PREVENTING A SET

[Dustin Gilstrap]

I have been making bows for about six months and have made 6 selfbows that shoot and 3 that have broken. I realize what was done wrong on the broken bows but have experience a problem with all but one bow.  Stringfollow/set has happened on all my bows except one. I have made bows out of oak, hickory, ash, bamboo, juniper and maple. The one hickory english style longbow did not take a set. Any advice?  I seem to use the same approach on tillering and am very methodical. How many times should I realistically bend it before going on the next notch of the tillering tree? Are there certain designs that make a bow set more?  Should I really be worried about stringfollow?  All are around 1" of set.

[fujimo]

only 1 "!!
i wouldnt worry about it, carry on shooting!
 they sound good to me

[mikkekeswick]

Moisture content, over straining, wood choice and it's properties, if laminated then the belly/back woods compatibility, bow design, pulling past draw weight, pulling past a problem in the tiller, bow width, bow thickness....and that is to name but a few.
1 inch is pretty good though. Set is actually desirable because a bow with no set is way understrained and we are trying to make a 90% broken stick! You want to be aiming for 1/2 inch to around 1 1/2 inches max.

[Pat B]

Set happens! It comes with using natural materials. As a wood bowyers our goal is to build bows with little set and this can be done by using well seasoned wood, using appropriate wood for the design chosen(or vice versa), not overstressing the wood as you build the bow. A few other things you can do is add no more than 4" of reflex and temper the belly, both of these things can be done at the same time.

[Dustin Gilstrap]

Thanks for the advice.  I am working on a bamboo backed hickory right now and I will post a few pics after I finish.  It took about a 3/4 inch set.  Looks good though.

[Pat B]

IMO, hickory is a poor choice for the belly of a boo backed bow. More compression strong woods like osage or ipe would be a better choice for a boo backed bow.

[Eric Krewson]

I have made at least three bamboo backed hickory bows, their performance was right up there with osage, kinda' surprised me, I was expecting them to be dogs.

[John Scifres]

I have made close to 200 bows, mostly osage selfbows.  I cannot make a wooden selfbow with no set.  I expect 1-2" of set with every bow.  The only way to make a no-set wooden bow is to seriously overbuild it at a cost to efficiency.

You can however mitigate the effects of set by using a stave with natural or induced backset.

You can minimize set by using good quality wood that has been properly dried and cared for; carefully designing and crafting the bow; storing the bow in low humidity conditions; and, keeping the bow unstrung when not in use.

If you have made that few bows out of mostly second-string woods, I would expect your set to be higher than that on selfbows.  How are you measuring it?  It should be right after you unstring it.

[Bowjunkie]

Me too. A little bit of set tells me I pushed the wood's limits enough that I'm using the piece to its potential, and that it's not overbuilt and suffering inefficiency that way.

The best set-safe wood I've used is yew... good yew.

[Dustin Gilstrap]

John.  I measured the set after the bow had been unstrung for a while.  I just measured it after it was unstrung and it is about 2 inches of set.  The bow shoots fast and seems to be a success.  I havent been able to measure the speed but it seems fast. I am going to not worry about the set for now and just make bows.  I posted a picture of a the bows on another string called BAMBOO SELF BOW QUESTIONs even though I made the mistake of calling it a self bow. I need to get my hands on some better wood. We just cut a couple russian olive staves and are drying them now.  I like the idea of getting local wood instead of ordering it. I made a juniper selfbow that turned out well and sold it.  I like juniper.  we will see how russian olive fairs.  it has a lot of knots but will be a good learning experience.  Thanks for the tips

[John Scifres]

Good wood is relative.  I am blessed with an abundance of first rate osage.  I admire your goal to use local wood.  Tim Baker found that most any wood with a density over .5 could make a good bow if properly designed.  I highly recommend the "Traditional Bowyer's Bible" Series published by Jim and Donna Hamm and Bois D'Arc Press (http://boisdarcpress.com/books-2/).