I'm currently under a self-imposed ban on bow-buying, yet somehow the mailman brought me another long skinny box this week with a bow inside...and what a nice bow it was!

It's a White Wing from around 1960, but the specs are quite different than most White Wings you see: 60" length and 51# draw weight.

I had seen similar maple-risered old Wings, but never one this short, with ornamental lams cutting the riser in two different planes. It's worth a closer look...

At first glance I had assumed that Bob Lee had used some figured maple to get this look in the sight window, but then I took a closer look--and I think it's actually curly walnut.

It's a pretty complicated layup that he used to achieve this look...maybe the photo explains it better than words can. As the sight window was sanded to a slight rounding, the alternating maple and walnut layers (and the dark glue lines between them) create a pattern that is easily mistaken for natural woodgrain.

Here's a real close look; you can see the highlights in that layer of curly walnut.

Then, as if that weren't enough, he put two ornamental lams through the riser in the left-to-right plane, at 90º to the main layup of the bow. One is a tri-lam of walnut-maple-walnut; the other is a single walnut stripe. I assume that this required a separate glueing operation?

The back side of the riser has some very nice bird's-eye in it...

That's a beauty.

Enjoy.

And the tips on those old Wings are always a work of art...seven layers of walnut and maple!

Anyway, it's about as nice an example of Bob's early work as I've ever seen. JJ at Bob Lee bows thinks it was probably made around 1959 or 1960.

I can also report that it's a fine shooter. I was expecting a bit of hand shock, because the tip nocks are a full 5-1/2" forward of the pivot point in the grip...but it surprised me; it's smooth as can be. The next step will be to check it's cast.. and I conveniently happen to have a Howatt Monterey, Tice & Watts, and Groves Spitfire all at the same 51# draw weight for comparison!

I think Harry Drake may have been the first to laminate risers in two different planes like this, in the mid-to-late Fifties; but I'm not absolutely sure of that. Certainly by 1959 others like FASCO, Bear, and Ben Pearson were also doing it. I'd be interested in learning how they managed the whole glue-up process, if anyone here can tell me.

I'll mention one other interesting thing about this bow, and that involves the maple limb cores. The one on the back of the limb is a thin veneer of constant diameter, whereas the one on the belly side starts out thick but then tapers all the way to the tip.

This is the same arrangement of veneers (one parallel, one tapered) in the core as was used by Shakespeare in the mid-60's on some of their best shooters (Necedah, Ocala, and Kaibab). Now (as always), I'm wondering who was the first to do this? Guess I'd better check some Drakes; that's often the place where innovations started...in fact I think I've seen a FireDrake with at least one tapered lam. Howatt and Hoyt were also tapering their lams by 1960, and perhaps well before? One question always seems to lead me to another!

Wow. Nice bow, Kerry. I've got a beautiful '64-65 Swift Wing that's 50# and it's a really sweet shooter. But, yours really shows what Bob Lee could do in those days. Good find!

Tom, this was another bow from Tommy Clum at Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear, at a great price. You never know what will show up among their used bows!

Nemah did a build along here recently where he did multiple riser glue ups. Not as complex as your Wing but time consuming none the less. I really like the way Bob Lee used tha Maple and Walnut and did not mix any exotics in. Wonder why today's bowyers don't use more native USA woods like this?

I remember Nemah's buildalong, and how the Smooth-On epoxy allowed him to use very gentle heat yet still get good bond strength...but I was thinking that the glues in use back in 1960 needed a lot of heat, and that you could only do it once or you'd weaken the bond in the earlier joints.

I agree M60; woods like maple and walnut and red elm, especially with some grain figure, make beautiful bows and should be used more. And then of course there's also Pacific yew and osage orange...

I'm kind of thinking there's a lot of plainness to this complexity.

Joe

Hah, only to the untrained, turqoise-loving eye!

All of this complexity sounds to me like much ado about nothing.

Joe

Behold, Frisky; the proof of the pudding! Just look at this group from 36 yards with the "Mighty Whitey," as it will soon be known.

