Getting Twist Out -- Help Please

KenH · Post by **KenH** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 1:27 pm

Well, I successfully glued up lots of small pieces of Red Elm and Osage Orange to make an all-wood Western Scythian bow. And I've started rounding over edges and beginning to tiller. Now that I've got a first string on, I see a lot of 'twist' -- that is the middle section is offset quite far (but parallel) from the tips, when I look down the string from tip to tip. As if it sagged in the middle while lying on its side, if you will.

Now the question is, how do I best remove that misalignment?

Sorry can't post pictures right now, as I'm on a public computer. Had a major computer crash and the new one won't arrive until next week.

Kviljo · Post by **Kviljo** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 5:03 pm

It's a bit difficult to say without a picture I guess, but in any case I think it is simply a matter of bending it in the oposite direction when unbraced. - and using som heat too, if cold bending is not enough.

What I have done with wooden recurves, is twist the bad limb in the oposite direction, clamp it down there, and use the heat gun along the limb to make it take a new position. When cool, the limb usually have taken some of the new position. With many laminates like in yours I would be very careful with not overdoing the heat. Start gentle and see how it responds.

Also, I'm sure you have this under control, but it is a good idea to check the cross sections of the bow. In some cases an unsymmetrical cross section could lead to twist when braced.