Well, think I am screwed with a Bear Hunter that I purchased this week. In the sellers defense he told me he was basically bow stupid and had purchased this bow from an estate sale. It is a very pretty Bear Hunter, but the upper limb is twisted at the string groove area and after close inspection which you could not see in the pictures it looks like the string groove is filed off center from the factory. Some one had left the bow strung up for years since the brush buttons on the string had stuck to the limbs...also the gentleman shipped the bow strung up. The twist is not gross, but can easily be seen by anyone that shoots any type of bow. Not sure what my recourse is here, and I am going to try and work this out with him. I hate this cause it was to be a present for my brother who I am getting into traditional bows..I had hoped to clean it up,new rest, string, etc. along with arrows for his Christmas present. Live and learn.

Mike

I just talked to George Stout and he had one thought on the problem. Fill it and refile the string groove..has anyone ever done this before?

Stick, I bought an Ebay Bear Kodiak Hunter and it had a twisted limb and the string groove was off center besides. Having nothing to lose I went and got a big ol cresent wrench, got the limb hot using the bathtub and slowly tweeked that limb back the other way. It wasnt that hard really, just wet and steamy. I used a chain saw file and deepened and straightened the limb groove. It shoots fine and there is no twist to the limbs now.

With the greatest of respect for others and their methods I'm leery of soaking limbs or applying too much heat as it might affect the glue.... the time may come but I've managed to work limb twists out of several bows by stringing them and twisting the affected limb in the opposite direction.

I grab the limb just above the fades and then twist holding just below the nock grooves...twist hard, hold for a few seconds, and let it down. I repeat that until the string lays in the groove.

I then draw the bow slowly making sure to keep the string in line and not torque the bow, then let it down slowly still keeping the bow straight. If the string does not return to the groove I continue with the limb twist exercise until it does.

The string will eventually settle into the groove and once it does I leave the bow strung and check it daily. It usually needs a bit more persuading but in all cases I have dealt with I was able to fix the problem.

One was a greenie K-Mag that belonged to my brother and, according to him, had always had a twisted limb since he obtained it in the 70's. I got it earlier this year and never thought it would come out but it did after three sessions over three days.

I'm working on a Pearson Mach 1 right now and it shows a tiny bit of twist when picked up after two days of resting, but a quick tweak and it's back in line and stays there while being shot.

I wonder what year your bow was made? There was a few years there after Fred sold out that quality suffered because of quanity. Many guys swear that the bow you have was Bear's sleeper bow. It would hold its own with the more expensiveSK. Hopefully you can get it shooting again, at least it was not broken by way it was shipped to you.

Thanks, I will try everything I can..this groove is not crooked, it is filed 1/8 inch right of center on the limb.

Grind 1/8 '' off the strong side of the limb and refinish, or talk to Yorktown 5. Just a thought.

Stick...IF I could see it, handle it..I could fix it and make it right and track the string properly..

I've straightened many a bow limb that was twisted off kilter from being left braced in a bad ambient..

Some were simply NOT laid out properly ( rare but does happen) so the limbs were not straight to begin with or had nock loops poorly cut in..unevenly done..

IF you like the bow otherwise..any good bowyer like Bowdoc can remedy the problem probably very simply..Jim

Since it's filed off center, I suggested he fill it with bondo and sand it smooth, then cut a new groove. That should pull it over. If you take your time, it should work okay.

Lord..DON'T use bondo..it ain't a junk car with a crumpled fender dint..:)

IF heat doesn't straighten things out..

Lay the bow out like it was a bow blank with tape on the back and strike a center line and SEE how and where it wasn't done properly..IF that's the case.

Some retillering of one limb edge might be required..or two..but generally even the Henry Ford Bear production line bows were laid out straight..

Redoing string nocks to get them evened up and contoured properly should be done AFTER the limbs are straight..by heat or by a new layout.. You often cannot tell just by looking what the problem truly is..You have to do some measurements and look at the bow end to end with perhaps a layout of tapeon the back to truly know WHAT you need to be attending-correcting..

