VINTAGE ZEUS FIBERGLASS BOWS

Zeus and Shawnee Fiberglass bows
by Larry Vienneau

I have read in many traditional forums that fiberglass bows are worthless, that it doesn't make sense to attempt to restore them. That might be true if you are planning to resell the bows but for me it isn't about the money. I love to restore any bow. Most of these fiberglass bows are beaters, dinged up, painted, scratched, and needing TLC. They are usually inexpensive and I love the challenge.

Ironically solid fiberglass bows are a great place to start restoring vintage bows. You don't need to worry about laminations separating or the glues failing. You do need to remember that these bows are fiberglass and to always scrap with a piece of plastic from the riser to the to the nock and not nock to riser because you run the risk of lifting strands of the glass. 

my Zeus 50 lb. number 402 in Translucent Light Green Glass

 I have not been able to find anything on the Zeus Archery Company. I am sure there is some information buried in a stack of 1950s outdoor magazines, but for now I will just describe the bow and the rest will happen in time. This bow was a $35 eBay item. When it arrive it was in decent shape but the finish was pretty bad and the leather grip was falling off. I prefer to keep any original labels or logos intact so I used Frisket Masks. This is a transparent film used in airbrushing or watercolor. It works well because it is easy to remove and won't damage a delicate decal. Once it is covered I used Citrus stripper because it easy and is a water clean up. The Zeus only needed two applications of remover. I had the entire bow stripped and ready to finish in an hour. I tied a piece of heavy fishing line to the top nock, hung it from a tree and sprayed it with a couple coats of urethane. Then I wrapped a new leather grip and added Velcro as an arrow rest. Total time for refinish- two hours!

my Shawnee 50 lb. number #149R in Translucent Light Green Glass

I try to buy these bows in weights of 50-60 lbs. The cast is slower then a laminated bow so the higher weight help push the arrow. These bows are incredibly durable and are excellent shooters. That is one of the advantages over laminated recurves. Another huge advantage is you can use Fast Flight string with these bows, it isn't a good idea to use Fast Flight string with other vintage bows. 

Around the same time I picked up the Zeus I also won a Shawnee fiberglass bow. The photo of the bow was dark and I thought the bow was dark green. I was very happy to discover that these bows were very similar, both had Jade like Translucent Light Green Glass, the same grips, same yellow decorative tape,  and the nocks were identical. Most likely the same company produce both bows. The refinishing for this bow took even less time. Two bows for under $70 and a few hours of work. What is the real advantage to these old time bows is the ambidextrous riser. I can share the shooting experiences with my son and my friends. 

I shot these two bows with my chronograph, using 410 gr arrows, shot 12 arrows and averaged the results. These bow with fast Flight Strings shot better that my expensive Bear bows:  

 Zeus 50 lb. number 402 Fiberglass-------     169.88 FPS

Shawnee 50 lb. number 149R Fiberglass---  167.90 FBS

© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.

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