Do you keep your wood bow in a brace?

[adb]

Welcome to PA Rhinegold. 

I'm sorry but there are no benefits to what you are doing but if it makes you feel good go for it.

[The Gopher]

well, i have lurked around PA for several years now, and have made several selfbows that are good shooters. i still consider myself a "greenhorn".

when i first got on, It took me about an hour of browsing the forum to realize who the most experienced bowyers were: PatB, Marc St. Louis, Dano, George Tsoulukas (sorry about the spelling), etc, etc. Although they themselves may disagree from time to time on certain subjects, they are among the best out there when it comes to the down to earth practical aspects of bow building. I take their advice without second thought.

If your convinced that set is reversible than why don't you do your own experimenting: build a simple board bow that tapers from the belly and the back with a handle that is a mirror image of itself with equal parts of the handle in the belly and back, this way you can shoot the bow one way for several hundred shots, then flip the bow over so the belly is now the back and vice versa. if  set is reversable as you think it is, then the bow will straighten back out or go the other direction a bit, but shoot just the same. keep us abreast of this as you try it...and wear safety goggles.

[Justin Snyder]

I can be very nice...when there are no trolls about.

If one is looking for trolls, one will ALWAYS find one. The trick is being nice regardless of trolls or the lack thereof.

[coyote pup]

Everybody, no matter who you are or how much you know, needs to remember that anything said here needs to be taken with a grain of salt. This is electronic communication. We are not face to face and tone of voice, facial experessions, etc. cannot be taken into account. Also, we are not all from the same background, geographic area, native language, or culture necessarily so what one persons takes as a simple comment or question can, by another person be taken as an attack.

I do not see where any of Rhinegold comments should have come off as arrogant, presumptuous, or otherwise. If he came here to begin with, it was because he valued the advice, criticism, and help that he knew he would find. That is why the title of his thread was a QUESTION. He was simply wanting to share his experiences, thoughts, and get feedback. He got feedback, and when he replied in constructive dialogue to the constructive criticism, which are all good things, comments began to be taken out of context. This was from all sides. Plain and simple.

He is a new guy to the forum and I didn't see where he was looking for an argument. I think some of us need to remember that this is a life-long journey no matter who you are or what your name is. And assume once in a while that comments directed to us may have just as easily been made in good spirit as bad. If we were in person, and shook hands when we met somebody new before we started discussing our bows, I doubt that 1/10 of these arguments would happen.   

[HoBow]

I agree coyote pup.  Sometimes at work, I forget that emotions and tones are not portrayed the same in emails and piss people off when I'm joking about something and they do not realize....

[medicinewheel]

Everybody, no matter who you are or how much you know, needs to remember that anything said here needs to be taken with a grain of salt. This is electronic communication. We are not face to face and tone of voice, facial experessions, etc. cannot be taken into account. Also, we are not all from the same background, geographic area, native language, or culture necessarily so what one persons takes as a simple comment or question can, by another person be taken as an attack.

...

Well said!

[kayakfisher]

Well I always keep my bows in brace form ! I always hang two side by side, they look better that way 
          Dennis
                                                                         

[banoch]

What a welcome huh Rhinegold? I am new here too but will welcome you to PA as well. I didnt mean to highjack your thread with my question but it seemed a good way to maybe get you the answer you need and I needed that answer too so....... it hopefully worked out for both of us, I know it helped me although I was doing basically what the collective told me I should be doing.
Always remember what was said above about the typed word sometimes changing how things are actually meant. HOW you say things is just as important as WHAT you say. I sent David Knight a pm the other day that, after sending it I felt a little wierd about, I mean, he really doesn't know me and my personality so he may have misconstrued what I said,so, David, if you read this please know that I was just being humurous, in my wierd little way.  

[medicinewheel]

This thread is marked with a 'very hot topic' tag.
Well I guess it is...

[NOMADIC PIRATE]

"WHAT DO YOU DO TO PREVENT SET " ?


first of all you will get a degree of set all the time, set and follow are 2 different things,  .......you can have a perfecly strait bow ( no follow ) that as at the same time has 4" of set

as to keep set to a minimum,

.....make sure the wood is dry, in the tillering process after 20" increse draw length by 1/2" at a time with lots of shots, and belly temper once as soon as limbs are even and not stressed yet, second at about 20" and one last time one inch before full draw.   I got decent results lately this way.



Bending the bow backwards or even strait is not gonna help, might make the bow look good while there  .....but it's just an illusion     ...that video is pretty funny 

[Tom Leemans]

Rhinegold-
Hmmm, I just read most of this thread. I think I get the jist of it. Bear with me here a minute and I'll try to answer.

If I were going to just answer the question in the title of your thread, I would say "No, because it is not beneficial to the wood, and in fact, over time will be detrimental." Why? because of the stresses put on the wood, first one way, then the other. My belief is that it would continue to weaken the wood over time. The bow will lose draw weight, etc., etc. We've all been over that. What you have here in this forum, if you choose to listen to the right advice, are the voices of experience. We've all broken bows. We've all built bows that came in under weight, or poorly tillered. What we all have done along the way is learn to build better bows.

I have seen the video and other videos done by the aforementioned bowyer on the "tube" long before this thread was posted. Some of the things I've seen that guy do make me cringe, but I've never bashed him. He simply has much to learn yet, as do I. I wonder who gave him the idea that exercising his bow limb backwards would help? In my opinion, I believe it was more for the bow holder's benefit, than the bow's.

Dean Torges, who I regard as highest on my short list of grand master wood bowyers, will tell you straight up if you are doing something wrong. He'll also let you know when you've done something right. He has also learned to stay away from archery forums on the interweb. That man, along with Gary Davis and others, past and present, have a vast wealth of knowledge stored in their heads, regarding bowyering, and working with wood. Thankfully, they have shared some knowledge with us (along with other bowyers) and sparked a revival of a once forgotten craft. I believe ol' Dean would also tell you to go right ahead and clamp your bows limbs to a brace every night, if you think it will work, just so you will learn from your own experience. He encourages the learning process. He has just given many of us a head start.

The key word in my reply is "experience". That said, I wish you many great experiences in life, and I'm looking forward to another glass of lemonade with Dano one day.

[Tom Leemans]

Oh my gosh! I forgot to mention that heat tempering (and things like it) are usually done early in the bow making process, before the bow has been drawn many times. It's more preventative than repair. I'm sure people have tried it as a repair, but if that bow wants to break, it will anyway. If it wants to hold together, it will anyway. If it the damage is done, it will surely be reflected in the performance of the bow. (until it breaks  )

[Kegan]

It's more preventative than repair. I'm sure people have tried it as a repair

See my post. I have the cracks to prove it doesn't fix anything after teh damage is done

[medicinewheel]

That funny guy in the video, isn't he the same one that makes hornbows with the horn on the back??

[Dane]

Frank, you remember that wierd fantasy bow too? Justin used to own bowstick, and I think I recall the name Rhinegold from that site. Bunch of teens in love with Lord of the Rings stuff. I think he was in Iraq, and posted a bow he claimed he snuck into Baghdad at night with night vision goggles to harvest the wood for.

The video was funny.