Bear Kodiak 1961 Traditional Recurve - Full Rework - Part 2
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ม.ค. 2024
- This is part 2 in a two-part series. Watch as Shane with Great Plains Traditional Bow Co. gives this 1961 Bear Kodiak a full restoration. He straightens a twisted limb, opens the sight window, radiused the shelf, fixed deep scratches and any blemishes, and gives it a fresh coat of finish. For more traditional archery content subscribe to our channel @ greatplainsbow
#traditionalrecurve #recurvearchery #recurvebow #bowyer #rework #archery #tradarchery
The color was Arctic grey, the green appearance was from aged finish. To make things easier on your next Bear refinish that coin will come out with heat lightly applied where cleaning the coin and sanding around the coin area will be easier. The decals can be purchased from a guy named Al Harford, if you search a traditional page related to Bear you can find his contact, he makes replacements in the exact colors and years for every vintage Bear bow, that way you can confidently sand the logos off and not worry about getting too close and ruining them, just replace before you apply the finish. Great job
Thanks!
I will most definitely reach out to him. Thanks for the great info!
@@greatplainsbowyes sir
I was thinking the same thing about the color issue. The old factory finish turned brown over time.
@@paullewis5045I’ve refinished several vintage Bear bows and a few with this arctic grey glass and I was just as surprised when I removed the finish as he was, they always have that green tint before removing the old finish. That finish was tough Bear used but it definitely took on aging color
Really great work. I have the same bow that I want to reduce the draw weight on. Now I know how. Thanks for posting these videos.
I actually prefer the gray!
Same!
Wow, what a craftsman and knowledge you hold. Great vlog and kudos to the editor and photographer.
You probably wear a mask on your regular work hours but if you don't you should strongly consider it. That fiberglass sanding is going to leave microscopic particles in the air and will definitely catch up to you with lung problems.
I want to see the reveal to the customer vid. 😊. Great work
Yeah we almost never get to see that as we don't have that many local customers
Green, grey, regardless it's beautiful.
Nice work
Thanks!
I like your appreciation for the classics and the pioneers of the modern recurve . 1961 kodiak used green glass that sometimes looks grey . 1962 they used a true grey . Wish some of the old colors would still be available especially Herters yellow.
I wasn't aware of that
Concerning the color change... I am a huge fan of green glass on bows, but that bow looks more beautiful now than it did when it was green. The grey really works well with the colors and tones of the wood in a way that I'm not sure green would have. Very well done. I would be thrilled if it was my bow.
Yeah I'd agree with you. The gray is just super cool on that bow
I have a 1967 (I think) Bear Grizzly with the gray glass. It's a lefty and 52#@28 which is a bit much for me now. I like the darker riser on that one, mine is lighter brown. I see from another comment that it's Arctic Gray. Good to know. Excellent work, it's fascinating to watch you work.
Beautiful work!
1961 Kodiaks had olive green glass and aluminum coin. 1962 here you have a Brazilian Rosewood handle with Bubinga I-beam, grey glass. Typically, 1962 came with Pewter medallions. This is an early transition from 61' to 62". Nice work
Great info! Thanks for watching!
So much to learn from watching you working on those bows. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
This pair of videos have been very interesting for me as a woodworker, I didnt know how you'd straingthen the limbs mechnically, or mend the scratch. The hole fill was a great idea. You've done a great job the final bow is stunning. Prefer it in grey. Think I'll have a go on the next oldie I pick up. Thanks.
Thanks for watching! You can do it, it's not that hard!
I’ve refinished a Bear Black Panther, for my final before topping it I wiped it with a Green Water Based wood dye. Interesting as now the Black Panther is a Green Panther. Obviously not something you’d do to a customers bow but if you were refinishing to resell it looks pretty BA, I think. It also covered numerous CA repairs that needed covering. Love your stuff.
Hey that's a cool idea! I'll keep that in mind!
Love your work and instruction Shane!!!
Thanks for watching!
Another nice restoration. Great job beautiful bow.
Beautiful restoration Shane! Whether green or gray/black it is still a sweet classic bow. You put a lot of tedious hand work into that project. Very impressive!
I'd lot to see you shoot some arrows through it upon completion. Great job!
Thanks, Tom! You're right I failed to show me shooting it. I did shoot it, but not on camera. I will make sure that's included on future restorations
@@greatplainsbow Could do a quick short for that.
