Author Topic: Best way to pull out reflex  (Read 7190 times)

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Offline Danzn Bar

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #15 on: June 11, 2018, 07:59:00 pm »
And it's still shooting today...….
DBar
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Offline Danzn Bar

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #16 on: June 11, 2018, 08:13:26 pm »
There's no such thing as too much reflex ….if it can be tillered properly...
DBar
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Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #17 on: June 11, 2018, 08:44:33 pm »
Is that the finished bow Marc or did some of that reflex pull out? It is, as you put it, a fair amount :D :D

That was the bow before tillering.  This was after

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Offline Badger

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #18 on: June 11, 2018, 08:55:54 pm »
   I kind of think of wood as I do athletes, some wood has more potential than others even of the same species. I don't think many of us have figured out a way to tell ahead of time which pieces of wood have the exceptional athletic ability but building bows with a lot of reflex will certainly separate the average wood from the exceptional wood.

    I have built my share of heavily reflexed bows and in my case I have seen a few different thing happen. Sometimes I don't loose much reflex but the limbs are just a tad rubbery and I don't have as much early draw weight as I would expect from such an extreme design. When a limb gets so thin as it sometimes does in heavily reflexed designs the tension wood can pull it back into shape even though the belly has been badly damaged. Other times I have lost a good bit of the reflex to set but the bow still was pretty hard at brace height and shot very well. I believe that when we are working with wood we are best off to stay within its limitations, sinew backed bows can tolerate much more reflex because the sinew is stretching. I think in most cases too much reflex surpasses the limits of the point of diminishing returns.

Offline bjrogg

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #19 on: June 12, 2018, 06:12:06 am »
Suspect your probably right Badger in most cases. Especially with longer draws. That's why I said Ed would probably put on sinew and horn. I know he says it makes a durable bow that way. Seem like for me with my short draw length a bit more reflex if I can hold it really speeds up my bows.
Bjrogg
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Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #20 on: June 12, 2018, 07:27:16 am »
   I kind of think of wood as I do athletes, some wood has more potential than others even of the same species. I don't think many of us have figured out a way to tell ahead of time which pieces of wood have the exceptional athletic ability but building bows with a lot of reflex will certainly separate the average wood from the exceptional wood.

    I have built my share of heavily reflexed bows and in my case I have seen a few different thing happen. Sometimes I don't loose much reflex but the limbs are just a tad rubbery and I don't have as much early draw weight as I would expect from such an extreme design. When a limb gets so thin as it sometimes does in heavily reflexed designs the tension wood can pull it back into shape even though the belly has been badly damaged. Other times I have lost a good bit of the reflex to set but the bow still was pretty hard at brace height and shot very well. I believe that when we are working with wood we are best off to stay within its limitations, sinew backed bows can tolerate much more reflex because the sinew is stretching. I think in most cases too much reflex surpasses the limits of the point of diminishing returns.

I agree Steve.  It's all in the wood and the only way to find out is to try it.  If one can get their hands on top grade Elm then you can't ask for better when making highly reflexed bows, sadly I haven't cut any top grade Elm in awhile.

That is a lovely bow DB
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Offline Danzn Bar

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #21 on: June 12, 2018, 03:06:29 pm »
Thanks Marc...……...
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking

Offline bradsmith2010

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #22 on: June 12, 2018, 05:08:33 pm »
deflex the handle and go with what you got,, if you scared,,, deflex it a bit more, (lol)

Offline DC

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #23 on: June 13, 2018, 12:22:27 pm »
Deflexed, doesn't look quite so daunting now. I haven't taken any reflex out. It's 40#@23" so I'm glueing on tips to brace it

Offline Bayou Ben

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #24 on: June 13, 2018, 12:48:04 pm »
Looks awesome! I wouldn't pull anything out.  Let it ride and see what you get. 

Offline Bayou Ben

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #25 on: June 13, 2018, 12:51:26 pm »
And let us know how bracing it goes.  I'm working on one right now that has less reflex than that and it's a beast to brace.

Offline bjrogg

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #26 on: June 13, 2018, 01:11:48 pm »
I like it DC. It will probably feel a lot heavier at brace than it really is. Seems like it's Easy to get under Your intended draw weight with these.
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Offline DC

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #27 on: June 13, 2018, 01:18:37 pm »
This stave was very bendy. When I roughed it out at 3/4" thick it was almost at final weight, 40#. If I was making a straight bow it would have come in underweight I'm sure. I evened out the thickness taper before I reflexed and heat treated. This 23" is without any tillering yet. I've got 4" to get it right.

Offline DC

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #28 on: June 13, 2018, 02:11:10 pm »
When I braced it, it was 40#@ 27" and in there somewhere I lost at least 2" of reflex. It was easy to brace. I've done no tillering and it was so close. So I've got no weight left for tillering and it's bending in the middle too much. It's 64" so I might spike it an inch or I might tiller it out properly and see what I get. I've never seen such a bendy stick. Harvested in 2014 so it's as dry as anything gets around here. Weighs 500 grams (17+ oz) Rats, I was hoping for better, I'll leave the next one thicker. :)
Just for the hell of it I put it in the shooting machine 40#@28" 10 gpp I got 170 fps.

Offline Bayou Ben

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Re: Best way to pull out reflex
« Reply #29 on: June 13, 2018, 02:48:02 pm »
Surprised you didn't get more weight with that thickness.  I know it's maple, but look at your thickness vs how thin Dazn Bar's osage is.