fitting leather under thumb ring

Justin Ma · Post by **Justin Ma** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:32 pm

Is this kosher (see attached)?

Yesterday I tried shooting with a thumb ring in this configuration. It's less painful to draw, but there is a slight tendency for the string to slip. It slipped once (with a larger piece of leather) and the string managed to slap my thumb and index on the way out (not fun). I opted for a smaller piece of leather (as shown in the pic) so that I could feel the string better when I try to lock in. Nevertheless, I'm still nervous about the slipping.

Perhaps I could remedy this by gripping my thumb more tightly with my index finger, or perhaps by gripping the thumb with the 2nd knuckle of the index finger (closer to the hand) instead of the 1st knuckle?

Boghadair · Post by **Boghadair** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 5:48 pm

Justin,
you shouldn't need so much of a flap. also, you can file a bit of a groove across the ring that will hold the string a bit and keep it from biting into your thumb flexor tendons.

Boghadair · Post by **Boghadair** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 5:59 pm

Justin.
myself, I wind up with the thumb-nail right under the IP(inter-mediate phalange)bone of the first finger.Lots of other folk here with more expertise will tell you better, I'm sure.
Boghadair

Hermitking · Post by **Hermitking** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:31 pm

The leather insert really helped me fit my thumb ring better. I use a slightly loose ring so that it will not be to tight when the thumb swells. To remove the ring I simply pull out the leather strip and the ring is then loose enough to slip off.

Experiment with several different thumb rings until you get one that works just right. I advise making your own from some cheap material like pool balls until you get your design just right.

One thing I noticed about your thumb ring is that the tip may be just a tad to long. The very tip of your thumb should stick out past the tip of the ring a little.

It really helps to actually see a good ring fit on your finger to understand exactly how to position it.

ravenbows · Post by **ravenbows** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:31 pm

Justin,
Did you get that thumb ring from Three Rivers Archery?

I had just recently bought a couple, but due to the heavy profile of the rings I could not get used to it. How do you like them?

Hermitking · Post by **Hermitking** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 1:22 am

It looks to me like the backside of the ring is too thick and bulky. I made several rings exactly like that and they always felt awkward. The bulk of the back of the ring would force the ring to torque from the inner bend of the thumb towards the palm, thus not giving a good, firm hooking grasp on the string.

What helped me figure out the best shape was using a Moose toe nail for a ring. A section of the moose toe nail is about 3/16ths of an inch thick and has a slight concave bend to it. I drilled a whole in it and gound it to the closest thing to a thumb ring. Since the toe nail wasn't very thick and was relatively straight on a sigle plane, the line of the thumb tip was almost the same line of the length of the ring. In other words it was more flat. It seemed to grasp the string better with less accidental releases.

If I could get a camera runnning I would post some photos that might help others out.

ravenbows · Post by **ravenbows** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 1:44 am

Hermit,
If you could get some pics that would be great.

My initial thoughts when buying the ring was that I would carve it down a bit after getting it, but it was so far from where it needed to be that it would require me to purchase some tools. So, I need to find a spot where to find the horn and invest in a dremel tool or something.

Here is a pic of a ring that I have had that is in my mind perfect.

Justin Ma · Post by **Justin Ma** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:05 am

ravenbows wrote:Justin,
Did you get that thumb ring from Three Rivers Archery?

I had just recently bought a couple, but due to the heavy profile of the rings I could not get used to it. How do you like them?

I did get it from Three Rivers, and it worked fine for me once I added some padding. Now I'm deciding between that and another ring for my right thumb. But I'm still using it for my left thumb --- I'm trying to train myself to shoot left-handed, and so the left thumb has some catching up to do.

Hermitking · Post by **Hermitking** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:24 am

That clear thumb ring you posted would be an excellent design. It is almost identical to the profile of the moose toe nail thumb ring I wrote about.

At the angle it is carved at it hooks the string more securely. The only thing I woory about with that design is durabilty. It looks fragile, but then again I have not had one break yet.