Pay no attention to those holes around the outside of the target; those shots were part of my recovery from that little car-bike incident I had back around Christmas, LOL.

I could shoot better than that blindfolded.

Joe

If I was an archery engineer I'd know the answer, but I always wondered if the riser laminations, in both directions, began with the objective of increasing the structural strength and rigidity of the bow and resistance to torque-based separations of wood fibers.

If I was an archery accountant, I'd say it was a cost-saving response to higher per inch costs for thicker boards of the same quality, but many, many examples, including this one, involved sawing up a solid piece and glueing the pieces back together with the thin laminations in between but otherwise maintaining the continuity of the original board.

Either way, the result is aesthetically pleasing and folks clearly got carried away with the practice for that reason alone and ended up making oddities like the Turqouise Terrier.

It's also interesting to me that this older Wing doesn't yet have the signature 'hooks' as recurves that most Wings do--in fact, the unstrung limb is exactly the same profile as the 1960 Damon Howatt Hunter. The only difference is that the Hunter has about 5º more deflex from the riser, which puts the nocks about 4" ahead of the pivot point, whereas the Wing's nocks are 5-1/2" forward of it.

That is a beauty...I had one with the identical riser layup that is now owned by Twisted Branch...Charles did a beautiful job fixing it up and posted pics. That model in the 60" length is rare...first I have seen. And it must be a stable shooter if even you can get groups like that! Haha! Nice grab Kerry!

It's not just stable; it also has a ton of cast--right in the same neighborhood with a Tice & Watts, Groves Spitfire, and Howatt Monterey of the same weight. That's keeping pretty fast company.

Every time I look at the tips on an old Wing and compare them to the tips on a WestBow I sure wonder about the connection between these two Houston built recurves!

Here's a pic or two of a White Wing I had that was 66" with the same riser layup. Twisted Branch did a really nice refinish on it once he got it.

Here's another of the riser after Chuck finished it...that was an elaborate layout.

The decal shows this was an early bow...

It's not just the tips on Wings that are doppelgangers with WestBows.

Compare the unstrung profile of the White Wing above with a Westbow Jupiter I own. This is one of the original listing pics so not the best quality.

Here's the strung profile of the WestBow to compare with Kerry's first picture.

If only these bows could talk. If I knew Bob I would like to ask him what he knows...

I was looking through some old Wing threads and found this one. Those are some real pretty bows. But my question is. How do they shoot? And what year were they made? Anyone know? That guy Chuck did an awesome job on that bow.

Here is a Swift Wing that incorporates Maple and Walnut lmas in the handle, but not quite as ornate as the White Wing. Believe this bow is from the same era, 1959/1960 but since the Swift Wing was a lessor priced model than the White Wing they just used vertical laminations in the handle.

Of interesting note this bow also has one parallel and one tapered lamination. Don't know who started it but I do know that Jack Howard used one parallel lamination and one compound tapered lam in his limbs. He called the compound taper his Master lam which was the same(he did have two compound tapered Master Lams, one for draws over 29.5" and one for under 29.5" draw) for every bow he made. Then he varied the thickness of the parallel lamination to achieve the requested bow weight.

My Swift Wing is 66" length and 42# @ 28" and has the same decal as the above White Wing but the bottom street address is wore of. Kerry what does your decal say for street address because there were two of them that Wing used when they were in Houston.

Regarding Westbow and Wing I know some of the details but out of immense respect to Bob Lee won't repeat them here. Just to say there are very good reasons for their similarity.

Piddidly, is there any decals on your Westbow that have a street address? Both were in Houston.

That Swift Wing is a real looker too Kelly. Thanks for the pictures. How does that one shoot?

Have only shot it in the basement. It feels like more than the 42# that it is marked. Actually these days its on the heavy side for me. It draws smooth and no shock upon release.

The work that went into these bows is amazing. It does look like Curly Maple in the riser. Just beautiful. The tips are just crazy. And what is I beam construction? Just wonderful old bows. I know a lot of guys like the way the original Red Wing hunter shoots. So I'm guessing The White Wing is a good shooter as well. Thanks for the information Kelly.

