Another Newbie Question

[D.A. Davis]

Ok guys, I know this is probably a stupid question, but what does ILF mean?  I can tell by the pics that it involves a take-down bow, but there seems to be several types of take-down.

[Killdeer]

Good question, I didn't know.
I did a quick search, and one source said that ILF stands for International Limb Fitting. Lots of bowyers have their own ways of fitting limbs to risers, the results of many hours of head-scratching, trial and error. This system is used by many manufacturers, making it possible to interchange limbs and risers of different origins.

Proprietary limbs, of course, won't fit an ILF riser, but those crafted to ILF specifications will, giving you some measure of freedom when adding to a favorite riser's repertoire.

Thanks for goosing me into learning something that I knew only peripherally, through context.
Killdeer  

[John3]

thanks Killie.. I didn't know that either.  Tradgang teaches again.


John III

[vermonster13]

Just be careful, there isn't an actual defined ILF specification. Hoyt's current limbs don't always play nice on risers made by other companies. Also some limb bushings need to be adjusted to fit risers of other makes properly. Bob Morrison is kind enough to offer that as a service if you purchase one of his risers but intend to use limbs from someone else and you aren't comfortable making the adjustments yourself.

[R H Clark]

With an ILF limb there is a sort of button on the bottom of the limb and a U-notch in the end.The button fits in a dove tail slot in the riser and the U-notch is seated against an adjustable riser bolt.

This system allows adjustable tiller.The preload can also be adjusted to help max performance to different draw lengths within a small range.

Limbs can be bought from several makers and range in price from about $100-$700.These are primarly olympic competition limbs so are built very well.

Limb weight is mostly marked for 25" risers and can be bought in 2# increments to about 48 lbs.Limbs come in short ,medium and long lengths with 2" difference in each one.Limbs gain about a pound per inch on risers shorter than 25" if limb pocket angles are close.