Bighorn Bow Restoration

G. Fred Asbell was a tremendous influence in the traditional archery world. We restored this bow back to it's former glory with the hopes that Fred would be proud. As many of you know, the traditional archery community is a blessing to be a part of. Thanks Fred for all that you did.
At GPTBC we strive for handcrafted perfection. We have a number of in stock bows and also do custom builds.
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#archery #bowhunting #bowyer #traditionalarchery #woodworking #hunting #quiver
0:00 F.G.A Tribute
1:35 Restoration Plans
2:29 Overview as is
3:47 Flingin' Arrows
4:20 Removing Inserts
5:13 Bow Tips
6:10 Story About Fred
9:17 Sizing down the grip
11:08 Bow Shelf & Side Plate
12:20 Story About Fred Continued
12:55 Sanding
13:48 Bow Tuning/More Sanding
17:30 More Flingin' Arrows
18:17 More Sanding
21:17 Double Check Tune
21:35 Quiver Inserts
22:55 Graphics
23:50 Spray Finish
24:00 Wrap Up

[@chadbooth4371]

Beautiful bow! I think you certainly honored Fred’s work.

[@greatplainsbow]

Glad you think so. Thanks for watching!

[@precisesolutions8120]

Nice work.. Beautiful Build. G Fred Asbell gave me the tools to achieve my goals. Thank you.

[@robertroth6521]

Love it when you redo another manufacturer’s bow and give it the props it deserves. Keep up the good work.

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks for watching, Robert!

[@michaelcurnutt]

I enjoy watching a master at work, leaning a lot...

[@timtollett8513]

Fred Asbell was one of the nicest guys in Bowhunting. I remember calling Gene Wensel one day asking him about what he thought about buying a good hunting bow, he told me to call Fred. Now I have 3 of them and love each one. Fred will be missed. He was such a wonderful man and would talk to everyone.

[@greatplainsbow]

Amen! Love that!

[@stevedriscoll2539]

I think you honored G. Fred Asbell, Sean. His book "Instinctive Archery" helped me overcome horrible shooting, bad habits, and inconsistency. You did a beautiful job on that bow!

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks!

[@robertbuston1951]

Great job, he hunted out of a cabin in Park county Indiana next to turkey run state park , the park was no hunting so the property the cabin was on was great hunting the guys I worked with said every time he left the cabin he'd take one practice shot at a milk jug, . M R. James lives not far from me in Princeton IN. I Seen him a few yrs. ago in out door shop said he d like to get one more deer with stick bow, they were both contributors to bow hunter magazine, sorry for getting long winded😅

[@greatplainsbow]

Love the info!

[@itascaarcherysupply1071]

Fred would be so proud of what you did with one of his bows. Great video and beautiful work!

[@greatplainsbow]

Thank you, sir!

[@DavidHBurkart]

G. Fred Asbell is the man who connected the dots I needed in my early days of learning traditional archery. Grwat man. Thanks for doing this

[@greatplainsbow]

Yep, a great man. Thanks for watching my channel!

[@paulkerby4829]

Well, that’s pretty cool

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks, Paul!

[@MerlinsTeaboy]

Very cool bow and a lovely restoration, Fred would be proud.

[@greatplainsbow]

I hope he would be. He really built a high quality bow. Thanks for watching!

[@steveharmon5301]

Good Job 👍👍

[@halfdanlothbrock8587]

Fred's smiling. Glad to see your respect of nostalgia

[@greatplainsbow]

Hope he is!

[@markoharoldoronearmedpoohb7816]

Mr Asbell was a very strong influencer back in the 1980’s for me, I owned a few of Fred’s Bighorns, they were very good bows, but they seemed very clunky to me, and they always seemed to be a Loud bow, but built like a Tank! He worked at IBM when he came to Colorado, and he did quit to do his thing. Back then we had a pretty good following of trad shooters! I applaud what you done with that Bighorn, very nice and you made it better then when it was new!

[@robertpeters6923]

Fantastic work on that Asbell bow. Fred was a super nice guy and very talented. When you read one of his hunting stories it felt like you were right there with him.

[@greatplainsbow]

For sure! He was a great guy!

[@j.r.tidwell3318]

I’ll tell you one thing, that was one hell of a job my friend. Fred G would approve of your work on his bow. If I heard you right the bow was built in 1980.He picked the dang bow up and shot an outstanding group with it. That’s tell you the bow was built right. Restored it and Robin Hood an arrow with the dang thing.. Great job the both of you!

