A Guy on here named Kevin Cummings came up with this idea and made it work pretty easily. Just by using a belt sander. Sanding a little at a time till the ILF limb slid nice and snug into the Minute Man riser. He said it shot amazing compared to the original limbs. That just might be a future project for me. Kevin made it sound quite easy to do. For those that need limbs for the old Bear Minute Man riser. It’s worth a try.

As you can see the Hoyt ILF limb slides into the Bear Minute man riser half way already. With out doing any sanding. So your already half way there. I will post more pictures if I do it. I know Kevin posted pictures when he did it. Haven’t seen him post in a while. Hope he’s doing well.

wow I wouldnt try that with very heavy limbs those old brackets are like tin

Don, do you knw if the limbs will slide all the way down into the pockets of the riser? If not, you may be setting yourself up for disaster, or like 4nolz stated " I wouldnt try that with very heavy limbs those old brackets are like tin"

Good Luck if you decide to tackle the project.

-Bones

Well when Kevin took a little off the limb buts with a sander yes it did slide all the way down into the limb pocket. He already made one and said it shot very well.

I only posted these pictures to show it’s almost there before you start the sanding. No I wouldn’t try and string and shoot it now. But it shouldn’t take much sanding to get it to slide all the way down into the pocket. Like I said Kevin Cummings already posted it on here. He did it first. Not sure if anyone else ever tried it on here after Kevin did it. If so I hope they post some pictures and tell us about their experience.

By the way these limbs are only 38#. The Minute man riser cam with 50# limbs max.

Maybe some Sage limbs?I would save those for your BB riser with the plates………:)

The thin bracket is not holding any weight, it’s there to keep the limbs in place laterally.

Good hack, Don. I've been looking to put together an inexpensive bow for carp shooting. Good to learn that a cheap set of ILF limbs will work for that purpose.

If the limbs buts fit the pockets cut bend and install new brackets on the riser to fit those limbs without grinding on them?

Don, was that screw already in the riser? Looks like a repair and I wouldn’t trust it with a friction hold. Be careful Buddy! Lance

I had a 76'er riser with 50# ILF limbs that worked great, however, it was reinforced and then routed for ILF pins indent. It's a great riser for shooting and makes a great hunting bow.

yes I see the screw now,should keep it from backing out from the shallow pocket-the factory 76ers and Minuteman had a little slide piece(replaced by the screw) to secure it that could easily loosen allow back out.

Thanks George. The 76er riser and the Minute man riser is pretty much Identical except for the clips. Yes Lance this does look like it was a repair on this riser. But it seems well done and solid. Thanks I will be careful.

I’m pretty sure this is the old thread. Does anyone know how to pull it back up. It’s pretty cool how Kevin did it.

That was a waste of good limbs!

This is going to be interesting... Thanks for sharing Don...

Sanding down and potentially ruining perfectly good ILF limbs to force them to fit a roughly half century old cast riser that was never really meant for those types of limbs? Hmmm. Honestly it makes no sense to me. Ruining limbs and then have a real chance of a catastrophic failure. In this era of relatively cheap risers, although unfortunately mostly from China, an archer has multiple options in metal and wood. Nostalgia aside, those thin plates don't look like they are going to hold up long term.

Sanding down and potentially ruining perfectly good ILF limbs to force them to fit a roughly half century old cast riser that was never really meant for those types of limbs? Hmmm. Honestly it makes no sense to me. Ruining limbs and then have a real chance of a catastrophic failure. In this era of relatively cheap risers, although unfortunately mostly from China, an archer has multiple options in metal and wood. Nostalgia aside, those thin plates don't look like they are going to hold up long term.

Believe it or not. There are some guys on here that like these vintage nostalgic 76er and Minutman risers. But limbs for them are like finding hens teeth. So this might be an option for somebody that has one of these old risers but doesn’t have limbs for it. I’m not saying use the top of the line $900.00 ILF limbs. But the inexpensive or used ones might be worth a shot trying. Like I said Kevin Cummings had success fitting ILF limbs into a Minute man riser. And he said it shot much better then the original Bear Minute man limbs.

Don, try copying and pasting the url of that old thread into the address space of a new browser page, then enter a 'ttt' reply

Thanks Dana

I have one of those old recurves out in the shed. It has a green riser. I used it for several years as my carp bow. It was missing the grip when I got it so I just glued and wrapped some strips of leather to form a grip. Probably a 40#er if my memory is correct.

