Bare Shaft Tuning: The Saga Continues

[Knoll]

Congrats, sir!
I agree re straw bales being good idea to reduce risk of breaking shafts that are wayyyy off spine-wise.
A small point . . . fletchings will add bit of dynamic stiffness to the completed arrow. So it's not bad idea to have the bare shafts indicating bit weak.
Good luck when ya get out there huntin' with them!

[bradsmith2010]

WB,, I didnt mean to shoot right handed,, just maybe flip the bow over and see if it shoots better on the other side,, the way your handle is made may not allow that,, just a thought,,when I make a bow ,, I shoot it off both sides to see which way I get the best arrow flight,, if you are not drawing the bow to 60#,, then it would call for a weaker spine arrow,,
in my experience,, a 60# bow will shoot a 60# spine arrow depending on how long the draw is and how long the arrow is,, usually the persons release has alot to do with how the arrow flies,, its not all the arrow and the bow,, its not that simple,,,as your release gets better,, you will see you can shoot a wider range of spine from your bows,,
if I made a bow that was pulling 60# and needed to shoot 35# spince arrows,, I would be double checking the string alignment,, and brace height,, first,, it would indicate something might need adjustment,,not just the arrow,, as you stated,, it may be your release ,,, I am just going from my experience and it may not apply to what you are experiencing,, best to you and your shooting,,

[WhistlingBadger]

Yeah, it's hard to tell, isn't it?  So many variables.  I don't have a coach/teacher/mentor to watch me shoot and make suggestions, just books, vids, the net, and what I've figured out for myself through trial and error (that last category is mighty slim).  I'll be curious to see how the 35# arrows fly fletched.  I'm guessing they won't drastically improve my shooting, but might remove or reduce one variable from the equation.  We shall see!
Thomas

[bradsmith2010]

what is your brace height, and can you show a pic of your handle

[artcher1]

A 35# arrow 29" long using the standard 125gr point is actually 30#. To me that's pretty scary shooting out of a 60 pound bow. Throw in a wide handle and the arrow reacts even lighter. Going with 35# sitka shafts leaves you with only a couple options. And that is to shorten the shaft or use lighter points. By ordering heavier spines you have the option of leaving your arrows longer, use heavier points and rear taper the shafts.  Right now you have one cedar arrow that likes your bow, but there's no guarantee that the sika will. I've never had to go lighter than 10# up to a 2" wide handle. I think you may have a string alignment or other problems....Art

[WhistlingBadger]

OK.  How would I know if I have string alignment problems?  Also, my brace height is 5 1/2".

[artcher1]

A couple things come to mind. First you sight down the bow from tip to tip and see if the string cuts center of handle. Or nock an arrow and see where it makes contact on each side the riser. If both contact points are the same then you may have some limb twisting going on when the bow is drawn...….Art

[WhistlingBadger]

Or nock an arrow and see where it makes contact on each side the riser. If both contact points are the same then you may have some limb twisting going on when the bow is drawn...….Art

Could you elaborate on that, Art?  Not sure I'm following you.

Thanks for the help and advice, guys.  I'll get this figured out.

[artcher1]

OK, nock an arrow, place it against the riser (assuming your bow has a straight handle without a cut-in shelf) on the right side and mark where it makes contact. Now flip the arrow around to the left side of the riser and mark where it makes contact. If the string is well centered, both contact marks on the left and right sides of the riser will appear in the same position. If not, the contact marks will appear off-set form each other......Art   

[bradsmith2010]

Art,,.could u explain a different way,,I don't quite get it...
WB,,..sorry if u already said this,,,but how far are u drawing the bow,,,put a mark or tape on the arrow..,.draw the bow like shooting,,,not just pulling it back...sometimes when we shoot the draw will be different,.,if your handle is a bit square you may be twisting the handle a bit as u shoot...causing the arrow to respond to that,,,hold bow with loose grip,..try 6 inch brace

[artcher1]

I'll try Brad. Let's say you're using a straight handled bow, no cut-in shelf. And you're right-handed. Take and nock and arrow like you're going to shoot. Note where it makes contact against the window/riser and mark that spot. Then swing the arrow (still nocked, and duck) to the other side of the handle and note where it makes contact. If string alignment is good, and the handle is cut in square to the bow, then both marks will contact the same on either side of the handle. If not, string alignment is off...…….Art

[bradsmith2010]

Ok I get it,..thank u for explaining,.so if string alignment favors the arrow side of the bow arrow clearance would be ok,,..if string alignment favors the other side of the bow,,,it could cause spine or arrow tuning issues,,.

[artcher1]

👍

[WhistlingBadger]

Bingo, the string is out of alignment with the handle.  Photos in a while...

[WhistlingBadger]

I got to go out in the hills today, and did some hiking and shooting.  Since no suicidal rabbits were presenting themselves, I did some thinking about string alignment.  When I hold my bow so the handle looks lined up, the string looks like this:


Here it is unstrung.  I don't know how I didn't notice this before.


So, when I got home, I tried shooting the bow upside down with a couple unfletched arrows left over from my test kit.  The 58# shaft took a right turn at 10 yards:  Still too stiff (I'm left-handed, remember).  Dang.   I had a 40# shaft that seemed to fly pretty well at 10 yards, but somewhere between 10 and 20 yards it took such a drastic left turn it completely missed the 20 yard bales.  So, too weak, but taking a few yards to show it.  I'll have to whip up a 45, 50, and 55 and see how they do.

So, is this misaligned string going to cause flight problems, break my bow, contribute to global warming, or otherwise make a nuisance of itself, or is it just something I can deal with?