Main Discussion Area > Bows

Reflex type and performance

<< < (2/2)

SLIMBOB:
I don’t know the answer, but I have thought about the question. Everything on these wood bows, in my opinion, is done on a see saw. Adding one element to the bow can often throw things out of balance if not compensated for elsewhere. As Mark mentioned, recurves have a positive effect on stored energy, but unless compensated for with more wood, adding mass, then increased set can have you back where you started. Narrowing the working limb will reduce mass, but you must go thicker, and thicker limbs take more set, bringing you back to where you started. My favorite bow is a 66” inch bendy handle with around 3 inches of natural backset, straight stiff tips. It might not be as fast as some of my recurves, but it is sweet to shoot, quiet, and spine tolerant. Cast is simply one element to measure regarding performance.

Selfbowman:
I agree slimbob. My hunting and target bows are a bit slower but who cares . Good flight and good speed  gets the job done. But yes you flip the tips about 2” on 68” bow and you have a good smooth shooting bow. The pros would not shoot them if they did not have good cast and pleasant draw. Pretty close to the design straight out of bowyers bible 1., I just tweeted that design a bit with the suggestion of Jim Davis on the forum.

mmattockx:

--- Quote from: Kidder on December 24, 2023, 03:48:25 pm ---A couple really interesting comments that get me thinking even more. If you need more mass in the tips to avoid twisting does it make building higher performance easier in a longbow than it does simply recurving it?
My questions also really come down to this…I’m working on an HHB bow that has taken some decent reflex right out of the handle. I’m thinking of putting it on a form and heat treating it and adding in even reflex throughout or also debating putting in either short working recurves (just basically flipping the tips) or long graceful working recurves. Their probably isn’t a single right answer, just lots of consideration.

--- End quote ---

For that bow the easiest would be to heat in some even reflex along the limb. Flipping the tips for short static levers would also work well, but will be trickier to tiller. Tillering the long working recurves would be the toughest of the 3 options.


Mark

Del the cat:
Some good comments.
I think it's pretty much the law of diminishing returns... it's easy to get some improvement on a very basic bow.
But as you strive further it creates almost as many problems as improvements.
Taking a simple ELB design, there are speed improvements to be gained from making the bow narrower or adding reflex or backset, but these can all cause instability.
Bottom line is, it depends what you are trying to build, a flight bow, or a smooth reliable target or hunting bow.
It's noteworthy that Hickman's original R/D glass design had fantastic performance but needed considerable changes to make it smooth and reliable for target shooting.
Del

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page