The only tools you really need are a drill(with proper bit) and coarse rat tail files, and sand paper. Drill a hole just slightly smaller than the thumb. Then grind the hole bigger in an somewhat oval shape, so that if you turn it 1/4 you can slip it over the knuckle, but when you turn it to the final position it is tight on the sides of the knuckle. A perfectly round hole doesn't seem to work as well for me. My thumb knuckle is wider than it is thick.

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:58 am

Justin,
From what you have written and the picture of the ring, I think you may need to turn your drawing hand more to the right. With that shaped ring, you normally have to turn the whole hand until the distal segment of the thumb is perpendicular to the arrow. The string should sit balanced about two thirds of the length of the lip from the tip. That is to say, the string should not be all the way back to the piece of leather, if it is worn as it is in the manner shown in the photograph.

As a general rule, tightening the index finger will produce shooting faults and probably injuries to the thumb nail. Flexing the thumb until either the tip of the thumb or the tip of the ring is touching the middle of the middle finger is the best way to increase the strength of the lock, while still ensuring a quick release.

That shape of ring turns up in 17th century Persian paintings and similar shaped one were made in Turkey and Northern India. It was usually used without a leather tab (kulak in Turkish), but adding one would cause no problems and does mean you can use the same ring in winter and summer.

Boghadair · Post by **Boghadair** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 4:59 am

Bede,
summer and winter? do mean remove the leather tab so you can wear a glove, or what?
Boghadair

osmiu · Post by **osmiu** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 7:04 am

Justin , it's crystal clear to me : the slope of your ring is too abrupt .
a ring with that shape may obtain a quick and clean release , but require a very experienced user .
my opinion .

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:07 am

In summer your thumb is thicker than it is in winter, so that a ring made for your thumb in summer would be loose in winter. The simplest solution is to put a leather kulak into the ring in winter and take it out in summer. In my experience, the kulaks tend to wear out over a period of several months so replacing them could have been normal maintenance. This logic could be applied to using thick and thin pieces of leather too. So you could shoot with the kulak all year round, but use a thick pad in winter and a thin one in summer.

Depending on the lip shape, deeper rings often need some skill to use. The flatter the curve, the faster the ring shoots and the more skill is needed to use it. By "flatter", I am referring to its relative curvature, not to the angle of the lip.

Justin Ma · Post by **Justin Ma** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:27 am

Bede wrote: Depending on the lip shape, deeper rings often need some skill to use. The flatter the curve, the faster the ring shoots and the more skill is needed to use it. By "flatter", I am referring to its relative curvature, not to the angle of the lip.

Hmm, that's going to be tricky. If I'm supposed to keep the string on the surface of the ring lip (as opposed to cutting into the tendon) then I would have to angle my wrist so that knuckles of my hand face 90 degrees to the right of my bow. I tried shooting without tendon contact using a curved-lip thumb ring, but the string slides during the draw and makes me nervous that it will slip.

So I'm inclined to try shooting with leather only. I tried shooting with a thin, improvised leather tab yesterday; now half of my thumb is numb. The tab was sliding during shots, so I believe that made the release unclean.

After practice, a friend made me a thicker leather thumb ring that wraps around the base of my thumb. I'm going to try shooting with that later this week.

ravenbows · Post by **ravenbows** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:03 am

Hey Justin,

It is my humble opinion that one in your position would want to try something as thin yet protective as medical tape. About three or four layers of it around the thumb at the joint would suffice.

What you should do with it, is shoot this way enough to know what will feel good to you and what won't. The tape allows for the natural thumb to come into play and you can design and make a thumb ring that will act as naturally as possible.

All day I can shoot with a little tape(after the thumb gets built up a little) at 64# with no problem.

We are all different and what works good for me might not work good for you but you should give it a try. I swear that I have a better sense of the arrow and its path with a bare thumb. But the ring does provide a crisper release.

fitting leather under thumb ring

fitting leather under thumb ring

leather

Oh yeah! Thats a good pattern to follow...