how do i measure amo length???

[bigmike]

if a recurve is supposed to be 66" , how do i measure it to see if that is right??   thanks

[bigmike]

ttt

[Falk]

1) measure the string which gives you "correct" brace height
2) add 3" to that measurement
= AMO bow lenght

[jmack]

I've always wondered this also.

1. Measure what string? I'm looking to find the amo length of my bow... How do I get this measurement if all I have is the unstrung bow?

2. By this logic should any string for any bow meerly be 3" shorter than the advertised amo length written on the bow?

I really don't mean to seem smug, these are sincere questions that I have always pondered.

[LBR]

Use a flexible tape, like a sewing/steamstress' tape measure.  Start at the top of the string groove, measure along the side of the limb (following the curves), through the center of the riser, along the side of the other limb to the top of the other string groove.  That is your bow length.

According to AMO specs, any traditional bow (longbow, recurve, flatbow, etc.) is supposed to get a string 3" shorter (string measured under tension), but that doesn't always work--a lot of bows don't go by AMO specs.

Chad

[JImmyDee]

Falk gave it just the way the AMO does.  The AMO bow length is the length of the AMO standard string that brings the bow to correct brace height.  AMO standard (nominal) lengths are three inches shorter than the nock-to-nock distance (actual) on a braced bow -- and the three inches is the magic number Chad mentions.

Jmack, if all you have is an unstrung bow, the best bet is to use a string with any eye in one end and tie a bowyer's knot in the other, adjusting until you discover the best brace height.  Then measure outside nock-to-nock and buy a string of that actual length.

Regarding question 2: yes.  But see Chad's remark...

[John Havard]

Chad's right - lots of bowyers have evidently never read the AMO standard which says the AMO bow length is the length of the string that gives correct brace height plus 3".

When you think about it, writing the standard that way is the ONLY way it can be written and make any sense.  AMO length is intended to let us archers know what length string to order - nothing more.  

If you determined the AMO length by some goofy process of measuring along the back of the bow it would potentially be different for recurves or longbows with differing amounts of reflex and/or deflex.  If a bow is labeled X" AMO it SHOULD give the correct string length (X-3").  But if you have a bow that's simply labeled X" then you need to measure the string on the braced bow before calling Chad!

John

[kodiakkid]

Use a flexible tape. follow the contour of the bow and measure along the belly of the bow from string groove to string groove. I am not saying it doesn't work but I don't really understand how adding 3 inches to a string length that gives a proper brace height would work. Especially considering how brace heights vary as much as three quarters to an inch on the same bow, depending on how one likes his bow tuned. Anyway the method described here works, or at least it does on all the bows I have on the wall. Hope this info helps. Paul<><