[trapshooter]

:sad:

I was recently given a recurve bow after a friend had died. When I received the bow, it did not have a string. The bow looked to be in otherwise perfect condition. I brought it up to the local proshop and told one of the workers, not the owner, that I wanted to make sure the bow was in good working condition and a needed a new string. Then I left.

Three days later, the owner calls me and says that he broke the bow. He claims the limb was twisted and when he put the string on and pulled it back, the limb slintered and broke. I had examined it to the best of my ability before I took it there and found nothing wrong.

Why could he have not detected this before he put the sting on and pulled it back!? This seems odd to me.

What should I do in this situation? I do know enough about recurves to know that it was a quality piece and probably expensive to replace.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[bowhuntrrl]

That's a very possible scenario with older recurves. I have one that I've avoided putting a string on for that very reason.It's completely possible that this happened because of old fiberglass and laminations.

 

[SilentSniper]

I would look into it a little more. I know that things can happen, but they took the responsibility of placing a new string on the bow. They should have been able to have seen a limb twist large enough to cause damage by pulling back on the bow. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Rack-Attack]

I doupt the owner x-rayed the bow.................

It has happened to me.............I wont restring an older recurve without the owner present and warned that it may blow.

For all you know the bow could have been stuck in a 140 deg attic FOR 15 Years...................the bow is made of glue and wood

 

[AKDoug]

I bought an un-strung recurve off of Ebay. I have looked at hundreds and can usually tell when they are toast. I put my stringer on the end of the limbs to install a string I just made and SNAP!!. That was the end of that. There was no indication I could see by merely looking at the bow, so I didn't bother to get mad at the Ebay seller. I doubt they knew either.

 

[Baker4]

They are called a pro shop for a reason, they do this on a day to day basis.

IMO they owe you a better explaination then what was given.

 

[Dale_B1]

Our shop tells all owners of older stick bows there are no guarantees that it won't break when it is strung, it is done on their request and they assume all liability for the bow. Glues and such dry out and you won't know it until stress is put on the limbs and riser.:wink:

 

[Mr. October]

:sad:

I was recently given a recurve bow after a friend had died. When I received the bow, it did not have a string. The bow looked to be in otherwise perfect condition. I brought it up to the local proshop and told one of the workers, not the owner, that I wanted to make sure the bow was in good working condition and a needed a new string. Then I left.

Three days later, the owner calls me and says that he broke the bow. He claims the limb was twisted and when he put the string on and pulled it back, the limb slintered and broke. I had examined it to the best of my ability before I took it there and found nothing wrong.

Why could he have not detected this before he put the sting on and pulled it back!? This seems odd to me.

What should I do in this situation? I do know enough about recurves to know that it was a quality piece and probably expensive to replace.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I would say to the Proshop, "Well thanks for looking at it".

You got the bow for free. It probably hasn't been strung in a long time and God only knows how/where it was stored. It is quite possible the limb was twisted. It was quite possible the laminations had dried out. Who knows?

Stringing a bow isn't rocket science and I'm sure the shop did it properly. It was just an old bow that had probably seen a better day.

 

[RobJon]

They are called a pro shop for a reason, they do this on a day to day basis

They are a pro shop not the physic hotline, can you imagine if you went into a pro shop to get a new string and they said sure no problem as soon as we get it back from sending it out for an X-ray, that should take a few weeks and cost about $500.00. I do guitar work and when someone brings me an old acoustic that hasn't had any tension on the neck for years its always a crap shoot.

 

[CMR]

My opinion:
There's no excuse!!!
First, if the limb was twisted then they shouldn't have tried to put a string on it. If the limb was twisted, they should have notified you. Thats what a PROSHOP does.
Second, they might have not used a stringer. I've gone to proshops where they still use the old technique of bending the bow with thier leg/foot to string bows. That "might" have happened to your bow.

 

[GVDocHoliday]

To be honest what would you expect from a proshop that deals 99.9% with compound archery? Heck, I wouldn't have known any better of an old recurve. I'd of probably broke it too.

