Zero string follow secrets?

[NOMADIC PIRATE]

5" of string follow is only efficient and desirable if the bow is soaked in saltwater first...

Huuu, ..that's a mean dig 

[George Tsoukalas]

FG bows don't get string follow. LOL. Aren't y'all listening? The bowyer may build in some deflex. There is a market for deflexed glass bows. Jawge

[huntinoly]

I have a question for Keenan, I like the look of the deflex ed bow you posted, I would like to try makings one. My question is what are the dimensions of that bow width at fads etc. It looks like it has a straight taper from the fads to the tips. I am a friend of Gordon's, I would like to come over to your side of the mountains with Gordon next year and go to the shoot you guys have. Thanks Greg

[PatM]

George, The guys that build the glass string follow bows offer natural material bows in that shape as well. A good discussion might center around the difference between a laminated bow with the string follow shape glued in or acquired during the tillering process.
 I'm not sure how that shape is actually achieved by those bowyers.
 John Schulz was known for his bamboo backed bows built on the principle of Howard Hill's statement: "A bow that follows the string will be the most accurate shooting".

[George Tsoukalas]

Pat, I never had the pleasure of building a fg or all wood  lam bow but any deflex added is done with forms I'm sure. No belly collapse. No string follow. LOL. Jawge

[NOMADIC PIRATE]

I thought,.... that was set 

[Jesse]

Pat, I never had the pleasure of building a fg or all wood  lam bow but any deflex added is done with forms I'm sure. No belly collapse. No string follow. LOL. Jawge

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I said this before but in my opinion set can cause string follow but is not string follow its just when the limb tips are past the handle then its called string follow  it can be caused by set or from starting with a deflexed stave. You cant call it just deflex though because you can have deflex with no follow or set as in a r/d bow, I thought this was cut and dry but I guess not
Seems real simple to me

[Keenan]

 Greg,
 That deflexed bow is still in the works, I worked on the tiller a little more yesterday but still have a fair amount of weight to drop.   It is deeper in profile then I usually make just because it was a narrow stave to start with  With yew most any design can work but I tend to like more of a flat bow design and  it is a slight taper from the fades then a little more of a taper on the outer third.
  Generally I will run about 1 3/4 at the fades and around 1 5/8 at mid limb  then a sharper taper to the tips. But as I said this one is narrow and more of an ELB profile.
 Hope you can make it over for the rendezvous. I'll try to get some dimensions for you soon on that D/r in progress.

[PatM]

Jawge,  ln  a laminated wooden bow it would undoubtedly be a combo of both. If it's built in it likely acquires a touch too. The only person that would really know is the guy who made it. That kind of proves that it's how the bow shoots and how much you like it that really matters.
 To put it another way if John Schulz sent me  one of his classic "string follow"  bows that appears to be braced a couple of inches when  unstrung, I'm not going to ask him what it really is.
 

[adb]

George, The guys that build the glass string follow bows offer natural material bows in that shape as well. A good discussion might center around the difference between a laminated bow with the string follow shape glued in or acquired during the tillering process.
 I'm not sure how that shape is actually achieved by those bowyers.
 John Schulz was known for his bamboo backed bows built on the principle of Howard Hill's statement: "A bow that follows the string will be the most accurate shooting".

I've made fiberglass backed osage bows that have followed the string by up to 2". They started straight.

[radius]

i don't think some string follow is such a bad thing.  The bows seem to shoot pretty fast anyway.

[George Tsoukalas]

Could be, Pat. I don't know. It's hard to know what a selfbowyer is thinking or making because we are so all over the place with definitions. To me, that is a problem but one that does not affect me. Apparently, the bow making community is ok with this because in the past there has been no distinction between set and string follow. That's ok most are not scholars but craftsmen. I don't particularly care one way or the other because I make my own and they are usually string follow selfbows. But I am working on a sapling bow that may have a considerable amount of reflex to start and some of it will be natural so may result in some set.  So y'all can define whatever you want I'm just going to pull the covers over my head. Define what you do however you want to. The important thing is keep making and teaching others how to make them. This is such a joy filled day.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I'm going to spend this day with family and friends. Jawge

[Hillbilly]

I've always defined it like George-set is the total amount of permanant profile difference between the original bow blank and the finished bow that occurs from compression of the belly during tillering. String follow is the amount of set that causes the tips to be deflexed past the handle. Doesn't really matter what you call what, I don't reckon.