set,set,set,

[Blacktail]

i am working on a yew wood bow..and it has about 2'' of set..so,here are my questions..#1...if the stick has 2''of set could the bow still work with it...#2what is some of the reasons for set...#3 how would i get it out..i am think of steaming but not sure..thanks john

[El Destructo]

Blacktail...You can not get rid of Set....Set is cause by the Wood Cells being overworked...and Stressed to the Point where they Collapse...You can bend the Bow into Reflex...and Heat Temper the Belly to help it along...but You can not cure Set...period....the Number 1 cause of Set is working the Bows Limbs farther than they are Tillered Properly...thus overworking the Wood Fibers....Number 2 reason in my Book...working Wood before it reaches Optimum Dryness...wet wood will take Set...period...and now for Your Question on whether this Bow will work with 2 inches of set....Definitely...Set is not always a bad thing...a little set is fine and good....but the whole Idea in building a Bow is to minimize this by not overworking the Wood...only bending the Limbs to the point where you can see a spot that is not working or is overworking...and fixing it before moving on....and never pull the Bow past the Draw Weight that You are shooting for....and never pull past a problem...or you will cause Set or worse....JMO...hope it helps....

Michael

[Blacktail]

thank you so much michael...o.k. you talked about bending the bow into reflex...and i dont have away of heat tempering..SO,would it be a bad idea to steam the reflex into it....john

[George Tsoukalas]

Set happens. 2 in isn't bad. Jawge

[adb]

Don't sweat a bit of set.    It's not all bad. Anything <2" is fine. El D summed up your question perfectly. Dont mess with the bow, just make another and learn from your past.

[Blacktail]

THANK YOU SO MUCH...I did learn some new things on this stick...i am glad that its not a total loss..john

[zenmonkeyman]

I was just mulling over set today, so this is timely for me.  I disagree ever so slightly with El D on one thing, which is the curability of set.  Set is the deformation - specifically compression - of the wood cells in the belly.  When we bend wood with heat, to add reflex, we are increasing the plasticity of the wood in order to stretch the belly cells.  Then the hardening effect of the heat (hopefully) prevents the cells from reverting to their previous shape.  So for me, I don't see a difference between correcting set with heat, and inducing reflex.  The cells probably have more structural damage in the correction scenario, and are therefore more likely to relapse, but I doubt it's "set" in stone, lol. (Pun intended.) 

*This reply in no way is intended as investment advice, it is presented for information purposes only* lol.

[Del the cat]

A bit of set in Yew is no problem...tell yourself it's just natures way of conditioning the wood. Any self wood bow will take a little set during it's build if it is doing any serious work. There are always stresses in the wood, when you split the log you often get some reflex which dissapears when the bow is built. As you load the wood there is always a bit which gets left in the wood it's hysteresis, Even the springs on your car will take set over time, jus accept it or steam a load of reflex in at the start and build a 2# bow with 12" draw... that won't take any set  .
Del
BTW Yew steam bends V nicely.

[George Tsoukalas]

Only areas that don't bend can be reflexed to remove set.  In most bows that's the last 6 in and the handle area. Jawge

[zenmonkeyman]

I think I'd try steaming it out, then "strengthen its resolve" with a heat gun.  If the problem is permanent bending, then a double dose of hair-o-the-dog should take that hangover to the mat.   

[El Destructo]

                                                                      Thank You Jawge.......

[Lombard]

I learned it from Jawge, set happens, and don't sweat the small set. Badger had an informative post in regards to set and tillering here, http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,17294.0.html

[ravenbeak]

With 2" of set you would be able to put some nice recurves into the tips and end up with the tips and handle relatively close,   

[Gordon]

John, you could reflex the tips somewhat, but that would put more stress on the inner limbs which would result in additional set - which would probably negate any gains the reflex gave you.  Some folks have reported that tempering the belly while putting the limbs in reflex can help remove set. But I have not had much sucess inducing reflex this way after the limbs have taken set. In my experience once the limbs have taken a set it's pretty much a done deal. BTW, 2" on a yew longbow isn't that bad.