As someone who just started collecting old Bear Bows (hard business here in Germany as we do not have that many of them available), I have learned to be careful with restaurations in case you want to keep the colour of your bow 😂.
Fantastic restauration, mate! 👌
Yep, it's definitely something to keep in mind. This is the first one I've seen do this, but if there's one then there's more like it....
Good luck with building your collection. The Bear bows from this era, for the most part, are useable works of art.
Very interesting video,i like that you explain why you do things, thanks for posting this .
Thanks for watching!
Would it be possible for you to do a restoration like this on a bow made in 1968 that has lost some pounds over the years and overlay new glass to add draw weight back to the bow? You always do such an amazing job with these old bows. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Yep it sure is possible, but it'd be quite expensive due to the time involved
Yes, as a 61 it would have been built in 61. Grayling green would have been in 61 only but in 62 they did use bark gray glass so it could be a late 61 model.
I have a 56, 59 and 64. These are some great shooters especially the 64... nice work Shane... 😉
I agree as model was not a static design like say the Bear Grizzly made the same way ever since 1964 without much in way of changes to shape/design of model.
Beautiful job Shane,love your instruction and attention to detail
I can't answer your question but it is beautiful for sure.
Thanks for watching!
I agree completely with @billward---re. the finish question. Also, Bear did do something different every year to distinguish the model year change-wood selection, glass colors limb tip profile, coin metals etc. Except for the very early, late 40's and early 50's static models which saw little change. Well, except for eliminating the aluminum lamination and changing from woven glass to linear strand, until the first working recurve; Kodiak II. I did work at the Bear Archery Shop of Detroit when I was in High School. So, I got to see these beautiful 60's era. bows fresh from the factory. Also, nice job changing the arrow rest profile.
Very interesting! Thanks for watching!
Oh you have done an excellent job, i am sure your customer will understand, and be proud of a good looking bow.
Well done, i may contact you to restore my 76 kodiak, i love my bow but it had side inserts when i got it and hate them , not sure if they can be covered up.
Dont know if they sprayed a light coat of green at the factory on the limbs
There may be someone out there that worked at the bear factory long ago that may be able to tell you the process
.but the bow looks really good ,i would be proud of it...
And i must say that you take a lot of pride in your work and that makes you a great craftsman .
Thanks for sharing this 2 part video.
Thanks for watching!
Looking sweet
Thanks 😊
That’s most definitely a 1962 “special” bark gray & Brazilian rosewood version with the pewter Bear coin inset. That is an amazing bow, good thing you didn’t have a slip with that disc sander!! 😮😂😂 VERY nice work!!!
Yep it probably wouldn't have been good for me or the bow if I'd lost control of it on the disc😁
@@greatplainsbow you did a great job on it, I hate that thing!
@@d123avek1 Yes sir, it can definitely be a mess when I don't pay attention to my work
Just a quick follow-up on hole filling: I have used a countersink to feather out the hard edge of the old drill holes. That seems to help the blending. I have never done this, but you may be able to reprofile the feathering at the edge of the overlays and then work with one color. It will never be perfect though. I also fill the hole to full depth. Using the recovered glass dust like you are doing is really, really good. I have tried using boat epoxy color tinting too. But color matching is tough. Using original material is easier and smarter.
Thanks for the info! I appreciate it!
use the sanding dust you've already created
For?
@@greatplainsbow filling the holes, mix a little in with your epoxy...😉
@@sierraridgereaper 10 4 yep that's what I did there, but in this case ca glue is a better option
That's interesting about the color of the finish.... I'm going to have a talk with a painter i used to work with and see what his thoughts are about pigmenting the finish. If i find something out, i will let you know.... That bow still turned out wonderful and i appreciate the fact you kept to the original design's and respected the maker.
Thanks for watching!
@@greatplainsbow just wanted to let you know... I talked to my good painter buddy and he said yes to adding color to the finish and told me to tell you to check with your distributor that you get your finishes from, see what type of color will work best with the finish that you use.... Some finishes will not matter so much, but others definitely will. Also for matching the color correctly he would recommend a test try using the type/color "in your case it's gray glass" and mix what you think is the correct color or shade and give it a shot. For the reasons that it sanded with a green color is from what he believes happened, is that the original finish was applied to the bow and limbs as they were porous and allowed the tint/finish to quickly soak into the glass/wood before things cured.... He also understands that you're working with porous materials all the time, and if that were to be an issue he recommends trying a standard single/sealer coat first then sand and prep for the remainder of applications . I really hope this information points you in the right direction....I really enjoy watching the " THIS OLD HOUSE" bow addition.
