Does string misalignment makes a bow "centershot"?

[zoomer]

When braced, the string passes in line with the edge of the handle, so that the arrow passes almost without paradoxing, as if the bow is centershot, but offset to one side. Is this idea correct and such bow will shoot fine?

[Del the cat]

Like most things with bow making, it's not quite that simple.
Yes it will be centre shot... BUT it may try to twist in your hand , depending on the shape and angle of the grip.
Del

[zoomer]

Del -- yes, I tried it out. The amount of misalignment I described causes twisting on my bow. But I think if the string would lie some closer to the center the bow would not twist noticeably.

[bradsmith2010]

I think a lot depends on the shape of the bow,..I would say most time its not quite like center shot

[burchett.donald]

Zoomer,
          This may work for you...Being a finger shooter it would be nearly impossible for me to get good arrow flight with a "True Center" shot bow...When you release an arrow it has to roll out and around your finger tips...http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,63133.0.html
                                                                                                              Don

                                                                                                                                             

[Santanasaur]

Yes, you can sacrifice string alignment in exchange for the centershot quality, but this invites all he problems of bad string alignment. Not always...I have and know many others have made misaligned bows that shoot well without noticeable twist. Personally I avoid setting a bow up this way on purpose because bad alignment has caused me many problems whereas not being centershot is not necessarily a problem.

Some designs let you have both good alignment and the centershot quality, like big shelf cutouts on modern bows, or z-handles and staves with wiggles around the arrow pass. These examples are still aligned from tip to tip through the handle, just not at the arrow pass.

[Mo_coon-catcher]

One thing that a couple black locust bows with misaligned strings taught mex is that the side the string is off to is under more stress than the rest of the limb. I had a couple that the string aligned just in the edge of the handle, that entire edge fretted. So they had even bend but uneven stress. When you draw back the bow will center up the string to the handle. When it does that side of the limb is turned towards you and is now taking the bulk of the compression force. Atleast at the beginning of the draw cycle until the angle becomes so littles the flat belly is taking full work load again. So I would rather center the string in the handle and just make a narrower handle.

I hope I could explain that well enough.

Kyle

[BowEd]

I agree.It is not necessary to have a good shooting bow and can cause problems that far off center of handle.It can not feel right in the bow hand while drawing either.

[Weylin]

I'm not a fan of that practice. Like others have said, you're trading all the problems that can come along with a misaligned bow for a potential for more spine forgiveness. I feel much better about having a perfectly aligned bow and choosing the right arrows to match.

[zoomer]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I appreciate it.