I just traded for the Bow Pdiddly has pictured. I can't wait to try it out. I guess that will make me the third leather waller to own this bow.

Kelly...I have four Westbow's and none of them have any address. Just the name and the Westbow decal. One has Special Hunter kind of painted on.

Draw weight and length are written in different places on different bows.

I do have an address for Westbow at home that I found on some correspondence from Wesley Radcliffe, the owner.

Old Wing's are quick and smooth. You will really like the one Chuck fixed up.

Thanks Pdiddly. That's what I was hoping to hear. ;-) are they as rare as Bushmaster's?

Hi guys!!!! Yep, The Wing is on its way to Don. I was always greatfull to Pdiddly for that bow. If there was any chance I’d ever be able to shoot it again it would never have left me, but I just couldn’t see letting it lay around any more.

Whoops...wrong pic Hahahahaha

Whoops...wrong pic. Another great bow from Pdiddly. Hahahahaha

Here's the bow I once had after Chuck fixed it up..

Lams like the one's in the original post by Kerry.

Chuck did a beautiful job!

WoW! Talk about eye candy. That really is a beautiful bow. Do you know what year it was made Pete?

Chuck you did a really nice job on that bow.

Around 1959-60.

do you date Wing bows by the serial #? The only Wing bow I have shot is a AMF Red wing hunter. It is 58" @ 28" and 45#. Its a good shooter. Not as pretty as that White Wing though.

No not like Bears are but there are some things about the letter and the numbers that can date them but mostly has to do with handle wood construction and decals. The maple/walnut bows were the first, then walnut/rosewood, then Brazilian Rosewood, etc . Some models used different handle woods too.

The first digit of the serial number is always a letter like my Swift Wing is S, early Red Wing Hunters were R, White Wing W and Presentation used a P. The Thunderbird model start in 1966 and used T6- then numbers. When Div of Head Ski took over they added a second letter like TA for Thunderbird or RA for Red Wing Hunter, PA for Presentation and so on.

Thanks for the information Kelly.

Close up of Decal on the White Wing.

In the 1961 Wing catalog it says the White Wing was made of curly Koa. Most of us have not seen bows made with Koa. Here's a pic of a box showing how beautiful the grain is. It can look the same as quilted maple.

Yes I still have my White Wing if anyone is wondering. One of the prettiest and good shooting bows I have been lucky enough to try. :)

Yes I still have my White Wing if anyone is wondering. One of the prettiest and good shooting bows I have been lucky enough to try. :)

I'm just now seeing this re-heated thread and Kelly's question about address on the decal. The White Wing I have has a 314 South 7th, Houston 36, Texas address. I know what Kelly is referencing; I think the other Houston address might have had a "Maple" in it somewhere.

Shandor, thanks for straightening me out on the riser featuring koa rather than maple. The old White Wing that's been on eBay this past week has some incredible grain figure in it--alas, it's only a 33# draw...and besides, my collection is now complete anyway, so it wouldn't have mattered. Did the catalog say what the other wood in the riser is? Maybe I was wrong to call it walnut...

Kerry, the catalog only mentioned curly Koa. But Koa has light and dark wood. The heartwood is darker, like walnut. As with other woods like Brazilian rosewood that have lighter sapwood and darker heartwood, 1 piece of wood can have both colors.

That 33#er is just right for me! I'm a goin fer it.

Crooked, the Maple St and 7 th St were the same big building, just opposing streets/different sides of the building. If I remember correctly one was on the east side and the other South side. Lots of those big factory buildings had different areas inside of them for different businesses. I envision Wing started in one, outgrew it and went to the other larger or just expanded to both but changed the office area hence the different address.

That sure is a beautiful looking bow and it shoots good from looking at your group!

There were some amazing bows made in 1960--FASCO Phantom, FireDrakes, Kodiak Deluxe, Howatt Monterey, and these White Wings. Hard to believe it was 63 years ago; they still wear it well.

Kerry, that would be a great thread. Bows made in 1960. Go ahead, start it...

I see the one on eBay is over $300 now, it is a pretty and well crafted bow.

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