@@normankaster917 thanks for the info! Yeah I know you can add color to finish, but the issue isn't so much that as the fact that if you do that you'll have to figure something out with all the wood areas on the bow. Either you spray the whole bow and then try to sand off the tinted finish on the wood areas or you tape off the wood areas and neither option would really work at all
I am not aware of gray base glass being used but that is not to say a savvy bowyer or manager at Bear had to call an audible to keep the production line moving, or the bow was returned to the line because of a color anomoly in order to bring it into specs & refinished to factory green
Good thoughts
By the way, I actually love the way the gray turned out. Great work on that bow Shane, she is a beaut!
@@DavidHBurkart Thanks!
The "savvy manager" in that era was Bob Kelly who eventually became the president of Bear Archery. Bear made their own glass for many years. With enough bows in hand, you can see the progress. I have refinished several bows from that era. I do recall one, a 1961 (?) Kodiak Special, with creamy yellow glass, that I thought had some color pigmented into the finish. That may have been because of the challenge of getting the tint right in the mix when the glass was made. I think they would have to make that call, to pigment the final finish, if the bow was out of the press with uneven dye color etc. That is just speculation on my part though. Bear honored their warranty strictly and nearly went bankrupt because of limb problems more than once.
@@paullewis5045 Wow, that is awesome history. Thanks for sharing your insights
I love the tedious expertise he gives to his work impatiens
Vielen Dank für diesen Beitrag!
Die neuen Kodiak's haben gelbes Leder im Griffbereich. War das früher nicht der Fall?
Wow! Who woulda thunkit?
Can you repair a vintage ben pearson colt recurve that has stress fracture lines in the limbs?
Well it depends. Email me pictures at greatplainstradtionalbows@gmail.com
Shane
It's grey glass because it's a 1962 kodiak. The 1961 kodiaks were more of a pea green color.
It definitely was green before I started sanding on it
The 1962 Bear Catalog it is called Bark Grey but I always thought it had a touch of green in the color. By the way great job.
@@ronaldroehrick4872 you could be right on that
Hey from Coffeyville-Always have wanted an old Bear curve but have been hesitant because of the risk of buying a bow that has damage. It gives me a little security to know there’s someplace possibly i could send it.
Thanks for watching!
I believe there was a green tint in the finish coat. I don’t think there are any Bear Bow builders still alive, from the original Grayling, Michigan factory. The only other person that may know, could be Ted Nugent. I’m sure he visited the Bear Bow facility too.
Hey man, so I’m doing a super Kodiak and it’s got a green riser if I sand that to try and take away scratches then it won’t be green anymore will it it looks like nice burled wood underneath but I’m sure if my friend wants it to be original and I’m worried that if I sand it won’t be green anymoreif you get a minute, please let me know. Thanks.
Email me a picture of it at greatplainstradtionalbows@gmail.com
Hey man, I sent those pictures over to your email. The one is of a crack that runs from the bottom limb up the handle and end of the top limb. I was going to sand it down and use the CA glue and dust to fill the cracks. Is that what you would do?
Just checked em out. Yeah if that's just a hairline crack that's what I'd do as long as the riser or limbs aren't actually coming apart you'll be fine. Just keep sanding up dust and filling until you can't feel the cracks. Try to use dust that matches each part of the bow
That may be a 1962 Kodiak. The 62 had Bark Gray glass. The green cast on this bow could be from the original finish yellowing.
Yeah you definitely could be right
@@greatplainsbow I forgot to mention that I truly appreciate your videos. They are enjoyable to watch and informative.
@@PhilMagistro I really appreciate that, Phil! Thank you so much for watching, it means a lot to me!
I'm curious how much weight can be reduced from a bow?
It depends. I've got as much as 20# off and as little as just a few pounds to the bow not being eligible for reduction. In general I can get 15# off a longbow and 10# pounds off a recurve
What is the cost of this
$250
Who/where do I contact your shop to get a bow refinished?
www.greatplainsbow.com
Looks like a '62 to me...
Very well could be
My color blindness doesn’t help anything either. Lol.