When I bought the “coast to coast” Howatt, now in the possession of Crookedstix, I rec’d this old Ventura for free. As you can see it needs some help so I started a couple of days ago and now this is where I am with it. Lance

Paint cleaned off the limbs and one of 2 sight holes.

Holes drilled out and pegs made from walnut dowel. Notched for glue.

Dowels glued in and pins made out of styrene plastic to fill the screw holes for the sight.

Pins glued in with superglue.

Would like to see it when you get it finished.

Close up. So I hope you can see what’s left of a broken screw. I have no option here except to leave it. This is it for now. Lance

seems good so far! can't wait to see how it turns out.

Did it get shot twice with a 410 slug?

T4

Sure looks like it doesn’t it? Lance

This will be interesting to follow. It looks like those plugs will work just fine.

Is that screw epoxied in or something? I'd be going at it with a pair of Vise Grips!

I don’t think the screw has glue on it but it’s flush with the glass. Figured I’d do more harm than good trying to get it out.

I fixed an old hunter with a piece of claro walnut about 1/8" in shape of broadhead and a Buffalo nickel.

Wow That is a rough looking bow. Good luck fixing it.

Grizzly- that arrowhead repair is way beyond my talent and is nicely done! Lance

Its possible to cut the dowels flush. Sand smooth and remove finish. Glue on a veneer overlay. Cut and sand to fit. Apply a new finish. Just a thought. Whatever you do will be fine. Im sure it will shoot well

I worked on the Howatt a little more today. Here’s the pictures. Lance

As you can see in the upper photo I completely sanded the sight window and got rid of the ugly undercut. This is the off side.

Pins are sanded flush. Too bad whomever drilled the sight holes cracked the glass. I’ll paint the brass screw showing with paint to match the limbs before I apply and finish.

The old finish removed by 100 grit sandpaper and a rubber palm sanding block to keep if flat. I’ll do the lower limb tomorrow.

What did you use to do the sanding?

Another picture of the sight window. This time outside!

Other side again too. Thanks for letting me share. Lance

Treehermit-

I used a 5” electric orbital sander on the riser and good old elbow grease on the limb. Lance

Thanks! Looking good.

Looks good so far, what type of finish are you going to use ?

Looking good Lance.

Time for a progress report. This is after 3 coats of spray on gloss poly. Next is sanding with 400-600 wet dry paper and then a few more coats. I’ve decided to paint the limbs an Ivory color to hide the sight screw holes and damage to the glass. Then some clear over them too. Thanks for the positive response from all of you. Lance

Major improvement over what you started with. Looks great. Kelly suggested to me once to use India Ink on the limbs and it does an amazing job. I personally have never had any luck with paint on limbs except for the camo stuff.

wow, that cleaned up nicely!

Very nice Lance....

Very nice!

That was a clear case of Bow Abuse. You are doing a great job. Good for you, bringing her back. Lucky it wasn't thrown away. >>>----> Ken

This is why I turn on my aging computer, and head over to "The Leatherwall".....

It doesn't get any better, than threads like this...

Looks great! Makes me want to get one like that and fix it up.

Great job Knifeguy

I decided to do the paint on the limbs before finishing the riser, so here it is all taped up. I used the steel wool to give the paint some bite. Thanks for looking (again). Lance

Thanks for the article, and also thanks for the care you have taken with the bow.

Thank you Larry. You made my day. The bow shoots great and I made sure of that before undertaking the project of trying to get this poor Ventura back in the “someone cares” column. It’s 66” and 45# so it should provide some smooth plinking all day without tiring. Lance

Before I go much farther with the limb painting, I’ll mix a little modeler’s putty up and fill these pin holes.

You could put an overlay over the screw holes .

Very nice.

I puttied the holes last night and let it dry until this morning when I sanded it smooth using 250 and 500 grit wet dry paper.I applied 3 more coats of paint to the back of the limbs and just finished 5 coats to the belly side. Here’s a photo of where the pin holes were. Now I’m going to use automotive swirl remover and then wax the limbs before I tape them all up in order to finish the riser. Thanks for your continued interest in my little project. Lance

That looks great. Can't wait to see the finished bow!

Looking great!! can't wait till you finish it.

Looking purdy lance. Nice job and great attention to detail. Looking forward to seeing the finished bow!

Lance, you’re really taking that bow to a much higher level. Look’s good, it’ll be a beauty bow when it’s all done, nice job.

Ok, limbs are waxed so I can tape them tomorrow and finish the riser. I dug into one of my many unmade model kits and cut these black racing stripes to size to dress up the Howatt label. I think it makes the bow a little more complete and makes the decal look a little better. You can see why I chose to use Ivory paint on the limbs. I cut patterns for the rest and arrow plate today and while the riser dries I’ll make a 12 strand B50 Flemish string for the bow. Thanks for looking. Almost through, I promise! Lance

The last coats of spray poly are finished. Lance

Inspiring. Nice restoration, thanks for posts.

Looks really good !!

A few more photos of the finished riser. All waxed up. I bought a plug for the stabilizer insert and installed it to finish it off a little. Lance

Man, you did an incredible job. Wow, looks great!

I applied a velcro rest and a cut down Bear plate. The string is made and stretching as I write this. I made a 10 strand yellow and white Flemish twist string for the bow. Thanks for looking. I’ll post a couple of more pictures when the string is on the bow and of my first shots with it soon. Lance

That bow looked beyond gone. Very nice job done bringing it back!

Well here it is, all dressed up and shooting fine. 10 strand B-50 Flemish string in yellow and white, brown serving and a crimp on nock. I’m a happy camper. Thanks for looking (again)! Lance

Here are the first 3 arrows, all slightly different in spine but they all worked fine. I have the b/h set at 7-3/4” and it seems to be fine. I may fool with it after awhile but not now. Thanks to all of you for the kind words and encouragement to keep me going on it. I’m pretty happy with the Howatt considering the shape it was in when I got it. Have a good day. Lance

Great job pal

Great work! It looks beautiful!

So...there's more to Mr. Grimsby than just a pretty knife!!

NICE JOB LANCE

Very nice Lance.

Nice.

That is really sweet!

Nice job, amazing transformation!

Lance, great job with many interesting ideas for refinishing! If you ever need any special wood scraps for future jobs, you know where my shop is! Outstanding work! Richard

Dang Lance! You whipped that things butt! Very nice work.

You do good work

Nice work bringing that Ventura back to life. I had a similar one from 1985 and it is a great bow. I got it from a Leatherwaller and sold it to another Leatherwaller after I had fun with it.

Nice job Lnace

Very nice!

Beautiful job on a classic Howatt!! Well done my friend.

Fine work, looks great. Always enjoy following these fix'em threads.

The devil’s in the details, and you nailed it Lance.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here