease and oils that may interfere with adhesion ... ... 
After you get the tip block shaped and grooved for the string , then a really good smoothing out of all the surfaces where the string touches is very important .... What the heck , give it a try ...


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## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

Thanks a lot, GPW. I'll be trying that once I find some quality epoxy


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## trx63 (May 3, 2010)

You might want to look into Prairie traditions at prairietrad.com. They can do tip replacements for 50$ if you feel the bow is worth the money. not sure what make or model it is.


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## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

I made a new tip with some putty epoxy, shaped and sanded it to take the string.
Took it over to bass pro, discovered the string that it came with was 62", not 60" like it needed to be for this 64" recurve.

After having 3 guys look at the repair, they gave the safety approval, and I took it into their firing range to string up.
The top limb got torqued, and the string would not rest properly. So it's unsafe to use 

The bow was $100, so I'm not out a lot of money... but I'm not happy


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## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

Anyone with a recommendation for a reasonably priced one-piece traditional or recurve bow, and where to buy it?


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## GPW (May 12, 2012)

SWong, you sure the limb wasn’t torqued from the start ? ... We’ve seen a lot of second hand bows (recurves) come with twists ...  All you have to do now is straighten the limb if the tip repairs were pronounced “safe” ... 

Kegan’s bows are darn hard to beat for a reasonably priced Custom bow ... :thumbs_up


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## S. Wong (Nov 5, 2011)

GPW, how do I straighten the limbs out?

And, do you have a link to Kegan's Bows?

Never mind, found him: http://omegalongbows.webs.com/


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## GPW (May 12, 2012)

The trick is to clamp the flat part of the limb down and put reverse pressure to “warp" the tip back into the proper straightness ... Do it slowly , , a little more and more pressure over several days should do it ... Once it’s straight use a proper recurve stringer and store it flat (never standing upright in the corner) ...


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## tatolazo (Dec 22, 2021)

S. Wong said:


> I made a new tip with some putty epoxy, shaped and sanded it to take the string.
> Took it over to bass pro, discovered the string that it came with was 62", not 60" like it needed to be for this 64" recurve.
> 
> After having 3 guys look at the repair, they gave the safety approval, and I took it into their firing range to string up.
> ...


Hello, do you still have that bow at hand??, if so, please let me know...
Thanks for your time.


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## 6bloodychunks (Oct 26, 2005)

tatolazo said:


> Hello, do you still have that bow at hand??, if so, please let me know...
> Thanks for your time.



LOL i doubt it,this thread is 9 years old.

and the OP hasnt been here since.


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## Pyme (May 6, 2015)

Beat me to it.

A ten year old thread, and the original poster only has 11 posts total, so he hasn't been here in a long time, nor would I expect him back any time soon (or ever).


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