Sarge.... there is a thread on this board currently on string follow and another going on the Hill Longbowmen. Here's what I put up there this morning...
"... it's really pretty simple. Refexing the limbs, i.e. forward rake, pre-loads the draw a bit... stiffens it some and increases speed to a degree, may also increase any shock present though usually not a big deal. Deflexing, i.e. string follow or backward rake, softens and sweetens the draw a bit, may reduce any shock present, costs you a few fps but is also considered to make the bow more forgiving of minor form errors, a little less "goosey" or sensitive.
Generally it's not a stupendous deal, more something that creeps up on you and you wake up and realize that "Gosh, that bow's faster than I'm used to," or, "Gosh, I seem to be a bit more consistent with this bow, and at the end of the day my arm and shoulder aren't as tired..."
(Incidentally, going to a forward riser produces some of the same effects as string follow. Both features move the limb tips further back from the hand. They'll also both result in a higher brace height.)
Back in the day, as they say, these characteristics got pushed pretty hard. Hill put out some very reflexed bows and I've been told some were pretty shocky. 'course, they ran to heavy weights, too. The string follows were also a bit extreme, but were some very sweet bows, if a hair slow. They were mostly for hunting so it didn't matter that much because we all know that good hunters get within 18 yards and would never take a longer shot than that, right?
Today's Hills can be ordered reflexed or string follow, but usually it's to a very small degree. I get as much string follow just from the cooling difference on my aluminum forms, maybe 1/4". However, if you want more extreme reflex or string follow, Craig will do it. He has the forms. My understanding is that the new Robin Hood will have very noticeable string follow.
The form I've been driving myself crazy with over the past couple of weeks has two surfaces... one is the old reflex, 1 1/2" and the other is the old string follow 1 1/4". That's on the form... what comes off ends up slightly less. The first bow that comes off of it, maybe next week, will be the string follow and I'll be giving you a full report on that. I pulled a wide limbed flatbow off of it (the first bow I made all by myself) a couple of years ago. It's a very sweet shooter but thanks to my selection of oak for a laminate, very slow. We'll see what happens when I lay one up all bamboo and in the narrower Hill shape.
Hope that helps you."
Topic: Howard Hill longbows (Read 5201 times)
