reflex deflex question

[robbsbass]

I have to be the dumbest guy in the world because I cannot understand reflex and deflex, would some please explaine it to me in simple english so I can understand what people are talking about. I have read about it and still don't understand.   Help

                 Robb

[Hillbilly]

If you are holding the stave as if you were going to shoot it, reflex would be the stave bending away from you (toward the back of the bow) and deflex would be the stave bending toward you (as if strung).

[Papa Matt]

What Hillbilly just explained. Also, understand that a bow may have both at the same time, where around the handle area it is deflexed (bending towards you) and then about mid-limb out to the tips it reflexes, and bends away from you. Or even vice-versa, as in the build-a-long that Jackcrafty is doing on native american plains bows that reflex in the handle and then deflex out towards the tips.

~~Papa Matt

[Robert]

To add to what Hillbilly said, a "reflex-deflex" bow is a particularly style where the inner limbs are deflexed out of the fades and the outer limbs are reflexed.  Usually this is achieved by gluing laminates into this shape; this technique is called Perry reflex.  The idea is to make a fast shooting bow that stores a lot of energy (hence the reflex) while promoting stability (hence the deflex).  At least that is my understanding.

[robbsbass]

Thanks guys, that makes it easier,now I will print that out and when I see something on it I can refer back to what you said, damn brain injurys make it hard to understand things.