I read a thread about twisted limbs on older recurves recently and it got me to looking at my bows which didn't show any winding when unbraced, but when strung some of the recurves showed varying degrees of twist in the limbs. So my questions are:

How common is limb twist in older recurves?

How much does twist actually affect performance of a bow? I mean if a bow with some limb twist is shot numerous times from a shooting machine, won't the arrows still group somewhere on the target face or does limb twist make a bow erratic?

These bows have shot well for me and I am careful about bracing/unbracing, but now I am upset to find they have twists? It just bugs me and I am in the process of correcting the problems, but these questions are ones I'd like to hear answers to from others more experienced than myself.

I see hundreds of bows a year that have varying degrees of twist in the limbs. The owners always tell me "wow!, I never knew. Heck it shoots great and been using it all year. Does that affect the value?" Now they could be playing dumb cause they are wanting to trade but more than likely most of them couldn't tell the difference. If it does what you want, it won't hurt a thing unless it is twisted so bad it runs risk of unstringing while shooting. They can be corrected too.

BigJim

How can they be corrected Big Jim - looks like my Predator has some twist in the limbs. One set of limbs is fine the other not so. Can't be the riser then, must truly be in the limbs. Like the OP it worries me cause I like things to be right. Is it a big deal to correct.

Suttoman

I'll jump in (knowing I don't have as much knowledge as Jim, but I have been around a while). On the Predator, I personally would send the limbs back and let the builder straighten them. They can match the limb to the original form.

On older bows you can do it yourself, sometimes it requires a little heat, sometimes not, depends on how sever it is.

I have no clue as how the builder would match it to the original form, but if they aren't too bad, you can do it by carefully twisting the limb in the direction you want it to go in.

Do it while strung and grab the limb in a way that the string can't twist around and come off the limb. Twist a little past where you want it to be and let it come back. do this until it is straight. Continue to do this as you shoot, after stringing, and eventually it should be good to go. Most limbs take very little effort. Don't do this to a longbow!!

Bigjim

What's the cause of limb twist with recurves, aside from obvious things like bracing errors or leaving a bow stored in a car trunk under a bunch of junk? BTW, Big Jim in reference to your comment about guys saying they did not know their bows are twisted, I found I couldn't determine if mine were twisted if the string silencers were in place. Once the silencers were off the twist was evident.

I use an electric blanket to heat the limb before twisting it back into proper position. Then run cool water over it.

Most all recurve limbs can be twisted easily, but likely work their way back while shooting. Stringing them can/will twist them even when using a bow stringer. Again they normally recover on their own but if not, it is an easy fix.

I recently took in a trade that had all the paperwork with it from the bowyer. In the pack was an explanation on how to straighten the limbs if they were to have or get a minor twist. This bowyer is very respectable and been in the business for a very long time and his bows are very easy to resell. But they too can get twists.

The outside heat sources should be saved for bows that have stubborn twists. bigjim

after the switch to gordon glass in the industry, all bowyers had to switch from urac to an epoxy adhesive. epoxy is very strong but has glue creep as part of it's properties. any torque on a limb glued with epoxy has the potential to twist the limb. it can be straightened just as easily with no heat applied. with a crooked limb glued with urac, you have to heat it to move it and maintain the correction until almpost cool.

I've always had to use heat if I wanted my limbs to remain straight.

Nice to hear from couple of pros. Thanks for the input gents. My approach is to clamp the bow in a rigid rack so the riser and about 3/4 of each limb is held in place and then apply fixed torque to the limb tips contrary to the direction limb twist, leaving the bow in lock-down for a few days at room temps. Sometimes requires repeating, so it takes time but seems to be solving the problems.

Be careful with that! Big Jim is right. Don't take much to straighten a limb if its minor. String the bow up, place the riser between your knees and twist the offending tip in the opposite direction of the twist and hold it there for a little bit. draw the bow a couple times see if it holds. If not do it again. Don't lock it down like that!

Getting into the other stuff is for a severally twisted limb and odds are it will be a wall hanger or splinters trying to fix it!

My Dad use to tell me that the old target archers use to twist their limbs some for a better center shot also.

just my 2 cents, Old

Jay Barrs got gold in Seoul with twisted limbs, as long as the string stays on, it can be irrelevant.

Most bows have some twist, check the whole limb with winding sticks, and you will normally find some.

Twist normally gets in there without heat, so simple mechanical rotation is enough to get most of it out.

Yeah OB, Big Jim seemed to be saying that correcting limb twist is just part of maintenance w/ some bows so I will be attending to that in the future. I have resorted to lock-down methods only on the stubborn cases. And as mentioned above, it doesn't matter much if the limbs have a minor twist. Everyone's thoughts have helped to answer the questions I had, especially what Larry said re glue creep, as a cause of limb twist in recurves.

If a limb has too much twist and you draw it back, it can roll over. It that happens, the limb can split so be careful.

I've fixed all of mine, and some were quite severe, by manually twisting the limb against the offending twist without heat.

The secret is to grip the limb adequately so you can exert the necessary force and over twist well past neutral. I wear gloves to help with grip and the pressure against my hand and hold it for five to ten seconds.

Then slowly draw the string straight back without tourquing the bow and let down slowly without a jerk. If the string is now laying in the grooves leave it strung for a couple of days to let the limb set.

I believe the limb was made straight, the twist is an anomaly and, therefore, the limb wants to return to the position it was originally in before being forced into a twist.

I own a lot of bows and many of them have arrived with twists...they take a few minutes to rectify in all cases.

And I thot this thread was asking a question about Ryan Gill down in Flordia.."TWISTED LIMBS"..:)

assuming the bow ORIGINALLY was glued up-made straight,with properly-symmetrical string nocks...

Most limb twist can be simply corrected with moderate warming and a bit of hand coaxing to realign..Jim

Nearly all twists in recurves (minor) were caused by stringing through the legs. Think about the physics of that action and you will get it. 99% of those twists are easily fixed, just as we have discussed here about 99 times at least. Once in a blue moon you find one that was likely ill-aligned when glued up, but that is more rare than an honest politician.

I do understand that through leg bracing will likely twist a recurve's limbs, so I use a stringer and hold the bow plumb while drawing it up to brace. That's why I was curious about the cause of winding limbs and how common they are even tho the topic has warn thin here on LW. I was surprised to find several of my bows had this condition and oddly enough some had limbs winding opposite, like a propeller, and two had limbs twisted in the same direction. It is clear from the input here that the issue is not such a big deal, either to leave alone or to correct. As to locating an "honest politician" - now, there's a problem without a solution IMO.

I've always done the step through to string my bows. If done correctly the limbs will be fine if not just twist them back in place and go on. Dad stuck the lower tip in the middle of his boot and done a push/pull method. My hands always been to tender for that one.. I personally don't care much for bow stringers seen bad things happen with them also!

When politicians fear the people again, they'll get more honest! Just my 2 cents!

Take care, Old

I left my Chek-mate recurve in a hot truck to long and twisted the limb badly. Someone on this site graciously fixed it for me, otherwise it would have been a total loss.

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