how much deflex for reflex

[Mad Max]

I am talking about All wood Lam. bow
Do you measure reflex, from the back of the handle to the nock.
NOT a r/d (or d/r) bow
If your limbs are reflex and recurved at the tips
you  need to deflex the handle???
and if so how much??


if the nock is 3" higher than the back of the handle is that to much???
Help me understand how much deflex is needed.

[LittleBen]

The answer to all your questions is sometimes.

What type of wood, what length, what weight, what width, what draw length?

Deflex will let you make the bow a little shorter typically.

I don;t know that theres a real answer to your question, but if your wood is strong enough 3" of reflex is ok. but I would leave it full width out to mid limb or so before tapering to avoid limb twist/stability problems.

[Mad Max]

64" to 66" NTN  Hickory Backed, Osage Belly, and something for the core,elm

[LittleBen]

Oh so you haven't built this yet, this is a hypothetical bow?
You're probably ok with 3" of reflex and no deflex, wood bows will take set and you'll end up with some deflex after tillering.

One thing to keep in mind is that the more reflex (whether its just at the tips or along the whole limb or both) in other words the farther the tips are in front of the riser, the more finicky the bow will be to tiller.

How many bows have you made?

The reason I ask is this is not generally advisable for a first or second bow.

If you're only a few bows in, I'd recommend slightly more mild reflex, say 1" deflex, 3" reflex, for the tips 2" in front of the handle or so ... when the bow comes off the form that will be down to maybe 1.5" in front of the handle. This will be easier to tiller and more forgiving to shoot.

Hopefully RoyfromPA chimes in ... he makes alot of  R/D backed osage tri-lams. He probably has better and more specific advice for you.

[Roy from Pa]

Here is a 66" d/r tri lam I made a few weeks ago. My center of the handle post is 4 3/4 high, my mid limb posts are 3 3/4 high, my end posts are 6" high. I set the mid limb posts 12 inches from the flares. The closer to the flares you move the mid limb posts, the more deflex you will get. The more you slide the end posts in towards riser, the more reflex you get.

   

Here is the same bow out of the form.

   

[Roy from Pa]

You don't need to induce deflex, but you should induce reflex, otherwise when the bow is finished tillered, it will most likely have set.

[Mad Max]

Originally posted by LittleBen:
Oh so you haven't built this yet, this is a hypothetical bow?
You're probably ok with 3" of reflex and no deflex, wood bows will take set and you'll end up with some deflex after tillering.

One thing to keep in mind is that the more reflex (whether its just at the tips or along the whole limb or both) in other words the farther the tips are in front of the riser, the more finicky the bow will be to tiller.

How many bows have you made?

The reason I ask is this is not generally advisable for a first or second bow.

If you're only a few bows in, I'd recommend slightly more mild reflex, say 1" deflex, 3" reflex, for the tips 2" in front of the handle or so ... when the bow comes off the form that will be down to maybe 1.5" in front of the handle. This will be easier to tiller and more forgiving to shoot.

Hopefully RoyfromPA chimes in ... he makes alot of  R/D backed osage tri-lams. He probably has better and more specific advice for you.

Yes a hypthetical bow
I made 12 bows, some board bows

So a 6" radius on the last 6 or 8" you need to deflex some to bring the nocks down.

[Mad Max]

I see these recurved Glass bow that have 7, 7 1/2" brace height is that because of the deflex??
with a self bow it 5 1/2-- 6 1/2"

[Roy from Pa]

Self bows, longbows have a lower brace height.