1950's Bear recurve

[lazydrifter]

I just pulled out my bow that I got from my dad some years ago.  He bought it new in the 50's.  It is a Bear glass powered recurve. 64 inch. 57 lb.  I found a site on the internet and I dated this bow from between 1953-1955.  I also got from him an incredible Bear leather back quiver(from the 50's also), and a 3 finger Bear leather shooting glove.  I need to get a string for the bow but before I shoot it what do I need to look for?  The limbs look straight.  There is a little bit of stress cracks in the glass but the wood all looks good.  No delaminations.  Should I sand down the limbs a little and put some new fiberglass resin over them?  I would hate to pull this back and have it break but I think my dad would want me to go out and kill something with it.  Also what kind of arrows should I look at for this?  I think I would like to go wood but would aluminum be better?
I'll get some pictures of this tomorrow and post them.  Also I have a partially finished recurve that he was building that I think I am going to attempt to finish.

[Lowedog]

I would guess that the cracks you are seeing are in the finish and not in the glass.  Usually they are finished with a laquer of some sort.  I use Tru-Oil gun stock finish. 

I would suggest getting a bow stringer when you get a string and before stringing it up use the stringer to flex the limbs and see what you thing.  Just watch for the limbs to be striaght and not twist when you draw it. 

That is a great bow!  Cerish it and shoot it! 

Oh yeah, I shoot both wood and carbon with my recurves so what ever you like works.

-Lowedog

[Hornseeker]

Yep...pretty much what Lowedog said...

Those bows are dam near indestructible..and matter fact, those stress cracks, whether in the finish or resin, may have been present when the bow was on the showrooom. Back "in the day" Bear used to draw their bows to 46" before they sold them, "to make sure they were durable/reliable"... They introduced a bunch un-needed stress to those poor bows!! :0)

Pics!!!

[DOUBLELUNG]

Congrats, sounds very similar to my 1963 Bear Kodiak - which shoots absolutely great, and has all those little crackles in the finish.

[lazydrifter]

Here is a picture. Gotta get a sting and a stringer and some arrows and a target.  Probably won't start until the weather gets a little better.  The slats are wood are what was left from him building the bow. 

[Da stump]

I have a bow that looks just like that. I recieved it from my dad and I am giving it to Teacherman.

[Ray]

I would ask pacyew. He would be able to advise you on what you might want to do. It sure looks like a nice bow and quiver.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

What I would do is get a B-50 Dacron string and a stringer and string it up and let it sit for a while, String it and unstring it a few times before pulling it. Dont start out pulling it all the way back, just flex it until it relaxes. Then it ought to be good to go. I dont know if all that is nessecarry but if it has been sitting for a long time......I have several bows of that age and they all work great!!! but you still want to be careful.

[pacyew]

Hello Lazy Drifter,

That's a nice "time capsule" piece you have there. I remember when when we sold that same bow in our family store, Northwest Archery, south of Seattle. At that time my father was also a traveling rep. for Bear Archery and we served as a western warehouse for Bear Archery.

The stress cracks you describe were a feature of the old 3M glass that Bear used at the time. They aren't really showing any excessive wear or stress, but are rather just something that glass did, usually within a year or so of manufacture. Unless there is a crack that travels out to the edge of a limb, so that there is an obvious or possible sliver exposed, those checks may not be of any particular concern. There are many bows just like yours still in use. On the other hand, it's clear that the bow has meaning to you, and in the case of all old bows, you never know. Sometimes they will break.

There is nothing that you can do to make that bow more secure or to render it safer to shoot. Also there is nothing useful in trying to reinforce it in any way. Any fragility will be internal and not external.

Also, if it were mine, I would not attempt refinish it. A simple coat of Johnson's Brand Paste Floor Wax will serve to fill in any small cracks. In any case, I would not plan on taking it out into the rain for a 5 day Peninsula Elk hunt. I'd keep it a fair weather bow.

If you do have the urge to see it looking like new, there is a local (Seattle) area guy, Don Ward, known nationally as the "Bow Doc", who does an absolute museum quality epoxy factory refinish. He is the only fellow in the country who's refinishes add value to an older, distressed Bear Bow. Every Bear Bow collector in the country knows what a "Ward Finish" is. I don't know what he's currently charging, but I'm guessing $175-200. He does make them look like they just left the factory, removing check, cracks and all. I don't have a current contact for Don Ward, but if you Google "Bear Don Ward" or "Don Ward bowdoc" or "bow doc", I think you located him.

Again, if the bow is not sound, which it may not be. a refinish will not fix internal defects. No one can say for sure if it safe to shoot.

One path you might follow is to treat it as you might a newly built wooden bow. Put a new proper length bow string on it - brace height around 6 1/2" - and try easing it back to a full draw. Do this with some short partial draws listening for any sounds (bows should make any sounds!) and inspecting it for anything new as you go. I would try to "proof" it by overdrawing it (beyond 28"-29"). Those old bows never did like long draws.

If all seems fine - if it were mine, I might then try shooting.

In any case - have fun, It looks beautuful!

[cascademountainhunter]

nice bow

[lazydrifter]

Thanks for the info pacyew.  Yeah, the last thing I want to do is have it break.  But I know what my dad would have wanted me to do with it.  I don't think it will see any time hunting over here in the rain.  More likely to take it east and try for a mulie with it.  Unfortunately I have developed some shoulder problems and I don't think it would be wise for me to attempt to shoot this right at this time.  I've been doing a little work to the other bow he was building hoping that when I get it done it will be shootable and have lighter draw weight.  I will try to get ahold of Don Ward and get some info from him.  Some years ago before my dad passed he had me sell some stuff on ebay for him that I wish I still had.  He had his old aluminum arrow fletcher and he had a burner that you rotated your arrow on and it burned all your feathers exactly the same. He sold some of his old mauser actions at a garage sale and his old 50 cal hawkin black powdwer rifle.  I wish he would have thought about what that stuff would have meant to me.