All else fails?..put the dmanable poorly made bow on the bandsaw and saw it into 4" pieces and s*** can it..:) Jim

George, and all of you guys thanks..I thought of some of these fixes also..just hope I have the expertise to do it...it looks like it really is all the fault of the groove being filed too far to one side of the limb center. But, I feel, thanks to you fellows it will get fixed, either by me or someone like BowDoc

Don't know if I would go with bondo though maybe liquid wood or resin so its little stronger then refile. Sad story hope you get her worked out and all is well eventually.

Getting the bow fixed is one thing but putting a lot of money into something not worth that much is another consideration also. You got some good offers to repair already.

Don't be to surprized if the bow shoots good either with a slight twisted limb. I seen them do it a number of times. Only risk is string comes off and you can get hurt possibly. It does hurt too.

Work what out with him? Sounds like he was honest and you were hoping for a great deal.Why not just untwist the limb prior to all this nock work.

nolz, the string groove is cut off center and causing the limb to twist. I would fill the damn thing with a resin, whether Bondo or something else suitable. The groove is pulling the limb crooked. We don't think anything of putting sinew or the like, wrapped around a lifted splinter on a selfbow, so I don't see why the groove can't be filled and a new one made.

" so I don't see why the groove can't be filled and a new one made" They can.

I have seen factory bows(and even some customs) with uneven grooves-I'd bet it strung true when made and could be straightened

I used a hair dryer to heat a limb on a 62" Ocala worked like a charm. DONT hold the dryer in one place don't over heat the limb, a hair dryer can get hot enough to pose a delam threat.

" Lord..DON'T use bondo..it ain't a junk car with a crumpled fender dint..:) "

LOL!

As long as the string lays in the miss-cut groove, it won't be straight. The man even said it was cut off of center..not at a slight angle or such....off of center. We are not talking about the simple straightening of a limb, Tuckerdog. If that were the case, we would need all this yapping.

Frankly, I think Bondo would work great, and it's the West Virginia state color too.

Meaning one groove deeper is how I understand it.Likely a bowyer tweak to center the string.The limb could have twisted still.How about some photos? Its still more logical to try to correct the twist first before taking tools to it.

George how do you know its the WV color when hardners come in differant colors are you a bodyman?LOL

Oh I get it its fall and the changing of the leaves could be a number of colors that might match? Ok I get it.LOL

Why are yu even messing with this bow your asking for more trouble maybe? Send back and start over fresh with another bow.

Come to think of it I have seen custom bows with string groves off to side slightly and wondered isn't that screwed up and thought it was me?LOL

Glad to know I aint that screwed up then.LOL

I'd love to get my hands on it

You can straitin that limb! I have done it many times even on bows people said could not be fixed ! Unstring the bow , turn your sink on hot , then hold the bow ( twist in opposite direction of twist ) and run the limb under the water from one end to the other for one minute. Then have someone switch the water to cold while you keep bow twisted and run water over it for one minute. String back up and see how it looks. If needs more do it again. Never had to do one more than 3 times. Do not use a hair dryer . It will get limbs to hot and can cause the glue in limbs to let go and mess the bow up.

Barber....it's not just a twisted limb. For pete's sake anyone can fix those. He tells me the groove is cut to the side of center. That means every time he strings the bow with the string in the groove it twists the limb tip. I have straightened dozens of limbs, and if that was just the problem it wouldn't be a problem. Now read that again...the limb not simply twisted.

Choices: widen the groove to center, or make another groove and fill that one. I can't imagine how that limb will track when straightened since the groove itself is pulling it crooked if that is not fixed.

Guys, George is right for Christ's sake!.....geez. If the string groove is in fact cut off-center then straightening the limb is irrelevant because it will just happen again.

Glue on a thin overlay and recut the string grove

Some bears came with the string groove slightly off center for a reason. They use a block and cable setup to mark where the center of the limb needed to be then grinded the limb to where center needed to be on that limb. If the center of force was too far off they would grind the groove where it needed to be but not grind any more of the limb so it wouldn't look lopsided. You need to see which way the limb is twisted and straighten it before you change the string groove. It just may be where it needs to be. String groove being off doesn't twist limbs.

Absolutely, that will work too.

It sounds like a cool challenge. In my experience, unless the limbs are dried out, it can be fixed. I would fix the twist first, warming up the limb gently, not too much heat, 'cause it doesn't take alot. Next, I see two ways I would use. Fill the old groove with Gorilla super glue gel. Then, like Trux Turning suggested, glue a very thin overlay on, drop a new centerline, and file the new groove.

