Taking set?

[nclonghunter]

If a bow takes a set, does that mean you did not tiller it correctly?

Or, will a particular bow design always have some set?

I am working on a 56" hickory "D" shaped Cherokee bow that is almost the same width from end to end and has the diamond end string nocks. I shot it a couple times today and it has a 1 1/2 to 2 inch set immediately after unstringing it.

The hickory was cut in 2011 and has been air drying since.

[Slackbunny]

Set is caused by the over-stressing of the belly fibers in compression. This can be caused by poor design, sub-standard wood, and improper tillering techniques such as leaving the bow at near full draw for extended periods of time, or drawing it beyond the target draw weight.

I wouldn't worry about 1.5 to 2 inches of set. Its always nice to not have any, but I don't think it starts becoming a problem until you have more than 3 or 4 inches of set.

[Weylin]

Set is caused by the over-stressing of the belly fibers in compression. This can be caused by poor design, sub-standard wood, and improper tillering techniques such as leaving the bow at near full draw for extended periods of time, or drawing it beyond the target draw weight.

+1
It can also come from poor tillering when a particular area is doing too much work compared to the areas around it. When set happens this way then you will see it just in a particular area as opposed to the set being distributed along the length of the bow which is a result of a poorly designed or high moisture bow.

[WhitefeatherFout]

Also, hickory is very susceptible to moisture.  Sometimes just air drying doesn't get it to where it needs to be.  Some sort of mechanical drying, such as a hotbox or leaving it near a heat source, is often needed on hickory in my opinion.  Even when dry, hickory will draw moisture back into it.  I don't fool with working on hickory if it's humid outside.  If your set is due to moisture you can heat it and using a caul or form, straighten it back out or even add a bit of reflex.  If it's a tillering or overstressing issue, it may not be fixable.  Some pics would be helpful.

[Del the cat]

IMO you always get some set.

I think most of the replies should be preceeded by the word "Excessive" as in 'excessive set can be cause by......'

If a finished bow has 1" of reflex, it probably started with 2".
Everything takes set.
The valve springs in you car will take set!
There is a difference between the cells of the belly distorting and compressing slightly, and getting them getting crushed into mush.
IMO, if a bow has no set, it could probably be working just a little harder!
The comments about poor tillering are somewhat missleading, If it's taken a small amount of set evenly along the limbs, I don't see how it can be considered to be poorly tillered.
Even the 'no set' tillering method relies (I believe) on you spotting when it's just begining to take the slightest amount of set.
Trying for absolutely 'no set' is about as feasible as my 'wait til it breaks and go back a bit' method .
Del

[bushboy]

Plus 1,del.

[huisme]

+1 Del, I have never seen no set, but have managed to get it down to a fraction of an inch when I'm lucky.

And I'll take this opportunity to distinguish between set and string follow:

[Bearded bowyer]

If you read Horace Fords book 'Archery'
He starts that a bow with set is much preferred as it gives a much better loose there for decreasing string shock and is much preferred.
Its an old book written in 1856, but he held some pretty incredible records. Modern archery is a whole different kettle of fish, but if it was good enough for the esteemed Horace, its good enough for me. 

[wood_bandit 99]

String follow bows are very nice to shoot. Not speed demons but sometimes you give up speed for accuracy. Howard hill preferred his to have string follow, all bows have hidden string follow that you can't see but most people measure it off visible follow.  I think 2" is max string follow you want and 1" is probably more average. My bows have 1-0" of set and the best shooting ones have about .75" of string follow. It isn't that big of a deal unless you have in excess of 2"

[huisme]

all bows have hidden string follow that you can't see but most people measure it off visible follow.

All bows have set, not all bows have follow. Follow is the distance the tips go past the axis of the handle when unstrung.

[wood_bandit 99]

all bows have hidden string follow that you can't see but most people measure it off visible follow.

All bows have set, not all bows have follow. Follow is the distance the tips go past the axis of the handle when unstrung.

Oh, sorry. Didn't know we have a bunch of grammar nazis on here.  jk

[nclonghunter]

With the same hickory wood from the same tree, I made a different designed bow a little over a year ago. It was Sudbury bow design and about the same length as the one I shaped out today. The Sudbury design returns to a straight bow. The "D" shaped bow I shaped today has taken on string follow. The first time it was less but now it is closer to 2-3 inches right after being unstrung.

The "D" bow appears to draw evenly and the follow is not due to a hinge. The follow also appears even when the bow is on its back.

I just feel that it is bow design, but I may have over stressed this bow or moisture content may be different. The few arrows I shot today did seem to shoot well, so I am pleased with it. Thanks for the replies and information, you guys are awesome. Thanks

[Joec123able]

I hate string follow and I hate set.

[toomanyknots]

Well it is a shorter bow, so it may just be working so much that it is taking set. I say no "follow" is preferable, but up to 2" is usually not a deal killer per-say. It's not preferable, but some bows can deal with string follow better than others, I think anyway. 

[nclonghunter]

I still need to do some final sanding and stain work. What do you think?