My re-curve is bent

[robodad]

I know what you are thinking so you don't have to say it LOL.

I have this bow and I got it from my FIL before he died in 1996 and as long as I knew him he had never had it strung up so I figured I would reserect it if I could, so when I cleaned all the dust off and strung up the ancient string that was on it, this is what I found, and I was wondering if there was anything I could do about it to straighten it out, you can see in the photos that it seems to be twisted. I don't know maybe it is supposed to be like that. 

Can any body on here give me an idea of what I could do to fix this or is it a total loss

[Hornseeker]

I am a longbow guy, and really dont know a ton about recurves, but I do know some... Did you use a "stringer" to string it? Recurves can have very sensitive limbs to "twist"...I've had an old recurve twist like that...and believe it or not, I simply "overtwisted it" with my hands bacn the other way and it was fine!! Dont hold me responsible though if it ruins it more!!

I'll pass this info to some recurve experts and try and get you some more credible help... Hang in there,

Ernie

PS...or you can google search "leatherwall" and go ask the question there...you'll get LOTS of good info.

[robodad]

I'll try both and still wait for your reply, I appreciate the information and look forward to more.

"Leatherwall", that sounds familiar but just can't place it, OK I'm going there !!!

[Coasthunterjay]

My friend who makes Bows says that you can either throw it away or keep it for sentimental reasons....he says that twisted bows like that cant be fixed because the problem is internal.............But that is avice from someone i would trust very highly.

[robodad]

Yeah I kind of figured that but wanted to ask before I hung it back up, I guess I'll just stick with the compound cause that is what I know best !!

Thanks for the replies guys.

Allen...

[ICEMAN]

Heck Robo, I would keep it! You never know when you may need to shoot around a corner or around a hillside or sompin' 

[bankwalker]

there is actually a way to straighten the limbs.

i will find the link on how to do it. i did a half assed job on one of my old recurves

you can also try and get ahold of a guy named Don Ward. he has refinished and straightened alot of bows. he is a friend of the family and he does awesome work.

[rooselk]

In many cases bow limbs can be untwisted. I've read plenty of threads on traditional sites that have discussed that very issue. But since I've never done it myself I don't want to give bad advice. I'd suggest that you visit www.tradgang.com and let people there know your problem. It's a traditional only website and there's a lot of good folks there who will be able to answer your question, including a few bowers, and they're always glad to give solid advice.

[rooselk]

By the way, I will also second Bob Ward (also known as BowDoc). He's out of Seattle and has an excellent reputation among the traditional bowhunters around the country for the miracles he performs restoring old bows. He also posts over at the website I mentioned above.

[bankwalker]

By the way, I will also second Bob Ward (also known as BowDoc). He's out of Seattle and has an excellent reputation among the traditional bowhunters around the country for the miracles he performs restoring old bows. He also posts over at the website I mentioned above.

he has refinished all my recurves...minus my blackwidow.

[robodad]

Ok Thank you folks for the advice, I will look into this further since there seems to be a way to resurrect it I might give it a try !!

Allen...