George....... I read what he said! I was just stating how to fix a twisted limb! Everyone does not know how to fix one!! Everyone has to learn sometime . If everyone knew there would not be so many cheep bows for sale with twisted limbs because people think there no good. You need to straiten the limb before you can tell how far off the string groove. If I knew what to do with the string grove I would have said . There's no need in being smart about it!!!!!!!!!

GLF is spot on! Just straighten the limb. No big deal!

Yep, fix the twist and see if it stays true...

No need to even contemplate getting all drastic about this thing until you do that.

I could have the bow straight in 5 minutes with two kwik-clamps and no heat.

My suggestion was premised on the understanding that the limb might be twisted from being strung with a bad string groove for years...I assumed that Dennis would take Mr. Stout's sound advice and fix the root cause of the problem, which is the off centre string groove. Then, if need be, he could straighten the limb.

I humbly offered my advice because I like to try more conservative methods before soaking or heating a limb. Once the toothpaste is out of the tube it's hard to put it back in...

You know, a picture or two of this mess would have made things a lot easier from the beginning.

Well, I really stirred the pot this time, but it was not intentional...I want to thank all of you for the suggestions..the limb is not true as in real straight when unstrung. The groove is cut 1/8 inch right of center by a tape measure. It appears to me that the limb is bending crooked due to this mistake. The bow had to be left strung up for a long time since the brush buttons on the very old endless string had dry rotted and stuck to the limbs. I think these two things caused the problem...I am going to try and get some pictures and maybe someone can see something that I don't. Guys it is a pretty bow S.N. KT38648 and I wanted to get it set up for my brother who is just starting into Trad. Archery, but it is definitely not worth any of us fussing over...again thank everyone for their input.

I do not have anyone here right now to take a pic. of me pulling the bow, then you could see how it bends out to the right at the tip area and in from the left on the left side just below the string groove...hope these can help of you fellows see what I am seeing. Again thanks for all the tips and assistance.

Mike

Just a pic. to show the riser section..I just love those old Bears.

Just a pic. to show the riser section..I just love those old Bears.

Stick, String nock cut in and belly groove for the string look pretty evenly done best I can see in the pics..MAYBE a but more 'meat' on the left edge of the limb(looking from belly side)..

I'd definately START with moderate heat to straighten out the cast off last 15" of that one limb before taking more drastic action.. Often one can simply clamp the bow sideways in a padded vise and hang some weight on the cast off limb and it'll come around without heat..Jim

I have seen and straightened recurves that were a WHOLE lot more twisted or cast off than yours..as have others here..

Take the most gentle approach first and take your time..You can always escalate the methods if need be..up to and including a new layout with taped back and sanding block and refinishing..BUT that bow is certainly 'rightable'..:) Jim

I have not used heat, but have twisted the limb and gotten a little out, but each time I draw the bow the string pulls to one side and turns the tip one way and the limb follows.

Stick, I use a paint stripping heat gun.. Like and industrail hair dryer..:) t I'm careful to keep it moving and NEVER too hot that I cannot handle it with bare hands..Probably 170F temp and evenly heated both belly and back of limb..a tad farther down toward the riser than I see the twist..

Then I coax it in line..a bit PAST the line because it'll spring back a tad before it cools..

All else fails?..I get the chainsaw file and the palm sander out and lay the bow out on the back and treat it like it was in the final layout tillering stages..Jim

Good pics.Looks like a minor twist. Please don't file it-that advice is....well,bad advice.

Yeah..4nolz..I agree.. Rarely..only on a very poor maker's layout..have I ever needed to get the files and sander out..:)

I can work on the worst twisted limbs and get 'em straight..without resorting to the hard tactics..:) Jim

Pics are indeed worth "a thousand words"......I've owned a number of Kodiak Hunters and that string groove looks just like all of mine - pretty good. You have some limb twist, so just follow Jim's advice and all should turn out well.

Guys thanks for all the help..I will keep working with it..

Run hot tap water over it to heat it up and work the twist out. I've had luck with this method in the past. Aaron

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