Author Topic: Set  (Read 3468 times)

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Offline Del the cat

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Re: Set
« Reply #15 on: August 10, 2013, 05:47:47 am »
Like Mike says... you're aiming for less that 2".
But my point is don't beat yourself up about it, there are reasons for these things and that's part of the fun and skill which we are all still learning.
An interesting little story if you'll bear with me..
Are you sitting cofortably? Then I'll begin.
A friend of mine went to see a well known exponent of Italian Yew warbows (Mr X) for a discussion about shooting heavy weight bows, he took with him a bow I'd made(about 85-90# at 32") which MrX looked at, he opined thusly.
Victorian... Nice back... Don't like the splice.
Now the point here is, he didn't know the whys and wherefores of the bow.
It was Victorian in shape and tiller because the two Oregon Yew billets weren't fat enough for anything else, and they were so narrow the splice was also slighty scruffy on the edges.
Yes, the back was perfect 'cos it was a continuous slice from an English Yew log which had excess sapwood and I'd left the underbark surface in it's virgin state.
Interestingly MrX sold my friend a 105# Italian Yew bow as a trainer bow to help him build up to something bigger. To be fair it was sold as a 'second' ... the belly had countless knots which had developed nasty pinches because they hadn't been filled and it has taken a good bit of set.
Now by the same token as my bow had reasons for it's short commings , this bow doubtless did to, and it was sold cheap as a second so it's unfair of me to be over critical. However it had previously been sold as a 'first' and returned.
So what's my point/points?
Each bow is different. You can only work the wood you have. Even the 'experts' can produce a wrong un.
We all live and learn.
Del
(BTW, My bow out shoots the Italian Yew easy peasy >:D)
« Last Edit: August 10, 2013, 05:53:07 am by Del the cat »
Health warning, these posts may contain traces of nut.

Offline H Rhodes

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Re: Set
« Reply #16 on: August 10, 2013, 08:32:25 am »
I know that I am still fairly new to this stuff and have only built in the neighborhood of fifty or so selfbows, but I have come to form an opinion on this subject.  I have built bows that have no string follow and some that retain a bit of reflex after shooting in, and a great many that have around 2" or less of string follow.    The bows that I enjoy shooting the most have an inch to two inches of string follow.  Maybe it is my fledgling bowyerism, but the bows I have made that are dead flat after shooting in have not been sweet shooting bows. I can build a bow that shows zero string follow, but I am not sure that I want to.....  does that make sense?   More rambling on this - I had a winged elm bow that kept reflex no matter how far you pulled it and it would shake the fillings out of your teeth when shot.    I have a little hickory bow that shows two inches of string follow when it is first unbraced that goes back to about 1 1/2" a couple hours later, that is the fastest bow I have made so far.  It's early string tension is amazing and pulling somewhere in the low fifties, it will shoot a 550 grain arrow at around 185 fps.  This bow is sweet on release and a real pleasure to shoot.  Performance as far as arrow speed is similar with each of these bows, but I know which one I would rather shoot.  Maybe I can learn to build a bow that is both sweet shooting and zero string follow - I am a work in progress!    For now,  I am not going to fret if I make a bow with a couple inches of string follow, as long as it shoots good.   Am I just going through a stage that some of you experts have already passed through, or what? 
Howard
Gautier, Mississippi

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Set
« Reply #17 on: August 10, 2013, 08:41:31 am »
2" ofset is max before I start thinking of ways to lessen it. Make the same bow 2" longer and see what happens. Now make another still only 2" longer but make it a 1/2" wider and see what happens. This is exactly how guys, like me, went crazy and built 40-50 bows in a year. I just had to know, "what would happen if I....?".
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline H Rhodes

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Re: Set
« Reply #18 on: August 10, 2013, 08:45:32 am »
2" ofset is max before I start thinking of ways to lessen it. Make the same bow 2" longer and see what happens. Now make another still only 2" longer but make it a 1/2" wider and see what happens. This is exactly how guys, like me, went crazy and built 40-50 bows in a year. I just had to know, "what would happen if I....?".

It's bad.  It really, really is....
Howard
Gautier, Mississippi

Offline Thesquirrelslinger

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Re: Set
« Reply #19 on: August 10, 2013, 01:10:44 pm »
No bow I have made since joining PA has had more than 1.5" of set. Therefore I cannot really speak on this topic- except my longbow from TMK shoots a tad faster(and is 4# lower in draw weight) than my red oak longbow, which has about 1" of set(TMK longbow has 1/2" of reflex)
but it also has far narrower and lighter tips, is narrower, and in addition it has a far less elastic string(linen instead of B50)..
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

Offline twisted hickory

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Re: Set
« Reply #20 on: August 10, 2013, 01:33:35 pm »
I have a bow w 2.5 inches of string follow. It started w 0. The bow aint the fastest thing but it still shoots well and consistent. I have worn out two dozen cedar arrows with it.

Offline bow101

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Re: Set
« Reply #21 on: August 10, 2013, 08:54:17 pm »
So I had it braced for a couple hours.  Un-braced it and measured, was roughly 2 1/2" of set.  Checked again after a couple hours and it's around 1 3/4" ..  I understand that it can make a bow slower, but then again are not most primitve bow hunters taking game @ 20 yards or less.  So having said that a slower bow should still have penetrating power at short distances..?
"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."  Joseph Campbell

Offline Weylin

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Re: Set
« Reply #22 on: August 10, 2013, 09:10:54 pm »
It certainly is relative. There are plenty of bows with 2-3" of set that can easily take game at 20 yards. It all depends on how fast it can shoot an arrow. You're right that it doesn't take a whole lot to kill a deer at 20 yards but it does take something. if you had a bow that could barely be considered acceptable for taking a deer and then it took 2" of set then I'd say it's pretty likely that it's not an ethical bow to hunt with anymore. But if my 64# yew longbow ended up with 2" of set I'm pretty sure it would still be just fine for shooting at a deer with.

Offline bubby

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Re: Set
« Reply #23 on: August 10, 2013, 09:15:47 pm »
So I had it braced for a couple hours.  Un-braced it and measured, was roughly 2 1/2" of set.  Checked again after a couple hours and it's around 1 3/4" ..  I understand that it can make a bow slower, but then again are not most primitve bow hunters taking game @ 20 yards or less.  So having said that a slower bow should still have penetrating power at short distances..?




see this is my explanation exactly when you unstrung it you had 2 1/2" and after it rested you measured 1 3/4", so in my little world of many voices you have 1 3/4" of set and 3/4" of follow
« Last Edit: August 11, 2013, 03:04:03 am by bubby »
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
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Offline bushboy

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Re: Set
« Reply #24 on: August 10, 2013, 09:20:17 pm »
I don't own a crono but I judge the worth of a bow by arrow flight.if it can shoot a 9grain /# flat at 25 yards I think it's. Ok.ok nearly flat.
Some like motorboats,I like kayaks,some like guns,I like bows,but not the wheelie type.