Like most things in wooden bows, you can do whatever you want. It might not work but you can do it. God bless America.
Having said that, if you are doing it to correct a bow that is highly set, you are probably not going to increase it's efficiency any. But, simply for the sake of aesthetics, it is worth it. Recurves just plain look cool.
A good way to make a slushy, high-set osage bow better is to shorten it to less than 62". This will lower limb mass and increase efficiency especially with the recurved tips and sinew you are going to add.
Then make it bend perfectly, very round except the last 6" or so of the tips. Make it bend right into the fades. This uses all the lenghth. You don't have to pull it to full draw to do this. 20" should allow a nice feel for tiller and weight without doing any further damage to the bow. Take it down 10-15 pounds in weight. This removes some of the belly wood that you crushed that is just along for the ride now.
Then toast the belly and bend it into reflex throughout the working length. Recurve the last 5" or so of the limbs. This is basically a total redesign of your bow.
Add 2-3 courses of sinew. I use TB3 instead of hide glue nowadays. Let the sinew dry. Your belly wood also needs some time to rehydrate from the heat bending. A couple weeks is a good idea. I've even wiped the belly with a wet cloth to add moisture to it. I don't know if that helps but it sure hasn't hurt.
Then retiller it to bend throughout the limb, right into the fade. You should be real close to your original weight and have a much nicer bow.
Topic: Recurving tips (Read 557 times)