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks you sir! It was Honestly one of the more enjoyable reworks I've ever done, but I had a quality bow to start with so that always helps a lot

[@Hunterpickett5813]

You all nailed it! Great video

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks, Hunter!

[@Witzansky4]

Very informative! I never would have thought you could take pounds of such a old bow.

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks for watching! Yep I reduce old bows all the time. You have to be really careful on the bows that have woven sheet glass on them

[@georgehaydukeiii6396]

These videos are great. Thanks for taking the time to honor these historic famous archers and bowyers.

[@greatplainsbow]

Glad you like them and thanks for watching!

[@da_steira8161]

Well done👍🏻

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks!

[@edrace1882]

Great video.

[@caseysmith544]

I love the bow and how you carefully fix the bow and the few flaws like the large grip as well as the style of grip since you know it is an amazing bow already with the quality of the work put into the rest of the bow. By the way I use a proper stringer for my 3 bows, a webbing/seatbelt recurve stringer for one and a Longbow one that was very long I fixed to work up to 64 inch Longbow type bows. This set is even including a Youth Longbow left hand only in Hickory I bought from your company in late 2022 that I got for my draw 24.5--25 inches and eye dominance (Shortbow for adults) at 45 pounds that will be my eventual hunting bow. I am the guy from South Dakota, Pierre (Pier).

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks for the business and for watching my channel, Casey!

[@josephreichart7545]

Wow times alot,You Do Good Honor ,,now my bows turn,

[@greatplainsbow]

Sure thing, I can make it happen for you

[@josephreichart7545]

Watching couple of your videos,seeing you in action ,I'm eagerly awaiting the time I can send Nomad Stalker for you make nice ,

[@tomvawter4531]

Another great job and tribute! 🏹👍

[@alexstillman1285]

i enjoy watching you do your magic with these bows.very impressive.

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks for watching!

[@andyreed1292]

Very cool!

[@d123avek1]

I’ve got to get out there and get a visitor’s day pass to the shop! That was awesome. What satisfying work. First bow I ever bought was a hill-style Bighorn “D” longbow. Sold it on flea-bay when I figured out 55lbs was too much to start with 😂. Excellent video!

[@greatplainsbow]

We'd love to have you, Dave!

[@josephtreadlightly5686]

I have a Bighorn custom recurve takedown that was from about the time that G. Fred Asbell sold Bighorn bow Co. It has a much better low wrist grip than that 1 piece bow. However it's a 65 lb. @ 30" model & I can't even string the beast. But there r alot of old school similarities to them.

[@greatplainsbow]

I hear ya. Have you thought about reducing the weight on yours?

[@josephtreadlightly5686]

@@greatplainsbow Nope, but I failed to convert it to an ILF setup. Very hard to find a nice 19" riser out there. It's so heavy & stacks so I never considered it an option to your video.

[@normankaster917]

Nicely done sir...i like the new serial number it's very fitting.

[@raymondkoehler9299]

Great job , Fred would love it .

[@tomalderman7598]

Amazing work !!

[@tjhoss6729]

Great work And a great tribute.👍

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks, TJ!

[@clifftaylor4712]

great job!

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks!

[@tmoanpumba5487]

Rip emery cloth about 180 grit into about 3/16th wide strips for string grooves.. I have refinished and reduced weights on several Asbell bows , easy designs to work with, wish he had a bit more taper in the lams .. great work . The glass is the older Gordons glass that had the peel away strip for the glue side.,It is actually slightly softer and and does smell different while working it.. It will be usually .050 thick.

[@greatplainsbow]

That's interesting info on the Gordon's glass thanks! On the emery cloth I have tried that and it really doesn't work as well as how I do it. You can actually buy rolls of sandpaper cord that I've heard some bowyers use. Tried that also. Not for me

[@davidtracey7178]

Nice video. Just a note: Please, everyone, wear a respirator when spraying finish. That crud that's crusted up on that fan in the video also goes into your lungs if you don't.

[@knifesharpeningnorway]

That turned out sweet. Looks like a damn good shooter too. 😁 Also i want the german walrus wood from tanzania in my bow with a little stripes from the norwegian viking tree from antartica in the warm region and only from the shadow side of the tree. You fix that and i color me impressed mateys 😂😂

[@greatplainsbow]

😆

[@knifesharpeningnorway]

@@greatplainsbow also i want a 120 pound bow that is as easy to draw as a 42 you can do that smooth is the keey woord hehe

[@ronaldroehrick4872]

Please start wearing a mask young man you only have one set of lungs. I love the way you work.

