Vintage lemonwood(?) bow.(pics Posted)

[osage outlaw]

Is it really worth it to try to shoot that bow?  Especially with that damage.  Why not help him make his own bow so he will have one to shoot.  I have a couple of old Lemonwood bows that a now deceased friend gave me years ago.  I would never string them or shoot them.  To me its not worth the chance of breaking them.  They are beautiful wallhangers.  Good luck with what ever you do with it.

[steve b.]

Some of the old osage bows have the sapwood on too, and they work.  I'm not sure that's what you have here though.  Its cool to see an old bow.

[Jim Davis]

If the bow has been stored in a living space and that space is not in an arid  area, the bow ought to be fine. Get a hypo kind of syringe and inject some hide glue into the delaminated spot and clamp. When the glue has cured, put a string on it and start working it. The backing will actually tighten down to the back when the bow is drawn, as long as the rest of the glue is good. That could be crumbly if it got way too dry at any time.

Don't forget the draw length is only 26". Also, 45# is pretty  stiff for the average 15-year-old, especially if new to archery.

A wood bow stored inside with reasonably average humidity for 50 years will be just the same as one stored for five weeks. The moisture meter is a good idea if storage conditions for the last few months were not good or are unknown.

Jim Davis

[ionicmuffin]

Man we live in washington! its always wet, we dont have real dryness here. Ill ask him where it was kept, hopefully it was somewhere good. Would nox glue work? I have a feeling he would want to peruse making it work again. i did give it a little bend to see if it still had any spring left, it seems to have no issues aside from the delam

[Shaun]

That is lemonwood. They were standard issue for schools in the 40's and 50's though generally not that heavy a draw.  Some of the later ones had backings of man made material. Fiberglass was not available until after WW 2. There were some other "modern" materials used before fiberglass.

[ionicmuffin]

ok, new info on the bow. It has been stored well and was never in too dry of a place. I also can say late 40s- early 50s. I would imagine you are right about them being school bows, it has a number 2 on it, so it must have been for a school to number them like they do guns these days for boy scout practice.

[Pat B]

That is an old lemonwood bow in the American Longbow style. Maybe from York Archery.
  I'm with Osage Outlaw, let it retire and enjoy it for what it was. I also have a few old lemonwood bows and I would not brace or shoot them.
  If they really want to give it a try you have to re-educate the bow and wood to bend and recover. Floor tiller it slowly then add a string but without tension. Work it a little at a time, inch by inch over a few days. Once you get the tips past 4" to 5" low brace it(2") and let it rest, braced for an hour or two. Gradually work the limbs out to full draw(26") and no farther.

[spyder1958]

Heres a old lemonwood bow, I redone the backing with a Komodo dragon skin Mullet gifted.
heres a few pic.


Notice the backing it looks like wood till you peel it off

[ionicmuffin]

spyder, is that an old one or is it fairly new? Looks good either way.
Pat. I am not sure if he plans on continuing, i will make sure to have the family discuss what the want to do with it. if they don't want to do anything with it ill take it back to him, if he wants to continue ill follow your instructions.

[ionicmuffin]

also, with an old bow like this, what is the probability of it surviving if it we to be re worked to full draw?

[spyder1958]

Its old, came from an estate sale, no markings on this one.

[ionicmuffin]

how old would you guess? is it still going strong now?

[spyder1958]

No ideal, leather wrap was really dried out. wood has a nice aged look the backing had a yellowish look from age.
I have shot it a few times after I rebacked and put some reflex in the tips and added antler tips. basic a total redo. its still in work, but hers a pic or two.

[Buckeye Guy]

Sorry I cant tell much from the pics !
As well as a worthless old nut can remember !, the lemon wood bows from the era you are talking, that I have handled or owned are as follows !
The wood shows little to no grain ,and usually the handle was either built up with more of the same or a tropical wood that resembles mahogany . The handle was usually built up on the belly side only ! Many things were used for backings and often added latter not original !
If the wood shows some grain and the the build up for the handle is a north American wood then the wood is probably Hickory ! Many of these have a piece on both back and belly .
Either way they are all fun old bows to have around !!
The tiller on many of the Lemon wood bows is poor to terrible, the Hickory even with a fair amount of string follow are generally still in a better state of tiller !
some I patch up and shoot and some are just too cool to take a chance at wrecking!! The actual monetary value is not high but many have other value !
 So there you have the ramblings of one worthless old nut that loves archery !
Have fun !
Guy

[Fred Arnold]

Here's one that I purchased a few weeks back.  Sorry to say it didn't arrive in one piece. It was insured by the seller and he allowed me to keep the bow for a wall hanger rather than spending the funds to send it back. Luckily for me I didn't like the looks of the package and opened it in front of our local postmaster. No splinters missing so I used urac 185 glued and clamped it securely back in place and then added sinew extending 1" beyond the break both back and belly and then sinew wrapped.