Ever Had To "Retire" A Good Bow??

[BowVista]

I have a Bob Lee Classic recurve that I got from a friend who didn't take good care of it. He basically left it in his truck and let it get really hot. By the time I found it and took it, the micarta lamination in the riser had started to separate from the wood on one side. At first I thought it was just a finish crack, but the other night I discovered that I can slide a piece of paper between the layers for a section of about 2 inches. The finish crack is longer, but this seems to be the only real separation.

I called and spoke with Rob Lee (Bob's son), and he told me there's really nothing effectively that can be done. Trying to re-glue the riser wouldn't work well enough to be worth it. He told me that he'd be hesitant to risk shooting it too much, but it's still in excellent condition aside from this one section of the lamination.

So what would you guys do? I really hate to retire a bow this nice, because of such a small issue, but I know this small issue could get nasty really quick. I suppose I could always buy a new riser, but I'd almost just rather buy another recurve.

A few pics:

[Limbwalker]

Darn shame. If it were me, I'd wrap that grip/riser with some serious grip tape and probably keep shooting it. Either that or I'd drill pilot holes for screws, inject as much superlue in that crack as I could get, and then screw the halves together. If you think about it, everything that holds the load is ahead (toward the target) of that crack.

[Selfbowman]

Yes I build selfbows. And sometimes they get retired! I wish I was !! Arvin

[Bisch]

Well, that bites! And like Rob said, there is not a whole lot that can be done to fix it. But, if I really liked it, I might be inclined to do something like Limbwalker described. But i also would not be one bit surprised if it gave up the ghost at full draw one day.

Bisch

[Selfbowman]

Darn shame. If it were me, I'd wrap that grip/riser with some serious grip tape and probably keep shooting it. Either that or I'd drill pilot holes for screws, inject as much superlue in that crack as I could get, and then screw the halves together. If you think about it, everything that holds the load is ahead (toward the target) of that crack.

Well I'll say . I agree with limb walker. I drill a 1/8 inch hole and put braising rod in it with the white smooth on. Taking the pre cut braising rod to the bench vise and rounding one end with a hammer. Causing a coned pin effect. Get as much CA glue in the crack as possible. Clamp the broken area for 24 hrs. You will probably shoot you favorite bow for a long time. Arvin

[Selfbowman]

Looks like black walnut. Not the best riser wood over 45# @ 28. Or bad glue joint.

[Selfbowman]

i missed up !

[TacticalCowboy]

I had the glass crack on a set of 62# 58" Bob Lee limbs. Now I have a 58# 60" set that I like much better.

[Phillip Fields]

I would retire it. If it got hot enough for the glue line in the riser to separate I would be afraid that the limbs had lost some integrity. Having the limbs delaminate at full draw would not be fun.

[Limbwalker]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't consider this that big a problem. I've shot cracked bows that were a lot more sketchy than that one, for many years. I had an old Red Wing Hunter that had a separated limb lamination at the fade out. I glued it, clamped it, then wrapped that part of the limb with duct tape and shot it off and on for about 5 years. Because all the holding wood is ahead of that crack, stucturally it's fine. Heck, you could pull off that wood that forms the palm swell in the grip, and replace it or just shoot it like a straight-handled longbow.

Lots of options there if you use your imagination. But then, this is from a guy who created the "Frankenbow" 15 years ago, and just sawed the limb butts off a one-off pair of Sky formula limbs a few days ago.

[little john]

I'll take it if you retire it for good its to nice a bow to hang in a closet plus my redneck senses are tingling
Sure I could get a few more years out of her

[BowVista]

I'm honestly not concerned about any other part of the bow. I've been shooting it quite a bit since I got it. The crack doesn't seem to have gotten worse at all, I just finally got concerned enough that I called Rob about it. After talking to him I discovered the paper deal. It's stayed strung almost the whole time I've had it as well, so I'd think anything else that was gonna give would have. I'm really just trying to decide if that riser is enough reason to quit shooting such a nice bow. It truly is in very good shape aside from this one issue.

[JoeyF]

I had an ILF riser crack worse than that last year and I glued it back up with a marine epoxy kit that cost about $25. The kit included the hypodermic that you use to work the epoxy into the crack.

The riser looks good after the repair and is holding up well.

[splitfinger]

I think the glue, screw and clamp idea may work. But it is easier for me to say, since it doesn't belong to me. Best of luck in any case.

As far as retiring bows, I typically sell them long before they need retiring. Sure wish I had kept that Sarrels Puma I sold you a few years ago. That was a sweet shooter.

Doug Key

[SwampRabbit]

What is the draw weight?

My $0.02, for what it is worth. If it bothered me and I worried about it, I'd retire it. Archery is a mental game. You have to be confident in your equipment. If it didn't bother me, I'd tape it up and continue shooting it.

I don't slap my arm much any more, but I wear the stinkin arm guard because it lets me not worry about arm slap. If every shot I kept thinking the bow might break... that would be a problem.