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Author Topic: What exactly is "set?"  (Read 8012 times)

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Offline Dances with squirrels

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #15 on: March 19, 2015, 02:08:54 pm »
Set - The result, mostly due to belly compression/compaction, of a bow’s inability to return to its original shape after use. For instance, if a bow was constructed from a bow stave with 3” of reflex and after tillering, shooting in, and unstringing, the bow then shows 1” of reflex, the bow is said to have taken 2” of set.


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Offline PatM

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #16 on: March 19, 2015, 02:27:19 pm »
Quote from: sleek on March 19, 2015, 01:32:39 pm
Well shiza, if im wrong id like to know.
Well we do tend to think of string follow being due to the influence of a string being used to bend the bow.
  The trouble with all these definitions is that only the bowyer knows what the natural state of the wood was.
 You can make a bow with a natural curve that looks like it was left braced for 50 years but that's not going to be the same thing as a straight stave that ends up looking like that.
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Offline SLIMBOB

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #17 on: March 19, 2015, 03:30:06 pm »
Well put Pat. Would both bows be said to "follow the string"?  Probably, yes. But one has taken lots of set, the other has taken none. Only the maker knows which is which and in this case, "string follow" is a difference without a distinction.
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Offline huisme

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #18 on: March 19, 2015, 04:05:14 pm »
Set is damage to the wood. Reflex and string follow are antonyms, the former being the measurement past the axis of the handle away from the archer when unstrung and the later being the measurement past the axis of the handle toward the archer when unstrung. Deflex does not necessarily equal string follow as it can be followed by reflex greater than the deflex-- but set can then be greater than starting reflex, leading to string follow.

Start with a completely flat, no reflex/deflex/string follow bow, and string follow will be equal to set. Start with two inches of reflex and take three inches of set and you will have one inch of string follow. Start with one inch of deflex and take one inch of set and you will have two inches of string follow.
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Offline bow101

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #19 on: March 19, 2015, 04:12:49 pm »
Quote from: sleek on March 19, 2015, 11:28:40 am
String follow = natural deflex. Set = deformed wood from being stressed.

Rant over.

How many definitions have I read about this subject, to many to say. Thanks Sleek for a simple explanation that others seem to make mountains out of mole hills.   ;D
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Offline bradsmith2010

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #20 on: March 19, 2015, 09:06:11 pm »
+1 what Jawge said :)
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Offline Dances with squirrels

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #21 on: March 19, 2015, 09:11:05 pm »
String follow - When unstrung, if a bow's limbs are bent toward the string side such that the tips are behind the front of the handle, they have string follow, or follow the string. String follow can be due to intentional design, natural growth, or 'set' from use.

Whataya think?
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Offline PatM

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #22 on: March 19, 2015, 09:23:51 pm »
 All that matters is the condition of the wood when it is in whatever profile it holds. I've never heard of someone looking at a curved tree and saying that one side has string follow.
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Offline SLIMBOB

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #23 on: March 19, 2015, 10:31:12 pm »
Agree, but "string follow" has a negative connotation, or so it seems to me, suggesting that set has caused the condition.  If in fact that is not the case, does "string follow" accurately describe what we see?  Me thinks not, but that's where we are.
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mikekeswick

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #24 on: March 20, 2015, 03:37:09 am »
Quote from: Badger on March 19, 2015, 12:24:39 pm
  Nothing to add except I have always wished I could nail down wether or not or how much of set is contributed to stretching of the back. Sawing a bows in half a few times does suggest that the great majority is in compression, but I think some woods do stretch, can't prove it and not sure it really matters.

I've done the same thing Badger - i've only done it with tension strong woods though. It's what really opened my eyes to trapping.
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Offline Pappy

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #25 on: March 20, 2015, 05:44:50 am »
 ;D ;D ;D Pop corn please, with butter if you don't mind. ;) :)
  Pappy
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Offline Dances with squirrels

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #26 on: March 20, 2015, 06:45:33 am »
Slimbob, string follow doesn't inherently have a negative connotation for me. It's just a term used to help describe the side profile of a bow and CAN be viewed as beneficial. Folks are increasingly seeking laminated glass/wood "string follow bows", intentionally made that way for their shooting characteristics.
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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #27 on: March 20, 2015, 06:53:59 am »
Got a string follow glasser headed my way in a few. Im excited to shoot it.
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Offline SLIMBOB

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #28 on: March 20, 2015, 07:39:42 am »
Fair enough. Back in the day, at least among my compadres, when we said "that bow follows the string" it was not meant as a compliment to the maker.
  Does that String Follow Glasser (made that way),  shoot the same as the glasser that developed through set, the same amount of string follow?  I would bet not. 
My only point is, the term falls short as a definition if it describes both extremes.  Especially in wood bows where excessive set is a performance killer and an indication that something went wrong somewhere.
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Offline Roy

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Re: What exactly is "set?"
« Reply #29 on: March 20, 2015, 07:40:01 am »
What Pappy said, + beer:)
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