[@jakesmith6337]

Great restoration & very educational !! In this video you mentioned how that bow stacked and that certain parts of the limbs were not working at one point, my question is can anything be done to re-set a draw length to say 25 to 28 so it doesn’t stack so much ?

[@travisstiles4158]

Great video! I've been looking for a bighorn g fred Era recurve for a little bit and only finding the 60 to 75 pound bows. So if I actually get my hands on one I know who to send it to.

[@greatplainsbow]

For sure!

[@lifeline025]

How many layers of varnish do you put on the bow? Any sending between the coats? ?

[@greatplainsbow]

We do 3 and sand between every coat

[@user-rm9sg1iu8m]

Hello. I'm going to make grip a little thin and coat it again. But that part has a slight difference in color. I don't have any equipment, so I need to use a spray, Do you have any products to recommend? I want glossy, darker than the original woods, and a scratch-resistant coating. And it's important that the coating permeates the wood well. I get a lot of ideas and possibilities by looking at your work.

[@greatplainsbow]

One of the best clear gloss coats from a spray can is the Rust-Oleum 2X clear gloss

[@user-rm9sg1iu8m]

@@greatplainsbow Thank you. You've recommended it once. It was imported to South Korea a few years ago, but now it's all sold out. "Rust Oleum Varathane polyurethane gloss" This is in stock. It's from the same company, can this replace it?

[@greatplainsbow]

@@user-rm9sg1iu8m sure that'll work. Just remember to sand with high grit sandpaper between coats

[@user-rm9sg1iu8m]

@@greatplainsbow Thank you. When ordering your bow, I will definitely ask you to cut the grip a little thin. I have deep trust in your work because you showed me the production process in detail.

[@jadeddragon4254]

Awesome. What do you use for a finish ? That looks great

[@greatplainsbow]

Thanks! M. L. Campbell's Krystal conversion varnish post catalyzed.

[@SharpObserver1A]

You probably charged the owner 10 times the cost of the bow for that refinishing (not a restoration).

[@greatplainsbow]

Is this a passive aggressive comment?

[@BlessedNoob]

What sort of spray finish do you use? I'm in the process of redoing my wooden recurve with fiberglass reinforced limbs. Not sure what I should spray for a finish. Or if I should even sand the fiberglass

[@greatplainsbow]

Do you have an hvlp?

[@BlessedNoob]

@@greatplainsbow I do not have a spray gun sadly. I was thinking of doing varnish on wood and then seal the entire bow with a polyurethane spray

[@greatplainsbow]

@@BlessedNoob sure you can do a very nice finish with an aerosol can. Just remember to sand between coats with about 320 grit. For that I'd use Rust-Oleum 2x ultra cover. Start with the clear gloss and finish with the matte

[@BlessedNoob]

@@greatplainsbow I will give this a shot! Thanks a lot for the advice

[@longbow5423]

I think you should be wearing a face mask of some sort. Just sayin, did a decent job on the recurve though. A splatter coat of epoxy would have made it look stock though.

[@greatplainsbow]

Hey thanks for watching! Yeah a face mask would be good. I think a splatter coat of epoxy would look bad. I know what you're referencing on that finish, but I've always hated that look and the bow didn't have that finish on it so I don't know that Fred was doing that. I've never seen it on any of his bows anyway. It wouldn't have looked nearly as nice with that kind of finish on it

[@longbow5423]

@@greatplainsbow That was the finish Asbell used on all his bows as is my knowledge and from owning a ton of them over the years. I also was able to test prototypes through Creekside Gun Shop when it was open through the archery manager there whom I was friends with. He helped Fred develop there recurve design and especially his longbow design. Has a ton of input on the 62" t/d sleeve t/d longbow Fred made. stay safe PS Fred didn't really make bows either, the Nelson brothers did. Fred inked them and on occassion sprayed them with the epoxy coating he developed. Although before the Nelsons I think a fella named Tom ran the custom shop but might be wrong on that end.

[@greatplainsbow]

@@longbow5423 I hear ya. Interesting stuff. Thanks for the info!

[@shaneewell7404]

Fantastic job. I look at traditional bows as artwork. They are so beautiful but can be lethal in the right hands. Love it. Great work.