Help me understand set

[LeightonM]

Hey all, I've been lurking and decided to join up. This is a 62 inch ntn to ntn osage self bow. It pulls about 60 pounds at 26 inches. My question is why did it take so much set? The wood was good and dry. Can you see anything in the pictures that might explain the set? Its only the third bow that i have built and tillered. When I shoot it the set becomes more extreme but when unstrung it relaxes back to less severe set. Any opinions welcome!

[DC]

If you look back over the last months posts you'll find 2 or 3 threads about set. Lots of info.

[bradsmith2010]

in my opinion, its not so much,,
it looks like it might be braced a bit high,, but its well witihin reasonable set,,
if you dont know what the moisture content was when you made the bow,, that is something to consider,,
width of the bow can have an effect,, mass weight of the bow,, etc etc, ,, there is no simple answer,,
if you want a bow that has an unbraced profile of even,, you usually have to start with some reflex,,
but even though it looks even,, it still took some set,,,to get to even,,,
I am sure that  bow shoots great,and that is more important than how it looks,,
also we dont know if the bow was overstrained during tiller,,if you used a pully ,, or left it on a tree for too long,, if it has  been overdrawn
at any time,, just lots of variables,, that a picture would  not show,,   its a nice looking bow,,congrats,,

[Stick Bender]

Welcome set is unavoidable weather you see it or not but certainly some thing that most try to keep to a minimum but a bow with minor set can shoot fine I have a osage bow that has 1 in. of set that's a real sweet shooter, but like DC said there is a bunch of articles on set a couple pages back that will probably answer your questions. Glad you decided to stop lurking and join in.

[aaron]

That's not very much set- how wide is it?

[George Tsoukalas]

Tiller looks good.
I agree with Brad.
I do prefer a little less bending the last 6 inches or so.
I think set happens.
Jawge

[DC]

I was surprised when I actually measured the set on a couple of my bows. What I thought looked awful was 1"-1 1/2"

[Stick Bender]

There is something nice about looking at your bows on the wall that are holding reflex or neutral but Brad made the point about starting out with reflex but there is also some thing nice about looking at bows on the wall that are showing set in all the right places but the bottom line is how they shoot to me.

[Badger]

  Assuming dry wood and good tiller under building a bow is the most common cause. I keep hearing set is unavoidable, maybe 100% free of set is unavoidable but you can surely reduce it to less than 1" with proper design.

[Philipp A]

Hi,

I think you can be happy with that bow! Looks like great tiller to me and I don't think the set will hurt its performance very much.

[LeightonM]

Aaron the limbs are 1 5/8 wide at the fades
thanks for the input so far guys. I just measured the set, its 1 5/8 past flat/ straight. the stave was steamed into reflex, maybe an inch or so I don't remember exactly.

[Stick Bender]

1 5/8 is not bad  I wouldn't worry about it much if it is performing well , dry heat/temper works well for locking in more reflex in most woods for me , Im no expert but  the 2 main things I have learned about minimizing  set is  I baby the bow at all stages but particularly tell I get to brace making sure there are no weight robbing  set causing hinges  or drawing the bow for more then 3 seconds on the tree , and I have been sweating the bow at different stages to show true set my bows are far, far from perfect but those things above work for me ,here is a examples of the 2 different methods first was made from a stave that was slightly deflexed on one limb and made on tree with no pulley system it has 1 3/8 set the second started out with just shy of 2 in. Of reflex it is showing 1 in of reflex at rest both bows make good hunting bows , set can be a ego deflater for some but who really cares if your happy how the bow performs

[Stick Bender]

Reflex

[BowEd]

I should show you a pic of my first osage self bow.Not near the look I get now with bows.Lots of things go into it.Design/tillering techniques etc.Dry wood.The list goes on.
I'd say that is'nt bad for a third bow myself.If it hits the mark I'm looking at and it's pleasant to shoot it's a keeper....lol.