Recurving Osage Limb Tips

[OsageBowbender68]

I am working on the tillering of a light (42#) 60” Osage selfbow that I plan on using this upcoming turkey season. As I near the final stages of getting the tiller just right, I have been thinking about adding a little recurve to the limb tips. I have never done this before, and am a little hesitant, afraid of screwing up what is turning out to be a nice little bow. What benefits do you see of adding a little curve over a flat bow? Not too concerned about speed, but what about smoothness in draw and hand shock? Does it really help that much? Does adding a little recurve to the tips affect the durability and lifespan of the bow? Thanks for any input!

[caleb0100]

If you’ve already tillered the bow, I would probably suggest not recurving the tips. If there’s not enough meat in the area you’re heating up, you can get some stress cracks in the wood. It’s usually best to flip the tips before you thin them out. Then you have room to remove any surface cracks.

If you decide to try it out anyway, I would suggest a more gentle reflex, as opposed to a full blown recurve. Good luck!

[Pat B]

Adding recurves will increase the performance and cast but it also adds more strain to the limbs. A slight reflex added to the outer 1/3 of the limb can give a bit more performance with less strain. Some say it smooths out the draw some.
 For recurves steam or boil the area to bend for at least 30 minutes then quickly get it in the form. Osage bends pretty well with heat, wet or dry. You can add the reflex at the tips with dry heat with a heat gun and a form. When I use a heat gun I clamp the tip on the form with the bow up in the air and heat until gravity begins to  bring the bow down then clamp it to the form.
 For both recurves and reflex be sure the curves line up well with the lines of the bow. If they are off a bit you'll have to reheat to bring back in line.