Alot of the grips are missing because they fit Bear Mag takedowns.In the early days of ebay no collectors wanted them and you could buy them for $25 just for the grip.

Seems like a huge waste of decent ilf limbs. Why not just spend the money and buy an ilf riser?

the limb stress is contained down in the riser, in the extreme part of the limb butt keeper....not in the area of the bracket. bracket is simply a locator, a bumper, if you will, to prevent any lateral limb straying, to keep string straight in limb tips. strength in the bracket at that point is not a concern....just a snug fit. if it were a LITTLE more rugged duct tape would work in place of the bracket.... ILF limbs in these little risers looks like a natural thing, to me.

And are you really Ruining the ILF limbs, If your putting a Bear Minuteman riser back in use? A Minute man riser which is very hard to find limbs for anymore. So if you like the feel and the grip of these old risers with a little work you could have a set a limbs for yours.:)

It looks and feels pretty good. The more I think about it. The more I want to give this a try.:)

Have at it! Too my eyes it looks like it’s gonna fail at some point.

A guy on here already was successful at putting ILF limbs on a Bear Minute Man riser. Basically all you need to do is sand a little off till it slides all the way down in the limb pockets snug. I figured someone else might of tried it after Kevin Cummings did it.

You won’t be able to pull up Kevin’s thread but he posted a new version over on TradTalk.

It is under DIY Projects.

Then Special Projects

Thanks Kelly. What did you think of Kevin’s project? Fitting ILF limbs to the nostalgic Bear Minute Man riser? He said it shoots better then the original limbs.

Here is the actual link. https://www.tradtalk.com/threads/ilf- limbs-on-a-bear-minuteman-riser.140907/

Just copy and paste the link into your browser. Might have to log in-

I've got a riser here and a couple sets of cheaper ILF limbs that am wanting to convert this way. Seems like an easy process. The ILF limbs with micarta wedges like Kevin shows should really be strong enough because all the pressure is on the butts of limbs where they fit in the slot.

This will not work on the 76'er without making a new bracket because their limbs were parallel made in the base, not tapered like the Minuteman.

It definitely will make a better performing limb on the Minuteman riser.

I wish i still had my minuteman,id give it a go to.good luck

KC already proved the concept. I'd do it.

Awesome Rock. Simply Outstanding! How does it shoot? And would you recommend others to try this. Did it take long to do? Did you decide to try this when you saw Kevin’s Cummings post? Thanks for posting the picture. I thought others might give this a try. Good looking bow. Thanks for posting the picture.

When you sanded down the limb. Did you sand down about equal amounts from both sides of the limb butt?

nice work rock74. tell pounds marked on limbs? and pounds on your riser (done)? and did you leave the belly side limb angle pretty much alone? or change angle some there too? and your thoughts on it in those regards? Steve Long

sel, I too was wondering how much, if any, change in the limbs marked poundage. What length bow would would it be with, say, medium limbs?

Steve

Well at least this thread has sparked a little interest. I wish that Guy Rock would chime in.

I had a couple of these risers pass through me hands, Loc DO warfed some to ILF.....seems like they were sorta like the Mini-Mags in 17" or 18"......so if I'm not mistooken, they will go something like 60-61" AMO with ILF mediums.

Rock’s looks a million times better than the original pic posted.

Well that’s because it’s finished. Look how nice those ILF limbs are sitting in the limb pocket of that Beautiful Bear Minute an riser. Once you do what Rock did. You can spray paint your riser what ever your favorite color is. I like Green myself. Rock did an amazing job bringing that old Bear Minute man riser back to life. Kevin Cummings did a very nice job on his too. I wish I saved the picture now.

Don / Steve - I sanded both sides and the belly of the limbs. All was done by hand.I took the measurements from the MM limb buts and scribed light lines and sanded away.I forget the actual specs of the limbs 38 or 40# and they made 46 on the Minuteman.

yeh that link KELLY posted above to Kevin's thread on Tradtalk works for me, complete with nice pictures and the how-to steps. NICE.

I would call Rocks bow a Minuteman on steroids. Now imagine one with carbon limbs.;)

in his converting thread, Kevin said "FWIW, the Minuteman riser with short ILF limbs is almost identical in length (strung) with my 17" Titan riser with medium ILF limbs."

I thought maybe some of the open minded bow benders might be interested in this. Thank you everyone for the positive input. This just might help someone that wants to give it a try.;)

I still say new brackets made for the riser to fit the limb thickness would be the better way to go and leave the limb buts as is.

