set

[luke the drifter]

i enjoy reading in this community and have learned a few things along the way.  one thing i do not read much of is when these bows are being pictured, viewed, or talked about is SET OR STRING FOLLOW.  surely every one of these bows suffers from that dreaded archery disease whether by the process, type  of wood, or just plain inexperience.  has anyone ever made a bow with zero set?  i would like to see a picture of it

[Del the cat]

I think you are right.
You always get set as the belly takes some compression.
But it can be diguised by building in reflex when you start with bending, heat treatment, laying up or splicing in backset.
The Osage bow I made had about 1" of backset spliced in and ended up with about 1" of visible set (but that's 2" in reality).Similar thing with the longbow I use, I heated in about 2-3" of reflex and now it's about straight.
Any spring will take some set, the valve springs in your car engine take some set, as do the springs in the suspension.
Mind you there's now't wrong with a bit of set. Yesterday I picked up my little 40# Hazel bow which has tons of set, I hadn't used it for ages and I was surprised by the cast and shot a great group, smooth as silk.
A bit of set shows the wood is doing some work.
Oh, and as for pictures, you'd need before and after tillering shots to really see if there is no set.
Del

[dwardo]

I think you are right.
You always get set as the belly takes some compression.
But it can be diguised by building in reflex when you start with bending, heat treatment, laying up or splicing in backset.
The Osage bow I made had about 1" of backset spliced in and ended up with about 1" of visible set (but that's 2" in reality).Similar thing with the longbow I use, I heated in about 2-3" of reflex and now it's about straight.
Any spring will take some set, the valve springs in your car engine take some set, as do the springs in the suspension.
Mind you there's now't wrong with a bit of set. Yesterday I picked up my little 40# Hazel bow which has tons of set, I hadn't used it for ages and I was surprised by the cast and shot a great group, smooth as silk.
A bit of set shows the wood is doing some work.
Oh, and as for pictures, you'd need before and after tillering shots to really see if there is no set.
Del

Perfect explanation dell. I remember reading somewhere that string follow was how far the limbs were past dead flat/straight after unstring and "set" difference between the limbs before tillering and after. I wonder if anyone has ever made a bow with no set what so ever? Surely it isnt possible without cheating?

[PEARL DRUMS]

ZERO set is impossible IMO. I like 55# plus bows. My fastest bow to date is an osage self bow that had 5" of natural reflex in it and shot in at about 3", it bounces right back to 2" immediatley after unbracing. The bow is only 45#'s and flat out rips an arrow. Set happens no matter who ya' is. Set KILLS speed and power. I am starting to learn that setting the handle/fades back rather than relflexing the entire limb is better for me. The handle set back stays put while the reflexed limbs seems to lose at least half of what I heat in. I generally steam the entire stave and clamp it down to a 3" reflexed caul. After that I dry heat the fade area only and set the handle back another 3/4" or more. The handle set back stays and a majority of the limb reflex shoots out. Its also a good way to add some zing and draw weight to a bow ya' aint happy with.

[blackhawk]

I know the difference between the two. With a dark dense well seasoned piece of Osage you can get very close to zero set IMHO. I have a short Osage bow that falls into this category that only took a 1/2" of set immediately after unstringing from where I started with,then it goes back some after a lil rest. Im currently working a well seasoned piece of Osage that has been low braced and taken out to 18" so far and has taken zero set so far. If I keep doing my part right(proper tillering) with this stave I expect to take around a half inch set. But we'll see what happens after shoot in. Could be an inch or more or it could be a 1/4" Design is also key to very low set.


Believe me or not,I know you can get close.

Here's that Osage bow unbraced. I don't have a before photo unfortunetly.  But I left the bow as is with a couple subtle kinks,no heat corrections except a limb twist correction pre tillering. It barely changed. Notice its a slight string followed bow and had a lil natural deflex to it to start with. High reflexed bows will take more set.




The current stave im working on has a natural 1/2" deflex as well and I believe this helps with lower set too.

[Del the cat]

Hey Blackhawk, maybe you ain't drawing it back far enough  
Del

[blackhawk]

Lol Del...   you english blokes and your longdraws 

This ones 51.5" ntn. 55lbs@24"  and has been pulled to 25".....that's still respectable for that length IMHO.

[Del the cat]

Lol Del...   you english blokes and your longdraws 

This ones 51.5" ntn. 55lbs@24"  and has been pulled to 25".....that's still respectable for that length IMHO.

Yeah, fair enough, 25" from a 51.5" bow is V respectable.
(I pull 'em until they snap and then back off a tad )
Del

[Elktracker]

This bow took little to no set long string tiller ( I know its to long of a string ) and after finished to I believe 55#@28"

This is Ocean Spray by the way