Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Dean Marlow on August 06, 2014, 02:02:06 pm
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I have this Yew bow I am trying to finish up and it has been quite a challenge for me. This stave did have lot's of twist in it and so far all I have used on it is heat. My experience so far with Yew is it is a-lot tougher to manipulate with heat than Osage. Any way I got the string running to the left of the middle of the handle as you can see and was wondering if you would leave it or try to get it more in the middle of the handle. I just about have my heat gun wore out trying to straighten this one.
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Dean its close to where I like them, maybe shift it another 1/4" right. I had the same problem a few years back and used Marcs localized steam method to fix it. Get a chunk of t shirt and some tin foil. Get the t shirt wet ands wrap it around the area you want to move, then make a tin foil tent all around it. When you heat the tin foil tent up it creates steam. After 5 minutes or so push it over and clamp it down, I over bent by at least double. But it worked and the bow is healthy.
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Here is another picture of it.
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How high is it braced Dean? Often times at a low brace they look not so good, then as you bump it up to say 5.5-6" they come around.
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Bottom line is does it twist in your hand or not, does it draw sweet and shoot straight?
An alternative solution (which illustrated why I don't cut nocks into the edges of a bow before it's finished).
If you had glued on a temporary overlay and cut the string goove in the back into the overlay, you would still have a good 3-mm of lateral movement of the nock available. There is still a trick you can use!
Bear with me 'cos it sounds awful at first. Fill the grooves in the edge with saw dust/epoxy :o. Glue on a temporary overlay grooved for the string, you now have the extra width back. File/ rasp away one edge to improve the alignment and once it's all done fit an ELB style nock which will cover the filled groove.
I agree Yew is tougher to get a sideways bend on than Osage. But contained steam does work well... I use a 5Litre plastic container as a localized steam chest over the area I want to bend (it's wrapped in old foam to help keep the heat in.
Del
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It is braced about 3" and it does not twist in my hand when I pull on it. It is not completely tillered yet so I can't tell you how it shoots.
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I would brace it proper and leave it as is if it shoots good and does not twist on you.
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looks ok,, a braced view of the string does not tell the whole story,, at full draw the string may be in a different position than it appears,,, only shooting can tell you at this point,,,,, but I bet it shoots great,, B
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Right where I like them at, leave it be !
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I used to shoot them that way but found tuning difficult due to the string smacking my forearm. If the limbs are the same size can you flip it? Jawge
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For me that would be almost center shot and fine. If I were keeping it for my hunting bow I'd leave it as is.
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I'm with Jawges, also it is hard to tell looking down a selfbow,I hold it in my hand the way I plan on shooting it and see how it looks. But bottom line is if mine looked like that it would get moved over to center or almost center no matter how I had to do it,dry heat or steam. :)
Pappy