Crooked string = bent limb???

[fantastixvoyage]

Just noticed the string on the bottom limb is way off center and barely catching the outside edge of the limb.  Could it be anything other than a bent limb???

I purchased the bow a few weeks ago and have been shooting it whenever possible so I've only strung it once or twice.  I learned my brace height was too short so I twisted the string to raise it.  As soon as I did that I noticed even a quarter draw would cause the string to barely catch the bottom limb.  Untwisted it and it did the same thing.  Grab a string off another 60" bow and same thing.

Maybe its just me but I can't figure out where its bent if it is.  Any tricks to determining a bent limb?  How about fixing it?  Did a search for bent limb and turned up almost nothing.  Any help greatly appreciated.

[Orion]

Are you shootng a laminated recurve?  Sure sounds like a twisted limb to me.  If you sight down the limbs with the bow unstrung, and look to see if one (or both) of the tips is out of alignment.  To get it back into alignment, heat the affected area with a hair dryer or under hot running water and then bend the limb tip back in the opposite direction.  Bend it further than just back to straight to allow for some springback.  May have to do it more than once to get the limbs aligned.  Good luck.

[moebow]

It's not the string.  It's the bow.  Is it the MA you list?  String bow, rest good end on the floor and sight down the string.  Twist should be obvious.  Grab the fade area on the twisted limb and the nock end of the twisted limb and twist in the opposite direction.  String will move back toward center.  Twist past the string groove and hold it for a while -- do this several times until the string wants to stay centered in the groove.  When the string wants to stay centered, draw the bow and let it back down and see where the string lays.  If or when the string falls back into the groove, try one shot and look at the string again.  Repeat the procedure until the string always  comes back into the string groove.

A little hot water will warm the offending limb if the above doesn't work.  Warm gently the limb and repeat the above process.

If that doesn't work, it will be time to a trip back to the Black Widow hospital in Nixa.

[lpcjon2]

In this months Traditional Archery magazine(20th anniversary edition)is a good article on how to straighten a bent limb.Good luck