Reconditioning an old bow
 

Years ago I bought an old Damon Howatt Hunter. 58", 55lbs. 28"LOP. It was painted black and has numerous holes, presumably from sights, rests, quivers, etc.. 2 of the holes in the riser are actually filled in with threaded inserts that look to be held in place with wood putty. One of the limbs has a VERY minor twist to it.

I was wondering if there was anyone who could refinish the bow, fill in the holes, straighten the twist and generally bring the old girl back up to her former glory. Would the work be too expensive to be cost effective?

I really enjoy shooting and hunting with my compound but I am dedicated to learning how to shoot instinctively. Since this is the only recurve I own I'd like to fix it up.

Any suggestions would be welcome. If I need to I'll be happy to shoot it as is, but I'd sure like to pretty her up some.

Also, arrow suggestions would be helpful.

RE: Reconditioning an old bow
 

Getting a bow refinished usually runs around a hundred bucks. Filling in holes, removing twist and such would probably add considerably to the cost. That's the bad news. Good news is that reconditioning an old bow is a great do-it-yourself project. All you'd need is a selection of drills to open up the holes for some wood plugs, some good wood glue like Titebond II for gluing the plugs in the holes, maybe a 4-in-1 wood rasp and small rattail file, various grits of sandpaper, stain to match the color of the plugs to the bow wood, and a can of spray polyurethane. And, naturally, the time to do it.

You can fix the twisted limb real easy by running hot tap water over the limb to heat it up and twisting it the opposite way until it stays straight. Some people cringe when they hear someone recommend the water treatment, saying water can get into the wood and ruin the bow. They prefer using a heat gun to warm up the limb. Frankly, using a heat gun worries me because, if you're not careful, you can get the limb too hot and cause the limb to delaminate. As long as the wood is well sealed, water won't soak into the wood, so only do that part after you've got the bow refinished.

RE: Reconditioning an old bow
 

There's a fellow that goes by the name BowDoc(real name is Don Ward)out of Seattle that does excellant restorations and refinishings.You could most likely get away with a complete refinish for about $150.If you go to some of the trad sites and do a search,you'll find nothing but kudos about his work.

RE: Reconditioning an old bow
 

Thanks for the input gentlemen. It's much appreciated.
I do have a very talented woodworker in the family. Perhaps I'll try it myself (with a little guidance). As long as that limb straightening technique works I should be able to handle it.

RE: Reconditioning an old bow
 

Jim... I thought BowDoc was outta Maryland... if not him who's the guy down around Frederick who does the bow work?...

RE: Reconditioning an old bow
 

Wow, I thought my old bow was junk. I never new you could straighten the limbs. You guys just saved my old Herters. When I got it from my uncle I removed a coat of paint just to put on a new one because of it's appearence. Thank you!!!!

RE: Reconditioning an old bow
 

Rock,I read some posts that there's 2 Bowdoc's but Don is the one that I hear does great work(not saying the Md. one doesn't)but most people recommend Don's work.Do you have a website or addy for the Md. doc--I have a 68 Bear Super48 that needs refinished and Md. is alot closer to me than Seattle.Thanks