# Extreme Makeover - Wing Archery Falcon



## Al33 (Nov 24, 2010)

bubbaforsure gave and sent to me this lefty bow a few months back and I have just recently started refinishing it. I still have another coat, maybe two, of wipe on poly and after adding the rest materials and nocking the new string I got from BK it will be ready to return to the range for some fun. It has a 41# draw weight. Really looking forward to flinging some arras with it.

The severely tarnished and cracked finish has allowed moisture to enter the wood and there are many dark spots in the riser wood I cannot get out but it is still looking a lot better than it did. Anyhoo, here are the "before" pic's and I will post the "after" pic's hopefully in a few days. 

Once I get this one done I need to start on an old BP I got from schleylures.


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## T.P. (Nov 24, 2010)

Reckon the stories that 'ol girl could tell?  Keep us posted..


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## Bubbaforsure (Nov 24, 2010)

Al....Looking forward to seeing what you can with the Bow..
My youngest son Alan came home with this bow when our next door neighbors had a garage sale. He picked up this and one other for $5.00...Biggest problem other than it bad condition is we are all righty's...


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## BkBigkid (Nov 24, 2010)

Can't wait to see what you can do with it Al 

I am sure it will be worth the wait to see the refinished bow.


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## longbowdave1 (Nov 25, 2010)

i'm sure you will make it look purty al!


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## dutchman (Nov 25, 2010)

Looking forward to the "after" photos with a little on what it took to get from before to after...


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## OconeeDan (Nov 25, 2010)

WOW, I am looking forward to the after pics.  Did you remove all original finish and get rid of the crazing?  Were you able to save the silk screen, or did you even try?
Dan


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## hogdgz (Nov 25, 2010)

WOW that bow has had a rough life, good luck with it AL and I cant wait to see the finished results.


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## Al33 (Nov 25, 2010)

Well, I couldn't wait to get this one done and am satisfied with just three coats of the poly so here she is.



OconeeDan said:


> WOW, I am looking forward to the after pics.  Did you remove all original finish and get rid of the crazing?  Were you able to save the silk screen, or did you even try?
> Dan


I could not save the original decals so I had to improvise with my own inscriptions. You will notice in the first few pic’s the dark spots and lines caused by the exposed wood where the finish was either missing or fractured completely through. These spots and lines went too deep for me to remove completely, but ( for me at least) it gives it character.

You can also see the original color of the riser wood where the side rest material and glue protected it.  I reshaped the shelf with a carving knife and sandpaper where it was missing a good sized piece from the belly side. This missing piece will have no negative effects on its ability to shoot well.   I ended up putting only three coats of wipe on poly buffing each coat with steel wool before applying the next ones. I used adhesive Velcro for the new shelf and side plate puting a small piece of leather under the rest material to raise the arrow of the flat shelf a bit. I then   put some wool silences on the string, put on a string nock and took her for a spin this morning. Although I do not have any properly spined arrows for the 41# draw weight she shoots amazingly well with 3555’s and 225gr up front. Still way too stiff but I can hit with them. The limbs are straight and it has a smooth draw. I am more than satisfied with the outcome and hopefully this old gal will have many more years of flingin’ arras. 



dutchman said:


> Looking forward to the "after" photos with a little on what it took to get from before to after...



Gene, I started out removing the finish on the riser with a hand held mini drum sander which made pretty quick work of it. On others I have refinished I started out with a sharp scraper which works well also but you have to be very careful with it. I used very fine sanding paper  and steel wool to work the faces and bellies of the limbs. Other than having to rework the shelf where it had a piece missing that’s all there was to it prior to applying the finish. The hard part is waiting on a coat of finish to dry before working on it for another one.

Thank you Rick (bubbaforsure) for this generous gift.  I imagine that one day it will end up with a young lefty having a desire to shoot traditional archery but not until I have had a lot of fun with it.


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## longbowdave1 (Nov 25, 2010)

amazing job al! you brought the old gal back to life and spared her from the dumpster! looks great!!!


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## redman17 (Nov 25, 2010)

whoa great work, great to see there are more lefties out there too


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## Rare Breed (Nov 25, 2010)

Wow that came out great Al!


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## Night Wing (Nov 25, 2010)

Absolutely beautiful!


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## gurn (Nov 25, 2010)

Nice job. You really made something outa that old bow.


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## rapid fire (Nov 25, 2010)

Wow.  Good job brother.


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## T.P. (Nov 25, 2010)

I wasn't expecting that!! Great job Al!! That one is ready to hunt..


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## Bubbaforsure (Nov 25, 2010)

Man...Oh...Man...You done a great job on her ..


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## OconeeDan (Nov 25, 2010)

NOW, the bow has even more mojo!
Good job Al!
Dan


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## Al33 (Nov 25, 2010)

Thanks folks for the kind words. I hope showing it will encourage others to give it a try if they get the opportunity because it really isn't that hard to do. I had fun shooting it today and was hoping I would get a chance at a tree rat with it but they didn't cooperate.


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## OconeeDan (Nov 25, 2010)

I'm gonna refinish my "new" old Bear bow....after hunting season!
Dan


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## SOS (Nov 25, 2010)

Hmmm...41#...left handed....'bout right for a new lefty shooter....I'm thinking that bow needs to show up at Oconee!  
Well done, Senior Al!


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## Al33 (Nov 26, 2010)

SOS said:


> Hmmm...41#...left handed....'bout right for a new lefty shooter....I'm thinking that bow needs to show up at Oconee!
> Well done, Senior Al!



I will not be making the Oconee hunt but will gladly send the bow down for you to play with if we can work it out.


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## schleylures (Nov 26, 2010)

Looks great Mr. Al look forward to the next one.


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## John Cooper (Nov 26, 2010)

Dang good job AL...... But you refinishrd into a lefty?????.....LOL


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## hogdgz (Nov 26, 2010)

Awesome AL!! You did an great job.


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## BkBigkid (Nov 27, 2010)

Great Job Al you did a real fine Job Bringing that Bow back to Life. It looks Great. 


I knew I should have Made you that Pink string. Especially now that it might be going to SOS....


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## Miguel Cervantes (Nov 27, 2010)

You did a very nice job bringing that one back to life Al. Should have named it "Lazarus"..


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## Barry Duggan (Nov 27, 2010)

Good job Al.


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## Wade95 (Nov 27, 2010)

Absolutely beautiful. Have a few questions. Will be PM ing you with a link.


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## Necedah (Nov 27, 2010)

U DUN GOOD  

That looks better than a new bow.

Dave


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## Bubbaforsure (Nov 27, 2010)

Al33 said:


> I will not be making the Oconee hunt but will gladly send the bow down for you to play with if we can work it out.




 I love it when a plan comes together ..


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