String follow is the distance the tips sit back, toward the shooter, from the neutral flat plain. If you set a bow flat on the floor, and the tips sit 1" up from the floor, it has 1" of string follow.

If that bow started life with 2" of reflex, where the tips set back of that straight (away from the shooter) it has 3" of "set", but still only 1" of string follow. String follow only refers to deflex/bend from the neutral straight, where as set is the total distance the tips have moved from their original position.

Hope this helps.

 

Alex and Kegan -

The term string follow is mis-used and misquoted all over the place these days.

The original (and still correct) definition of string follow is the phenomenon of a bow's limbs not returning to their original position (or curvature) after being strung. Fairly typical of most self bows, it's effectively non-existent with modern laminated bows. I guess that's why people started making up new definitions for it.

Viper1 out.

 

Which is how I used the term. Most of the selfbow-building community used set and string follow separately as two different forms of permanent curve caused by the compression failure during the building of an all-wood bow.

 

Kegan -

Set is by definition a permanent and static change, string follow is more dynamic and may continue to progress, but at that point we're splitting hairs, since it's not usually one or the other.

Think we're saying the same thing.

Viper1 out.

 

Is this what I'm hearing? Please clarify my thoughts as necessary based upon my immediate take.

After a bow is made, if the limbs settle into a permanent position other than the original construction, this is called "set".

"String follow" occurs when a bow is strung or shot, and is a (temporary? or permanent TBA to yet another "set"?) shift away from the permanent "set" that has already been established.

Further ...

If a Hill bow is built with "string follow" and the limbs are deliberately constructed with a tiny bit of deflex towards the shooter, is this a different usage of the term merely to describe the nature of that construction as opposed to "straight limbed" or "reflexed towards the back"?

When I unstring one of my Hill bows, I can sometimes notice a touch ... a bare touch ... of "string follow" that settles back to dead-straight after the bow is relaxed on the rack for a short time. Is this the "true string follow" in the dynamic sense?

I've read of bows in the olden days that the folks didn't want to hold at draw for very long due to their tendency to immediately "string follow" and corrupt the cast of the next shot. Is this the "string follow" dynamics at work for these particular bows?

Just wondering. Thanks.

 

Thin -

After a bow is made, if the limbs settle into a permanent position other than the original construction, this is called "set".

You first statement is correct.

Then it gets muddy.

If a bow is made and SETtles into a given position and is then strung and shot and develops a new position and STAYS that way, it may also be considered a set.

If a bow is strung and shot and the limbs retain more DEflex than they originally had, and it is somewhat recoverable after resting, that's string follow.
Whether it's due to compression failure or expansion failure, I have not idea, possibly a little of both, but the net result is the same - an inconsistent shooting bow, leading to your last statement, which is also correct.

I've read of bows in the olden days that the folks didn't want to hold at draw for very long due to their tendency to immediately "string follow" and corrupt the cast of the next shot. Is this the "string follow" dynamics at work for these particular bows?

If you have a laminated Hill bow with string follow, I'd be a little annoyed, if not concerned. In a glass laminated bow, the fiberglass is what takes the brunt of the expansile and compressive forces, and if that "fails", things ain't right.

Viper1 out.

 

Thanks for the discussion guys.

That was very interesting.

I'm really glad my bows use fiberglass and carbon

 

Proper design and construction is all it takes to avoid excessive set/string follow. It's a bit harder to milk heavier, all-wood limbs for speed though, and the note about a loss of cast when holding for more than 5 seconds is true.

But you can build a nice shooting selfbow for pennies... I can't do that with a composite and I'm as cheap as can be:wink:

 

Viper,

On the string follow and my Hill bow ... I only noticed this subtle follow after the bow had been strung for several days in a row of shooting and then being unstrung. I had observed this a couple of times, and after that I began to always unstring any Hill bow after a day of usage. When unstrung after a day of shooting, I don't notice the string follow ... it seems to be the multiple-day stringing that presents it.

I attribute it to (in my thinking) the larger thickness of wood in the Hill limb versus the very thin layer of glass, combined with the longer strung period. Maybe they (or this particular one that I happened to notice) shouldn't do this, but I don't intend to make the observation again by leaving this type of bow strung for long periods of time. Can't really tell if it ever happens on my recurves, for they are "curvey" and the casual eye (absent a measuring tool and before/after comparison) may have difficulty picking up any follow here.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

Thin -

You reasoning about the stacked limb design and wood:glass ratio is the most likely answer.
I've never noticed it on my Hill bows, but I've never left them strung for days either.
Still it would bug me a little if they did.

Viper1 out.

 

I always though string follow was an unusual term. It makes more sense with the dynamic definition described above.

 

If I may add a further query to this please.
One of my longbows is a ‘home made’ bow which I made in a community workshop some years ago. The whole job was completed from laminating (lemonwood-purpleheart-hickory) to completion in 3 days.
The 3 layers were bonded overnight while clamped with a couple of inches of backset, but soon took on an equal amount of string follow / set which I’ve never been able to correct.
From what I can gather, the main cause of this would be the short timescale over which it was made, tillered etc. Would anyone agree or disagree with this?
Many thanks.

 

I have a billet pignut hickory flat limb that has more set after it has been strung for a time. It eventually goes back to its 1/2 to 3/4" set. What really irritates me about that free chunk of wood that i turned into a bow is that i am always just as accurate if not more so 25 yards and under than with any other bow i have ever owned. It may be a curse in some ways, but not in the field taking hunting shots at food that never is exactly where you want it to be.