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Author Topic: Sweating a bow!  (Read 4051 times)

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Offline Pat B

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Sweating a bow!
« on: February 16, 2012, 03:25:54 pm »
  I posted this on TG this morning and since we have lots of new guys(and gals) here on PA I thought I'd post it here too...
  "I know most folks exercise their wood bows as they tiller them. How many sweat their bows once you get a good tiller?
By sweating I mean brace the bow and let it rest for a while braced. Once I get a bow to low brace and I know the tiller is right I will leave it braced for 45 minutes to an hour. As the tillering progresses the sweat time increases. By the time the tillering is done I will leave it braced for a few hours at least.
The reason I do this is when I'm sitting on stand or am at a 3D shoot my bow stays braced for hours at a time and I want to be sure it can take it."

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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2012, 03:31:01 pm »
Honestly, I am conflicted.  If the tiller is good, and getting it braced is not putting on more strain than pulling to full draw weight, it SHOULD not cause any significant damage.  I just hate the idea of a primitive bow being braced  unnecessarily.  Something beat into my head by the guy that mentored me, maybe I'm overcautious. 
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Offline cracker

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2012, 03:42:38 pm »
Once I get it braced I leave the string on until I'm done with the tillering session. If I quit for any reason I take the string off til next time. Ron
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Offline osage outlaw

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2012, 03:49:26 pm »
When I get my bows to first brace usually I'm the one sweatin' not the bow.

I let mine  set when I get them to shooting stage.  I'll shoot a few arrows and leave it strung for an hour or so and shoot some more.  Then I recheck the tiller.
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Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2012, 03:53:28 pm »
I tiller the bow till I think it is perfect (looking) @ 26" at least and then shoot it in. Maybe 20 - 30 arrows, and ill check tiller, see if one limb is stronger, one is weaker, pick what limb I want to be my bottom. It is strung and restrung, and shot alot when I am finishing and fine tuning it, but I don't ever leave a bow strung for longer than I am using it. The only bow I would consider doing this is a sinew backed bow to give the sinew some time to stretch, but even then I wouldn't do it. Just habit though, not saying it's the right thing or the wrong thing to do.
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Pat B

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2012, 03:56:26 pm »
John, that's the way I learned from the books I read when I first started building bows. But years later, after some serious thought I realized that the bow was going to be braced for hours at a time so I wanted to make sure it could take it. I would hate for a deer to walk into my shooting lane after sitting for 3 or 4 hours just to have my bow fold over or come out of tiller while sitting there. I have not seen any negative results from sweating and I sure feel better about a bow just knowing it could "take it!"
 I do this in conjunction with exercising and shooting a little later in the tillering process.
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline rps3

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2012, 04:04:24 pm »
Once I feel I have a good tiller, from first brace on, I will "sweat" the bow frequently. Leave it braced while I take a break and do other things. I think this has helped me decrease my set also.
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2012, 04:05:30 pm »
I hear ya Pat. You turned me unto this last year unknowingly, some of us do read and remember what you say buddy! Its not uncommon for me to sit on stand for 6-8 hours a pop in November with my bows braced the whole time. I want to know the bow will hang tough with me or its not a bow in my eyes. If I have to treat it like a feather its of no use to me.
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Offline bubby

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2012, 04:20:20 pm »
I do this as well Pat, but not till almost full brace, a long time ago i printed the ferret's board bow build-a-long and he does it as  that's where i got the idea, he did mention this was a source of disagreement with other builder's, Bub
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Offline Qwill

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2012, 05:18:50 pm »
I will occasionally let a bow sit for a bit, but I usually wait till I take it out for first shooting. Then it's shooting and braced for 30 min or so. Or If I go out roving, it'll stay braced, and then I check it when I get home again. I won't finish a bow until after that, just in case I'm wasting my time. ;)
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Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2012, 05:57:22 pm »
Quote from: Qwill on February 16, 2012, 05:18:50 pm
I will occasionally let a bow sit for a bit, but I usually wait till I take it out for first shooting. Then it's shooting and braced for 30 min or so. Or If I go out roving, it'll stay braced, and then I check it when I get home again. I won't finish a bow until after that, just in case I'm wasting my time. ;)

Thats kinda what I do. Hey pat, I know this is completely off topic, but how is that sinew backed paddle bow drying? Is it gaining any relfex?
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline gmc

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2012, 06:19:12 pm »
I use this technique when working on that last 3 or 4 inches of tiller.
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Offline Pat B

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2012, 06:26:30 pm »
TMK, I can't tell if it is gaining reflex because of the reflex set up I'm using but the sinew loop holding the handle down definately has less tension on it now. I just checked it not long ago.  ;)
« Last Edit: February 16, 2012, 06:59:35 pm by Pat B »
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

youngbowyer

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2012, 06:54:53 pm »
I let mine sit at final brace for about an hour before I come back and recheck the tiller. That's what the bowyers bible taught me.
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Offline criveraville

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Re: Sweating a bow!
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2012, 07:10:02 pm »
Good point Pat.. It is like shooting your gun with a cold barrel to make sure it is "sighted in."  Kind of the same concept in a backward way.. Maybe..

Cipriano
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I was HECHO EN MEXICO, but assembled in Texas and I'm Texican as the day is long...  Psalm 127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
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