 

[MMMB]

If the twist was bad enough, you would have seen it visually unstrung. However, if the bow was stored improperly like Dale said there's no way to know what could happen when stringing it. When I was building my bows I heat tempered my limbs to 120F, and the modern epoxies are much better than the materials of yesteryear. If they didn't use a stringer, they could also damage the bow. Since you weren't there and didn't see what happened it's gonna be tough to lay blame.

Any one that's been around a pro shop for a few years should know enough to string a recurve with a stringer. (If they even have one) But I have friends who still don't and have been shooting trad for years, but they also know how to do well without one. So you might want to check into that............

 

[Christopher Lee]

I would tend to agree with the opinion that it's not the proshop's fault - AT ALL, as no bow pro would be able to tell what condition the insided of the wood or glue are unless it's literally coming apart. X-Rays would not really be able to show clearlyeither. You would need an ultrasound.

ALL older recurves, even those which you know have been stored properly are at a risk of cracking or coming apart if they haven't been strung for a long time, regardless of how well they have been kept.

I suspect the "limbs were twisted" was probably just a guess.

Wood and glue wood and glue.

 

[Dropzone2006]

just currious...where did it break? at the tip or closer to the riser?

 

[LeEarl]

When I worked at the shop I never would string a customers recurve without them right there. Most of the older recurve shooters are very picky when it comes to thier bow, and that is GREAT. this is why it is better to error on the side of caution then error when you are in the wrong.

If the shop did not tell you that the bow might break because of its age and not being strung for a while, then I would say they owe you a recurve, or at least give you a price break on a new one. If not then I feel they should give you a gift card for equipment in the store. This is just a good thing to do if something like this happens at a shop.....

 

[westksbowhunter]

I would have to say the pro shop is not at fault. What I can figure out is why you took it to a pro shop to put a new string on. Putting a string on a recurve takes less than a minute.

 

[crazy horse]

Had one break in my shop this week, put a new string on it and pulled it back a couple of times to see if the limbs were twisted or not, when the bow was drawn back you could here the laminations letting go and them POW the lower limb callapsed. Upon looking at the bow after the failure, it appeared to have been wet on that end of the bow. Customer bought bow at a yard sale, I told him it probabley had been in a flooded basement at some time which caused the water damage on the bow. His only remark was I am glad it was you drawing it instead of me. Pro shop owners can not guarantee that your old recurve is in good shape when it comes in without the string, and its still capable of breaking then, remember its old and used.

 

[Myk]

I would have to say the pro shop is not at fault. What I can figure out is why you took it to a pro shop to put a new string on. Putting a string on a recurve takes less than a minute.

Maybe he didn't have a bow stringer and wanted it done right.
Or maybe it didn't have a string and he needed one made (that's the only thing I can figure since it wasn't strung while he waited).

Unless the shop said beforehand that they don't take responsibility they are responsible.
That's the way it is in business.

 

[RecordKeeper]

Maybe he didn't have a bow stringer and wanted it done right.
Or maybe it didn't have a string and he needed one made (that's the only thing I can figure since it wasn't strung while he waited).

Unless the shop said beforehand that they don't take responsibility they are responsible.
That's the way it is in business.

Glad you pointed this out. I will immediately put up a sign indicating that "We are NOT responsible for the condition of YOUR bow."

 

[LeEarl]

But remember those older Martin bows that had the wood inlay in the risers..... If the shop put one of those into the press wrong you could bend the riser pretty easy. Does this constitute "condition of you bow" or would that be a Pro Shop error? Pro Shops are a "Pro Shop" because guys know what thay are doing and that resposibility for the equipment you drop off. If I seen a sign that said "We are NOT responsible for the condition of YOUR bow" I would think twice before leaving it there and would need more explation before I handed it over. Now if you said "We are NOT responsible for the condition of YOUR unstrung recureve, cracked limb, bent axle, dry fired, water damaged, anything else bow" then maybe

Shops should always check the bow first and things can sneak by undetected. It has heppened before and will happen again. But I feel that the shops should have a little resposibilty for the bow they work on. If yu are in question, then tell the customer up front and let them decied if you should work on it or not........