This carbon fiber bow came in for a routine rehair, but once I cut the hair and flipped it over to remove the tip block, my first thought was, ugh... what were they thinking? Inside the tip was a crude dowel plug jammed into a wallowed-out hole; a shortcut I’ve been seeing more often on inexpensive bows. In these cases, the factory drills a round hole and then slips in a cast mortice, using the same approach at both the tip and the frog. Rather than scrap the bow or attempt a fragile patch, I decided to fabricate a proper mortice insert and salvage the tip using a method that restores strength and ;function without overcomplicating the repair. - Remove Dowel Plug: Take out the dowel plug that had been jammed into the tip.
- Clean the Hole: Clean out the wallowed hole and remove any loose material.
- Form Mortice Shape: Cut a piece of styrofoam to match the size and shape of the new mortice.
- Mix Epoxy: Prepare a mixture of thick epoxy and clear epoxy for strength and flow.
- Fill and Insert: Fill the hole with epoxy and press the styrofoam mortice form into place.
- Allow to Cure: Let the epoxy set and cure for one full day.
- Clean Surface: Clean up the exterior surface and cut out the styrofoam form.
- Refine Mortice: Clean and adjust the mortice as needed for proper fit.
- Rehair Bow: Rehair the bow as normal to complete the repair.
|