You might be right Smokey. I don’t think anyone has tried that approach. It would save on a lot of sanding. Thanks for sharing your idea.

Only sand the material off of the bottom portion of the limb butt. You shouldn’t need to touch the sides and definitely none from the top.

These limbs are really close in size. Shouldn’t take much sanding.

Shouldn’t take much to fit these Hoyt limbs in the Minute Man riser.:

Looks like a good project, as long as you don't have a ton of money in those limbs.

Hoyt Stratix limbs. Beginner Intermediate limbs. Not sure how old they are or what they cost. I got them in trade on hear. So not much invested in them.

Don, it may not necessarily be an end to their ilf life either. A fellow could use some nylon washers on the back side to fit the ilf bushings back in. I had to do that to a pair of ilf limbs to fit an old Sky riser that used what is now called DAS fitting. If you sand down only the rockers it may add a touch of deflex mounted in an ilf riser.

Steve

ps....I do remember back when kpc did this conversion and seems it went well for him

"Hoyt Stratix limbs. Beginner Intermediate limbs. Not sure how old they are or what they cost."

Older, have been superceded in the line, BUT they should be fine for his project. I have a pair of older wood/glass limbs that I'm currently using for winter indoor and they still shoot as good or better than me ;-)

Looking forward to your results.

I did a minor search and it shows these being discussed in 2008 so they are in this 2008 range or thereabouts....the Stratix limbs.

Hoping it works out for you and everything lines up when finished,it will make a nice light bow in the hand with interchangeable grips and sight pins if you like for sure! Great idea and may have to start hunting up a couple old MM’s for the same as well………….:)

FWIW I bought a cheap set of ILF limbs from a US seller. They were used, right now I am working on the top limb. If I remember correctly the gent that did the tutorial put velcro in the alignment notch to tighten that up.

Ahhh there we go! Got you guys thinking now. I thought this was worth talking about again. Instead of is 35# enough;)

Guys -

OK, I like to tinker as much as the next guy, but you're still ending up with entry level limbs on what basically a crap riser. Nothing "wrong" with that, but you can get a much better entry level ILF riser for under $100, and an older top of the line ILF riser for about twice that.

I understand the weather sucks and boredom is setting in, but building a mediocre bow I'd never shoot seriously goes into the waste of time category, for me anyway. But to each his own.

Sorry, somebody had to say it.

Viper out.

fun is fun, and being totally dead serious all the time has it's limitations. "all work & no play" sort of thing. yeh there are times when I WANT & NEED all my arrows in the same place. other times it's great watching the arrow fly in an arc and land out there somewhere pointing down. just my thoughts this morning.

LoL…..Spot ON!

sel -

Fun is subjective. If all of my arrows aren't going in the same place, I like the challenge of making that happen, but for me, "fun" isn't the word I'd use to describe it.

Shooting a piece of crap can be a "fun" novelty, but it doesn't last long for me. Like I said, we're all in this for different reasons, so I'm not telling anybody what they should do or like, just presenting a counterpoint.

Viper out.

Let’s see. Is it possible. To take a Bear Minute man riser that you have had laying around and haven’t been shooting because you don’t have limbs for it. Make a inexpensive set of ILF limbs fit the riser with minimal effort. And once you have these new limbs on this old Bear Minute man riser. Is it possible to have fun shooting this old relic again? Maybe just maybe!;) And it’s going to shoot a heck of a lot better with these new limbs too.

I understand your views & I'm not arguing the points. I shot 1,000 yard vfs rifle matches one year, and 200 yard vfs for 6-7 years. I understand challenge and mind-numbing meticulous work getting things right to be competitive. I WAS, but it wore on me. Now I shoot gas grill tanks at long distances to hear them ding.

If you do decide to try and do it Kelly please post the pictures of your results. And let us know how you feel it shoots thanks.

Hey Rock, I see you inherited some of Pops ingenuity.

I like when guys share their thinking outside the box on here.

It challenges others to give it a try.;)

Well chop chop!results results we need to see and hear them,stop the beating around the ILF bushing………….:)

And let us know if it ends up tillered three under or split once the sanding is done…….:)

Well getting the bushings out weren’t hard to do. Took me about 5 minutes plus posting pictures on here;)

And about an hour to sand down both limbs. Nice Winter project.

All it takes is a little boredom and a belt sander.;

For those wondering she shoots just fine.;)

How would you tiller it? How is it tillered now?

Ended up with positive tiller. The limbs were marked 38#. But on the minuteman riser and my scale I got 40# @ 28” It was a fun project hope you all enjoyed it.

