shelf high from center

[Miguel Gasso]

Hello every body,

I am starting with my realbow software prediction project, but...
Recently I read about the distance from center to shelf and now I´m at the point to decide how high I will mill it.
I'm interested in hearing the different opinions about the measures and which effect you think it will have, in terms of pivot point, nockpoint, positive- negative tiller, etc... .
In the photo you can see that I only have a distance of 0.79" and my only argument is that I get used to it, but which benefits can I expect if I change it to more
By the way, to premill the shelf before I get it from Big Jim, thanks a lot Jim.

[Kirkll]

Typically you see the shelf heights range from .75" to .875" above center of riser where the limbs are balanced to where deepest point of the grip is located.....

BUT..... and it's a BIG BUTT..... Different bow designs have different grip shapes and the pressure point on them change with the archer. This is most commonly seen on ASL long bows and other D shaped long bows where more lower wrist pressure applied.

The advantage of using a lower shelf height like .75" is that the arrow is closer to the the pressure point put on the grip, and canting the the bow with well tuned arrows does not effect the windage as much shooting off the shelf as a bow that is set up with an elevated rest where shooting vertical is a must.   But you have hand clearance to consider too shooting right off the knuckles.

Knowing how a bow is going to be set up, what type of grip shape, hand placement on the grip, and type of rest is going to be used, all can determine your shelf height.

Bottom line is .79 is fine for the grip shape shown in your photos.     Kirk

[Crooked Stic]

The best shooting bow I have had the shelf was about 1.5 above center.  It pointed well also. 

[Kirkll]

The best shooting bow I have had the shelf was about 1.5 above center.  It pointed well also.

That's probably because you shoot Crooked Stic's   

[Crooked Stic]

Well it was a Crooked Stic. And the fact that we sometimes overthink a lot of this stuff.

[Miguel Gasso]

Hello,
Thanks KirkII for your info. I'm trying to understand how things are playing together, and of course  Crooked Stick is right when he says:"  And the fact is that we sometimes overthink a lot of this stuff".
I'm an average archer and still working on my skills.
On the other hand all this info helps me to recreate in my mind, with closed eyes, how all these gears play together.
Thanks for everything!

[Kirkll]

Yup…. A lot of over thinking stuff goes on in here. But it can be entertaining at times, and often helpful to less experienced bowyers and new archers just getting into it.

There are a lot of archers that use an elevated rest for different reasons. The type of rest used vs shooting off the shelf can have a significant impact on shelf height and strike plate location, but…. All of them can be dialed in right with properly tuned arrows and consistency.   

[Mad Max]

I have a short (50") static recurve I like to make, I make the deep part of the grip and were my middle finger (split finger shooting) the same distance from the center of the bow. Not negative or positive tiller.


I can find any good pictures