HHB Bow question

[Deerhunter21]

Some of you might remember my HHB bow im working on. I made a build along thread but then school came along. I finally got time to work on it but one thing im realizing is that I might have put too much reflex for my first reflexed bow. about 2.5 inches. Its getting hard for me to string the dang thing and It keeps twisting on me because i just cant get the sides the same thickness. I wanna take the reflex out or at least lessen it so i can have an easier job tillering. Do i just tie the bow down to a flat surface, back down, straightening the limbs out and heat treat it?

[PEARL DRUMS]

2.5" of reflex isn't your problem. Leave the bows shape alone and get your thickness even side to side, "I cant" doesn't fly with me mister Try harder.

[Deerhunter21]

2.5" of reflex isn't your problem. Leave the bows shape alone and get your thickness even side to side, "I cant" doesn't fly with me mister Try harder.

your right. I just layed down the worst excuse possible  . Ill get the sides even and then I'll work on getting it to brace height. I think i'm gonna need to get a stringer to string this dang thing! 

[PEARL DRUMS]

If you cant put a string on it then its too heavy and you need to continue with floor tillering. Don't horse the bow into brace before its ready.

[Deerhunter21]

Yeah I think im just not able to string it. I think that at the moment I am just not able to do anything over 45# without a stringer. the thing is i wasn't able to  put it to a low brace ( the limbs were bent straight) without something to help me.

Ill make sure I dont horse the bow into brace before its ready.

[aznboi3644]

Pearl I feel like I have to jump on and Horse my 72” 50lb long bows with everything I got.  I only have 66” arm span haha. It’s really a chore.  Last time I slipped while push/pulling and the bottom limb slipped out from my instep while I was heaving and hoeing and that caused the top limb to slip out of my hand.

The end result was the top limb taking a high speed flight right at my right eyebrow.  I felt like I just about got knocked out.  I stumbled back a bit and was thinking “I haven’t been hit in the face like that in a long time haha”.  So I tried it again and had a repeat facial encounter 🤣. 

I set the bow down and walked away holding my face lol. 

Deer hunter what method are you using to try and string it?

[Deerhunter21]

push pull

[PEARL DRUMS]

You young fellas should easily brace a 50# bow. I can sit in a lawn chair and brace a 60# bow easily, and I'm old and fat. Its all about technique. If you are grunting to bend a 25# bow limb you are going about it wrong.

[bjrogg]

I have to agree with Pearl. It’s all in the technique. I try to get people to borrow a fg bow I have to practice stringing it. Most don’t want to and we spend a fair amount of time practicing stringing their bow. I originally used step through method and switched to push pull. It seemed very difficult at first but now I don’t have any problems.

People almost always struggle until they get the hang of it. I’m just a short overweight old fart. It is always a bit comical watching these big strong young guys struggling, puffing, grunting and giving up. Then I show them again and they say you make that look so effortless.

I’ve many times wondered how many new bowyers break their bows because of poor stringing techniques.

Also tip shapes can make I stringing especially difficult. I like my string grove mostly on back side of tip. I like it narrow on edges so it doesn’t get caught there and make it difficult to unbrace.

There is a bit of danger as aznboi hinted to. Especially with those nice hooks. Almost got one in the eye once and have heard of others that have.

My suggestion would be. If you have access to a lighter weight bow practice your technique on it til it seems effortless. Then work your way up.
Bjrogg

[Deerhunter21]

You young fellas should easily brace a 50# bow. I can sit in a lawn chair and brace a 60# bow easily, and I'm old and fat. Its all about technique. If you are grunting to bend a 25# bow limb you are going about it wrong.

Hmm i wonder what I'm doing wrong then. Ill practice on my bow until it seems effortless like BJ said.

[TimBo]

Think about pulling the handle toward you, not pushing the limbs away.  That works for me at least.  I do remember it seemed super hard at first.  Be careful to place your face in a safe position...I hate reading about eye accidents!  Some people have lost eyes when the bow slipped.

[DC]

 Practice with a straight bow which avoids the "hook in the eye" somewhat until you can string a bow in your sleep. Then when you want to string a recurve turn your head away and string it by feel. You may get a hook in the temple but you will still be able to see the nurse

[Mo_coon-catcher]

I do the same method as Timbo when stringing with the push pull style. When you hand is on t he top limb I lock out my arm so the tip can’t move but I put the pressure against the heel of my hand. The force I apply is pulling the handle like you are doing a dumbbell row at the gym. Keep you elbow against your ribs and use your last and back to draw your arm back. This way you use your large muscles to bend the bow to get the string on. If you are actively pushing with the hand on the limb you are relying on your tricep to push the bow into a bend. And your tricep is far weaker than your lats and back. I’m 5’9” 160# and hand used this method on bows up to 100# @30” with my main shooter in he 65-75# at 27” area. That 100#er is a PITA to string like that but is doable. Once you get the feel for it down. Up to 50# should be holds play.
If you need a little weight training to build the strength to string heavier bows, then bent over dumbbell rows are perfect as they mimick the motion closely. 

BTW, using this method to string a bow for tillering. For me it seems like whatever brace height you can get it to is the brace it is ready to tiller at. Essentially, if you can only manage to push pull it to a 1” brace, then tiller from a 1” brace until you an brace it a bit further to let’s say a 4-5”. This should get you to about 7-8” shy of your intended draw length at the weight you want. Then you can tiller out until a few inches shy of full draw and you should have no problem reaching full brace and fine tuning the tiller. Hopefully that makes some sort of sense.

Kyle

[George Tsoukalas]

If your wood removal is even and she still twists in the hand then you have to take action.

Let's say you are using a bow stringer and the bow twists away from you as you try to string it. Then cut the nocks further in on that side and or remove wood from the OTHER side.

You could also make like Chubby Checker and sing, "Come on bay let's do the twist."

LOL. Just checking if anyone reads my posts on here.

Jawge

[Deerhunter21]

I got it to not twist!!!!!! Yayyy!!! Its at 17" rn and i dont know how many # as my scale broke.

Its tillering very well now and im getting it to brace! making a string for it rn!

oh and I got the stringing part down! thanks Mo_coon-cather! that really helped! i realized i was using my tricep. I have a question. when you say push with the heel of your hand on the top of the bow, how do you slide the string up to the nocks?