Again not my Idea. Kevin Cummings did it first. So he’s the guy that gets the credit. But I knew I was going to try it someday.;)

Kevin does know his technical stuff so I'm sure it will work. It's just not my cup of tea.

Well I’m not real high tech Rich. But I know how to operate a belt sander. Pretty easy project.

Richard,for tiller,you would either have to add or subtract more material off the back of the limb but at the very end where it touches the riser pocket depending on which way you need to go,even,positive or negative and negative is a no go,unless you can shoot it upside down…………:)

I can understand tinkering and messing with ILF limbs to make them fit on a Bear Mag riser or some other type of premium riser but doing this to just force fit them to the KMart budget riser of the Bear lineup from more than half a century ago is just a bit puzzling. Never heard that they were the best shooting risers Bear made, honestly never even heard anything very positive of these bows. Do what you want, it's your bow but I wouldn't trust these to last.

Well like the old saying goes. You can’t make everyone happy. And this is true even on the leather wall. I did this little project because I know a few others that just might give this a try too. I like thinking outside the box and I had fun with this little project. And it even turned out better then I expected. Now I have A vintage Bear Minuteman on STEROIDS! I happen to like this riser and I have the feeling I’m not the only one;) Good luck to ever gives this simple little fun project a try.

Way cool Don, good job...

Oops forgot to ask Don, what lenght were those ILF limbs, shorts? Thanks

Yes Gary those Hoyt limbs were shorts. A really fun little Winter project. Took me just over an hour to fit those ILF limbs to the Minuteman riser. With a belt sander.

Here you go. The Hoyt limbs were just about the same length as the Bear Minuteman limbs. Just more recurve to the Hoyt limbs.

Okay Don, you're killing me Smalls without the details...8^)

"When you sanded down the limb. Did you sand down about equal amounts from both sides of the limb butt?"

So did you sand off the back or belly or both side???

"Well getting the bushings out weren’t hard to do. Took me about 5 minutes plus posting pictures on here;)"

So, how'd you do so???

Thanks, Gary...

Yes Gary I would say I sanded about equal amounts from the front and back of the limb butts. With these Hoyt Stratix limbs I didn’t need to remove any material from the sides of the limbs. As for getting the bushings out. I took the small Allen screw out and put a little longer screw in. Then I turned the limbs over and rested that screw on a small piece of 2x4 and pushed using my arms and upper body weight and that bushing piped right out very easily for me. Took me about 5 minutes to get them both out. Don’t forget to save those bushings. They might come in handy for another project down the road. I also ended up with positive tiller. And a bow that’s only limited to the limbs you decide to fit it to. Good luck if you try this little project out. Glad you enjoyed my post.

Looks like u got a cool shooter there Don!

HEY DON T. - - the little odd-shaped RISER back wall CENTERING tab that does not fit-well the ILF limb butt U-notch......did you somehow pad the tab OR the SLOT to fit better? ILF LIMB BUTT slot is way wider than the little riser tab. Thanks, Steve Long

Attention Steve Long. I hope this helps you out. I can’t take credit for it though. Kevin Cummings from Michigan did it first. And it works great. Good luck if you give it a go Steve

I pulled this thread up again for you Steve. Basically you take off what you need to with a belt sander to get the limbs to fit. A little at a time. And keep trying them till they slide in snug. Good luck. And post pictures if you do it. Maybe someone else will try it too.

yeh I get it, the LENGTH thing, my question is that the riser centering tab is wayyy smaller left-right than the width of the ILF limb butt U notch. Limb fit will be sloppy & loose at that riser tab/U-notch juncture left untreated....UNLESS I AM MISSING your fix. I will drill laterally through the riser tab and thread it for a 3/8" long set screw to run, providing a bit of lateral limb adjustment, and the 3/8" length will fit in the limb butt U notch. I have risers now.

Smoky make a good point too. Just bend up new brackets to fit the ILF limbs. Maybe someone will give that way a try. That would eliminate the need for sanding the limb butts down. But if you do decide to go the sanding route. Your really not taking much off the butt. Good luck to ever gives it a try. I think Steve Long is going to give it a try. If anyone can get in touch with Kevin Cummings. Let him know guys on stickbow are giving his method a go. And we are making those old minute man risers shooters again. Better shooters too!;)

Looking at it this morning, COLD FEET haha. I have a couple of 17" mini-mag risers. I'm wanting to grind off the bracket rivets, and remove the brackets..... but having not done it before, DO THE BRACKETS slip out easy or is there some FORCE applied? I like knowing before....getting into things. I want to slip off the brackets.....shorten limb butts A TAD so ILF limb fitting hole coincides with the flat circle on riser belly side of limb pad...... drill there for a DAS BUSHING and thumbscrew to sit securing things. Will drill through riser centering tab, thread it and use a small 3/8" long set screw for centering limbs laterally. see sketch....thanks DAVE LINT for ideas.

