uneven string follow

[t0dd]

My hickory selfbow has more pronounced string follow in the lower limb. How much is too much? What is significant string follow and how much does it matter if they are different? The bow shoots well.

Also...

Bowstick dude suggests doing this. He is way experienced, so I assume this technique is fine, but wanted folks input: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jky1vd7_Yyg

-tawster (aka Todd)

[Parnell]

I can't view youtube where I'm at but - when bracing your bow - do you alternate top and bottom, sometimes?  Might help for future.  I've heat treated hickory bows I've made even after final tiller and after they've been shot for awhile and it helps to strengthen them to an extent.  This may also help? 

I'm sure others will jump in - good luck!

[Dano]

First off, flexing a bow backwards is prolly the quickest ways to break a bow I've seen. There seems to be some confusion with string follow and set. String follow is the amount the tips follow the string after a bow is unbraced, this relaxes with time. Set is compression damage to the cells of the wood, many causes of this, wet wood, uneven tiller.  Oh yeah, there are a lot better ways to brace a bow than in the video.

[youngbowyer33]

ya i agree i wouldnt flex a bow backwards and ive heard cracks while trying so i stopped for good.

[Keenan]

 Dano gave great advice. Bending the bow backwards is a Major no no. Sometimes on character bows one limb may have uneven profile but it is best to have a balanced bow with almost equal tension when strung and drawn. The strongest limb being the bottom limb. Most bowyers shoot for 1/8" pos tiller or less. If your lower limb is shorter this will often lead to more stress on the lower limb and can cause more set to the lower limb. Carefull tillering and making sure that the bow is long enough for the draw length intended, as well as good seasoned wood will help avoid that scenario. 

[Kegan]

I've had a number of bows with uneven string follow. Used to bug the living daylights out of me, but now so long as the final tiller is alright I don't mind it so much.

[kylerprochaska]

If it shoots and makes it through the season....i call it a bow....but I like makin' em more than shootn' em so I can always make another one....my 64" osage flat bow has uneven set and it still has enough power to kill a deer, my advice  get the tiller how you like it and call it good...don't worry about the set...remember wood is wood...its natural and it can act differently sometimes...

-Ky

[Traxx]

My hickory selfbow has more pronounced string follow in the lower limb.
If you are useing the method described in that video,to string or unstring your bow,this could be the reason.Bowstick dude suggests doing this. He is way experienced, so I assume this technique is fine, but wanted folks input:
Heres my input....
Dont Assume anything.You know what they say about Assumein.LOL
Poor technique all around.Their are much better methods,but the safest to you and the bow,are to use a bowstringer.They arent that hard to make.

[George Tsoukalas]

So what is the difference in string follow? Jawge

[George Tsoukalas]

I don't flex my bows backwards. Set and string follow are different. String follow  is when the bow appears strung when it is not. Set results from belly collapse as Dano said. Let's say we begin with a stave that has 3 inches of reflex. After it becomes a bow ti has 1 inch left. It has 1 inch of reflex but no string follow. However, it has 2 inches of set. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Jawge

[sailordad]

i like George's definition
its one i can grasp without alot of thought

[Granite Mtn]

The video was hilarious thanks for that.  Your concern with the limbs not appearing the same after shooting is another matter.  If the bow started with limbs that had various amounts of reflex or deflex, and you did not make corrections to the limbs at the begining of the bow making process you may have a bow that will enjoy a full life.  If the uneveness is the result of poor tillering, poor stringing methods, (as so aptly demonstrated by our budding bowyer in the video) or an uneven draw IE. very heavy bottom finger draw which I may hold the world record in then you may be shooting a time bomb.  Heat correction Can work even after a bow has been shot in but if the underlying weakness is not corrected the treatment can act like putting a bandaid on a brain tumor.  I hope this helped and did not mislead or confuse.

[Lukasz Nawalny]

In my opinion with hickory you can without worry correct this limb with hot steam .If you dont want you can also change position of limbs - bottom limb should be stronger.You said that bow shoot well.I use actualy very good yew longbow to target shotting 45 lb by 28". After tillering absolutely without string follow. Arrow speed of fresh bow was about 175 fps after few month of use bow have almost 1 inch string follow but arrow speed is only 3-4 fps lower.So Bow with string follow could good shoot , but about 2 inch on one limb it start to be dengerous - work of limbs must be very uneven and bow could be live not very long.You should do something 

[Josh]

"band-aid on a brain tumor"   <<<<< love it!       -josh

[t0dd]

I will put this under the category of "watch and see". I may be an overly concerned new parent.

I did put the bow back in a hotbox to drive out any excess moisture (it has been really humid here lately), just in case. And applied a few more coats of finish (beeswax). I'll look at it after a good day of shooting and see how that limb fares. Flipping the limbs would present a problem since I carved a handle and arrow rest.

If it gets worse, I may just back the sucker with something to "bandaide the brain tumor". Or... just build another bow as a backup! Yay! This bow is a beauty though that the twinoaks fellas helped me build. Thanks to them... I *think* the tillering was pretty darn good. But... some things are really hard to ID until after you shoot it a few hundred times of course.

Thanks y'all for all the comments. A lot to ponder.
-tawster (aka Todd)