Post by Jungle on Oct 12, 2006 10:16:43 GMT
I am going to attempt to give a beginners guide to tuning this is far too early for any of this years novices but will be of general interest to all and may prove useful. Questions and pearls of wisdom are much appreciated. If this is successful I might go on to do other subjects like serving and string making. Well here goes:
Introduction
The basic aim of tuning is to make the arrow leave the bow sweetly so that there is as little deviation from the straight line direction in which you are aiming. The methods for doing this lie in adjusting the position of elements on your bow to give the best result (eg. arrow rest, pressure button, nocking point). There is no definitive method for doing this and no easy solution most approaches require the use of trial and error and a lot of patience, once tuning is done correctly you will see an improvement in scores. It is also worth noting that tuning can not replace good shooting so if you are not achieving reasonable groups (say 6-9 inch (15-20 cm) at 20 yards) with a rough tuning you will need to seek advice about your shooting style because no amount of altering equipment will fix bad shooting.
There are many publications about tuning but the bible is the easton tuning guide (club had a copy, do we still?) which contains the details of what you need to adjust after carrying out a test it is very useful for a quick reference while on the range.
First Set Up
To start with you need to have the bow in a reasonable set up to allow you to hit the target and get groups.
Arrows: You need to think about this before you buy the bow and arrows as they need to match each other. The simplest way to do this if you are buying easton arrows is to refer to the easton arrow chart which all shops will have a copy of and is also at the back of the Quicks catalog (club has a copy) and on the web. for other arrows you may have to look on the manufacturers website or seek advice from the supplier. The information you will need is the draw weight of the bow, your draw length and for compounds the severity of the cams. Looking at the tables you should then be able to look up the spine of the arrow you need.
Bracing Height: This is the distance between the string and some part of the bow (people measure it at different places eg to the button, the front of the window or back of the grip) a bracing height will be in the literature which came with the bow or on the manufacturers website. You should alter the length of the string to achieve the desired brace height by putting in or taking out turns on the string. If you have a new string with no turns a good place to start is about 15 turns.
Nocking Point: Hopefully where every you bought your bow the supplier should have set up the nock point as I am about to tell you. Using a bow square (club has some as do most experienced archers) position the top nocking point 15 mm ~ 3/4 inch above the level of the rest and the bottom one an arrows width below that.
Pressure Button: The Pressure button is widely feared as the work of some evil person to upset their shooting but they are really rather simple. To start with you want to set it up using the middle tension spring (if you have more than one) and in the middle of its tension range by adjusting the grub screw which extends from the back of the button. Next you need to set its left to right position looking at the back of the bow with an arrow on the string line up the string with the center of the limbs (limb bolts are a good indicator) the arrow should be resting against the button with the point end of the arrow as you look at it to the left of the string (right if you are left handed). Arrange the button so this is so and secure with the locking ring. (Note: your sight should also be in line with the string at this point)
Your bow now has every thing in line and in a central location to make adjustments, if you are using a new string you must shoot it in before proceeding (2 dozen arrows for fast flight 3 to 4 dozen for Dacron) and then recheck the nocking point and brace height.
Thats enough for now bare shaft tuning next
Introduction
The basic aim of tuning is to make the arrow leave the bow sweetly so that there is as little deviation from the straight line direction in which you are aiming. The methods for doing this lie in adjusting the position of elements on your bow to give the best result (eg. arrow rest, pressure button, nocking point). There is no definitive method for doing this and no easy solution most approaches require the use of trial and error and a lot of patience, once tuning is done correctly you will see an improvement in scores. It is also worth noting that tuning can not replace good shooting so if you are not achieving reasonable groups (say 6-9 inch (15-20 cm) at 20 yards) with a rough tuning you will need to seek advice about your shooting style because no amount of altering equipment will fix bad shooting.
There are many publications about tuning but the bible is the easton tuning guide (club had a copy, do we still?) which contains the details of what you need to adjust after carrying out a test it is very useful for a quick reference while on the range.
First Set Up
To start with you need to have the bow in a reasonable set up to allow you to hit the target and get groups.
Arrows: You need to think about this before you buy the bow and arrows as they need to match each other. The simplest way to do this if you are buying easton arrows is to refer to the easton arrow chart which all shops will have a copy of and is also at the back of the Quicks catalog (club has a copy) and on the web. for other arrows you may have to look on the manufacturers website or seek advice from the supplier. The information you will need is the draw weight of the bow, your draw length and for compounds the severity of the cams. Looking at the tables you should then be able to look up the spine of the arrow you need.
Bracing Height: This is the distance between the string and some part of the bow (people measure it at different places eg to the button, the front of the window or back of the grip) a bracing height will be in the literature which came with the bow or on the manufacturers website. You should alter the length of the string to achieve the desired brace height by putting in or taking out turns on the string. If you have a new string with no turns a good place to start is about 15 turns.
Nocking Point: Hopefully where every you bought your bow the supplier should have set up the nock point as I am about to tell you. Using a bow square (club has some as do most experienced archers) position the top nocking point 15 mm ~ 3/4 inch above the level of the rest and the bottom one an arrows width below that.
Pressure Button: The Pressure button is widely feared as the work of some evil person to upset their shooting but they are really rather simple. To start with you want to set it up using the middle tension spring (if you have more than one) and in the middle of its tension range by adjusting the grub screw which extends from the back of the button. Next you need to set its left to right position looking at the back of the bow with an arrow on the string line up the string with the center of the limbs (limb bolts are a good indicator) the arrow should be resting against the button with the point end of the arrow as you look at it to the left of the string (right if you are left handed). Arrange the button so this is so and secure with the locking ring. (Note: your sight should also be in line with the string at this point)
Your bow now has every thing in line and in a central location to make adjustments, if you are using a new string you must shoot it in before proceeding (2 dozen arrows for fast flight 3 to 4 dozen for Dacron) and then recheck the nocking point and brace height.
Thats enough for now bare shaft tuning next