Then all pieces, new replacement parts and the old,original parts are coated with a stain. We find that a mixture of MinWax's Golden Oak & Colonial Maple approximates aged Pennsylvania ash wood.

To sand properly and insert new parts, we first take apart the old sled.

Top piece is the new replacement stanchion; the bottom an original sled stanchion - matches pretty well !

Re-tied by Johnn and ready for Nancy to apply three coats of spar marine quality urethane. Re-install the brake, add a new bridle and it's ready for winter !

Every piece is hand-sanded to remove all traces of old varnish.

Sled as we received it - broken stanchion & runners, pro-bridle broken, and peeling finish.

Sled Repairs

To match the grey under-tones of an older sled, Nancy randomly applies a black stain to all the new pieces that are re-placing broken sled parts.

After 24 hours, those stained areas are hand-sanded again.

In addition to repairing Arctic Star Dog Sleds, we can replace parts on almost all sled models - runners, brush bows, handles and such. We have worked on sled built by Moody, Kimluk, Chatmac, Hall, McDonald, Waldman,  Risdon, and some "maker-unknown" models.

If  your sled could use  a conversion from the "old-style claw brake"  to a new bar  brake, or you want to add a drag mat;  Arctic Star can do that. Re-tie an old basket, switch out screw-on plastic to aluminum rails - all possible.

Pricing will vary - and we can't give an estimate until we actually see and examine the sled.

Arctic Star can refurbish your old sled with  sanding, staining and applying three coats of marine spar  urethane to give it new life. We like to schedule our repair/refurbish work in the spring and summer months and leave the fall and winter to build new  Arctic Star Dog Sleds.  Please keep that in mind when thinking of using us for your sled work.

Here's some photos of a three stanchion sled that needed not only a new stanchion and runners; but major re-finishing. Here's how Nancy works to match the original sled -  step by step.