Arrow Shelves ??

[Wolftrail]

My grouping is a little on the wild side. All different bows using an arrow shelf.  The arrows are spined correctly with all the bows. so I know its not the arrows.  At any rate some shots go left others right and high. The high shots tells me the arrow is hitting the shelf.  Very rarely do I get low shots. And sometimes I hear arrow slap..    :eek:   until I tweak it a bit with the rasp.

So here is the dilemma my shelfs are cut 1 1/4" above center if I fix a small arrow rest 1/2" above center am I still good to go.  The other thing I  dont cut a large window in the handle section.  Do some of you shoot off the shelf...?  

What should I do considering my bow tuning is  Shelf related.

[George Tsoukalas]

I assume we are talking about all wood bows. I've made them without arrow rests but mostly with a piece or 2 of leather as the rest.

I don't cut windows into the bow.

The kind of arrow spraying you describe, Wolftrail, could be form related or a case of needing to spend time tuning.

Arrow slap is caused by a low brace height or over spined arrows.

I  brace at 7-7.5 inches as measured from the string to the BACK of the bow.

This is how I tune.

 http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/selfbowcare.html

Jawge

[John Scifres]

Since it is multiple bows, I would not suspect the rest, at least not at first.

Assuming a well-designed bow, your inconsistent results are probably tuning and form related.

When you say the arrows are spined correctly, do you mean their given spine matches the weight of the bow?  Arrows need to be tuned to the bow, regardless of their given spine.  I recommend bare shaft tuning.  And remember, spine is relative to arrow length and point weight.

Once you are sure you have arrows matched to the bow, then tune for brace height and nock point.

All this assumes a consistent form, particularly anchor point and release.  That comes with experience and practice.

[LittleBen]

Since we're talking about a lack of consistency, my initial thout is probably a form issue. Over- or under-spines arrows should go left or right consistently.

If the arrows are wood, they may not be as close in spine as you think.

[Wolftrail]

Thanks for the help guys,  I will double check the brace height of all the bows.  I know my form needs improvement.  But you guys still have not answered my question about placing an arrow rest 1/2" above the shelf. I ask this because of an old article relating to this subject. 90% of the club bows have wire rests.    :(    

The shafts are wood and spined by an arrow maker.

"When you say the arrows are spined correctly, do you mean their given spine matches the weight of the bow?"   Yes the arrows are in the 40-45# as are the bows around high 40's low 50's, and there is no consistency in shot placement.
I will try that Duct tape method Jawge. I will get back to you guys on this.

[canopyboy]

Tuning can be part of the problem. But based on my own humbling experiences I'd place my money on form. You have to be way out of tune to have consistent riser slap. But a bad release can get you there repeatedly without a problem. The fact that it is more than one bow is a strong indicator. If it happens to me, I know I've stopped concentrating on proper back tension and probably plucked the string.

An arrow rest off the shelf will have very little effect on this. If the bow was tillered for off the shelf, you may find a bit more hand shock. But it will not make much of a difference when it comes to the side-to-side dynamics that equate to riser contact.

I'm no expert though, just sharing what I learned the hard way.

[Wolftrail]

As I stated the arrow slap was on maybe 2 bows and that went away after tweaking the shelf.  One other thing I forgot to mention is Radiusing the shelf.
     

Very important

[John Scifres]

Yes you can glue a rest on 1/2" above center if you want to try that.  You might just try shooting off your knuckle at that spot first though.  Make sure your fletches are smooth on the front end to avoid cutting your hand.

[Wolftrail]

Like you guys said it was a form issue.  I went out today heat permitting like 85+ outside no breeze.     :eek:  
Shot about 40 arrows.  Tweaking the shelf helped considerably and nock placement. Thanks again guys.