String alignment, How do you tell where its tracking ?

[Buckeye Guy]

So as not to clutter the other fellows post I will start another thread.
How are you deciding where your string is tracking ?
I am not at all convinced that many of us actually know where our strings track as well as we would like to think we do.
I am glad that it probably doesn't matter near as much as we would like to think it does
Now I am going to make some popcorn and set back and watch this one go
Have fun
Guy

[Del the cat]

There are a variety of tricks like pulling it on the tiller whilst viewing it from the the side rather than from the front as per usual.
Or, this time pulling it on the tiller in the usual way... and if the handle of the bow is free to move on the tiller you can tape a thin spill or cane etc sticking out from the grip pointing towards you. The string and tips will pull back straight because it will pull in line with the pulley and the grip will rotate if the bow doesn't track cleanly and that will show up by the spill moving up and down.
Similarly taping spills to the limbs can show if they are twisting as the bow is draw. See here:-
http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/twisting-bow.html
Mind all this is a bit esoteric, as the bow will settle and balance along it's own line from full draw back to brace.
A bit like the discussion of limb timing, and the slo mo video that shows the limbs return together even on a very asymmetric bow.
Other than that, I've got no idea
Del

[burchett.donald]

Guy, I used to hang the bow by the string horizontal and hold a light above it and read the shadow...Now I do the same but instead of the light I have a piece of wire I hang from the string that is around 5" long and let gravity point the wire at my handle. I can post pics the weekend if you like...
                                                                                                                        Don

[PEARL DRUMS]

I make mostly twisted bows. That way I just need to bi-sect the grip rather than line it up. That's hard.

[Badger]

Guy, I used to hang the bow by the string horizontal and hold a light above it and read the shadow...Now I do the same but instead of the light I have a piece of wire I hang from the string that is around 5" long and let gravity point the wire at my handle. I can post pics the weekend if you like...
                                                                                                                        Don

  Thatrs a good idea!

[Marc St Louis]

You can learn a lot about a bow by pulling it back to full draw and just focusing on what the bow is trying to tell

[PEARL DRUMS]

A loose grip helps a lot there Marc.

[Buckeye Guy]

Cool tip twisting dial there Del !
not sure what it tells us as for as string tracking , but cool anyway ?
I figured them English bows being so round , you could just pull them any old way and would track about the same

Don does that tell me how the string tracks or how it balances ? 
Does have merit I may have to give it a try

I am with you Pearly them snakes and humps , just get a string on that thing lets shoot

Marq , I am with you there!

[Marc St Louis]

A loose grip helps a lot there Marc.

Naturally

[George Tsoukalas]

I look at it. 
I string the bow, balance one nock on the bench and then sight down the string.
Is this a trick question?
Jawge

[Del the cat]

@ Buckeye.
Yeah... at one shoot I saw this English Longbow where it had obviously started to bend sideways during tiller and the bloke didn't know how to stop it.
The darned thing was hideous to look at with the sapwood running more down the side than the back on one limb and the whole thing was like a dogs back leg.
He was a brave man to shoot it!
But it still did the job.
Del

[mikekeswick]

@ Buckeye.
Yeah... at one shoot I saw this English Longbow where it had obviously started to bend sideways during tiller and the bloke didn't know how to stop it.
The darned thing was hideous to look at with the sapwood running more down the side than the back on one limb and the whole thing was like a dogs back leg.
He was a brave man to shoot it!
But it still did the job.
Del

I've seen a few of those 'yew longbows'......

I've found the best thing to do if you aren't sure where it's going to track is to leave the whole handle full stave width until it's fullt braced. Then one tip on the bench the other in my hand, back down, belly up and let gravity show you where to cut your handle. Simple and always works. Much better than messing about with heat trying to bend limbs sideways.

[burchett.donald]

Guy, it does both actually...I use it as a starting point at full brace and to help me align tips to handle center...At full draw any bow even a wheelie bow will torque out of alignment a certain amount depending on the shooter's style or grip pressure ... It has served me well as a starting point at full brace...You can take any bow and no two people will have the same string alignment at full draw...

                                                                                                           Don

[George Tsoukalas]

If you use a rope and pulley for tillering, you'll know if it's off kilter because it will flip on  you on the cradle.
Jawge

[PEARL DRUMS]

Gary Davis mentioned something a few years back that changed the way I look. I used to set a tip on the floor, let it swivel to level and close one eye to spy down the string. I don't believe that's a reliable way considering the handle could be way off still. I now put the back of the bow against the wall and then look for alignment. If the back of the handle isn't flat, I compensate a bit. It better mimics the bow in hand that way I believe.