Steve,

I'm wondering if Sage limbs might make for an easier fit.

JIM, yes it would be likely easier. I don't WANT SAGE limbs haha

TTT I got a MINUTE MAN riser coming to da house soon mebbe tomorrow. THEN I'll start rigging something.

Great thread Don T Lewis. I have a 76er riser collecting dust in the garage. Might put some $70 limbs on it and get a kid shooting. Or maybe I will post it on a giveaway thread and see how many bashing this post say "I'm in".

"Great thread Don T Lewis. I have a 76er riser collecting dust in the garage. Might put some $70 limbs on it and get a kid shooting."

dont think it will work on the 76er riser...the limb brackets are different than the minuteman.

You need the Minuteman riser, the brackets are deeper from top to bottom than is the 76'er.

I had to go back and read the title of this thread. I thought I said Minute man riser. Your correct George. And I did give credit of this great idea to who first done it. Kevin Cummings. I exchanged several PMs and emails with Kevin before I attempted it myself. And it was very easy. You just have to take your time with the belt sander because if you remove too much wood you can’t put it back on. I know Steve Long has been wanting to give this a try. Good luck Steve. Please post pictures of your results with us know what you think about Hala new minute man shoots;)

It’s not easy finding original limbs for the Bear minuteman riser. That’s one reason Kevin came up with this idea. I had a lot of fun with this project. If anybody on here as contact with Kevin Cummings maybe you can let him know that his idea is still being passed along on the Leatherwall and thank him for me again. I for one miss his posts. I hope he is doing well.

It’s not easy finding original limbs for the Bear minuteman riser. That’s one reason Kevin came up with this idea. I had a lot of fun with this project. If anybody on here as contact with Kevin Cummings maybe you can let him know that his idea is still being passed along on the Leatherwall and thank him for me again. I for one miss his posts. I hope he is doing well.

I'll get back on this in the next week or 2, right now my wife is trying to toss an 11mm kidney stone, so I'm staying close& not doing much. SHOCK therapy for it comeing Tuesday if she keeps it till then. SHE's probably not losing it at 11mm. HUGE.

For those interested.

Wish I had a Left handed Minuteman riser.

Guys, you really need to read KPC thread on how he did this. https://www.tradtalk.com/threads/ilf- limbs-on-a-bear-minuteman-riser.140907/ It will explain everything for those with skepticism or unfamiliarity with the Bear Minuteman riser and original limbs.

Am now at the point of doing this to utilize better limbs on a simple but great riser with a grip that I like and a stabilizer bushing. I know why do all this when one can buy cheap ILF handles. Well I have the Minuteman handles right now, like the lesser mass weight, like the grip, etc.

Yes, an easier way to go might be to make a larger bracket to hold the limbs but I don’t have the metal nor the equipment or expertise to do that but I do possess sanding tools and the knowledge to use them and like Don T Lewis said above all it took was a little hand sanding.

Thanks Kelly for Kevin’s URL on how to do this. I remember when Kevin shared on the wall how he did it. I knew I was going to give it a try. It was very easy to do. Kevin hit a home run with this one. I like the grip and the way the minute man feels in my hand too. I wouldn’t hesitate doing it again maybe with a better set of limbs this time.

Don, if you notice Kevin used a set of Sebastian Flute limbs that I think had foam cores at least. Also that set had one center lam which was on the back side with a phenolic wedge so all grinding was done on the belly ONLY! That is very important so structural integrity of the limb is not violated. IMO, that is a critical criteria when looking for limbs to do this with.

That said, not everyone will have access to that style of limb but at the least there should be phenolic caps and wedges. The attached picture is of the limbs I’m going to use. They are bamboo/glass limbs.

Thanks for sharing this important information with us Kelly. Hopefully this information. Will help the next guy that might want to give this a try.

Like

side note, the Minuteman bracket is taller than the similar Mini- Mag one. did not read the whole thread above, maybe already said.

I wish I could find a Long left handed minuteman riser, I sure do like that grip.

I have a long right handed one.

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