Root Pendulus Target bows

The Root Pendulus and 
Pendulus Supreme

by Larry Vienneau

 
Pendulus- Latin, adjective

1. Hanging loosely; suspended to swing or sway.

2. swinging freely; oscillating.

The Root Pendulus Supreme is named after the Latin word (pendulus) meaning balance. It is a base word for the word pendulum.  A pendulum is meant to move freely, balanced by the action of gravity and momentum.

1966 Pendulus Supreme with Aluminum Lamination

1966 Pendulus with Aluminum Lamination

Ernie Root was an excellent tournament archer. In 1947 he set a record for an individual score of 836 which was not broken until 1959. 

Travers City Record-Eagle - March 30, 1959

Though he created outstanding hunting and field bow, his real love was the target bow. Ernie Root was an inventor and a tinker, and he loved to push the envelope of bow design. He used wide flares of wood as the limbs met riser which helped distribute stress and added balance and created built–in “four points” stabilizers. Ernie believed that the bow needed to fit perfectly in an archer’s hand. He constantly modified his target bow design to achieve perfect balance and perfect aesthetics. In the 1960’s he experimented with varying profiles and wood distribution to get the most out of the least material. As a result, the bows developed amazingly beautiful profiles while allowing an archer to shoot a well-balanced stable bow. Ernie Root's bows had a beautiful, sculpted look and Root experimented with new materials. In later Pendulus Supreme models, he integrated aluminum and wood laminations for the first time. This allowed for greater strength and thinner grips. Ernie’s interest in the metal riser would eventually give rise to the all-aluminum riser Golden Eagle, one of the finest target bows ever made. 

Lewis Kent's beautiful Root Pendulus Supreme

 

Joey Zoppa's beautiful Pendulus Supreme

 

Another of Lewis Kent's beautiful Pendulus Supreme bows

My friend Lewis Kent won this incredible Pendulus Supreme with target sight. It is an absolutely beautiful bow. The exact date is unknown. There isn’t much online information about this bow, but I would guess it is from 1964-66.  I have photographed his bow with a Shakespeare Professional and a Root Field Master to show how Ernie’s target bow designs found their way into Shakespeare target bows as well as field and hunting bows. The other fine example of this extraordinarily beautiful bow belongs to Joey Zoppa. 

 Root Pendulus

Edward Campbell's  1967 Pendulus

Pendulus Supreme 1963-69?

·         Sight window- 7 ½ - 8 inch

·         Glass -ivory white

·         Limbs- 1 5/8, 2 inches

·         Laminated hardwood and rosewood tips overlays

·         Riser Rosewood with laminated accented arrow rest in the back of the bow, later aluminum laminated with wood

·         66" 68" 70" AMO

·         25#-50#

·Brace height: 8 ¼ inch

Pendulus 1963-69?

• Sight window- 7 ½ 
• Glass -ivory white
• Limbs- 1 5/8, 2 inches
• Laminated hardwood and rosewood tips overlays
• Riser Rosewood with laminated accented arrow rest in the back of the bow, later aluminum laminated with wood.
• 66” - 68 AMO
• 25#-50#
• Brace height: 8 inches

UPDATE: MAY 24, 2015
I finally have a Pendulus Supreme. It is a lefty version of Lewis Kent's perfect bow; however, my bow needed a full restoration. The finish was crackled and damaged, there was a homemade insert added with a bolt protruding from that insert. That had to be drilled out and plugged in. The bow also had 7 drill holes for sights. This bow also had a crack in the lamination. I took my time and carefully restored the bow. It is now beautiful.
 

my restored Root Pendulus Supreme LH 34#

 

Shakespeare Professional, Root Pendulus Supreme, Root Field Master

*a special thanks to Joey Zoppa for sharing his bow.
Since there isn't much online information about many Root bows, please add comments that may help identify the years of these bows. One of the problems with Root catalogs is that many had no dates or year of manufacture so the only way of dating them is through informed collectors, printed articles, and ads from that era.

© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.

All rights reserved.