A friend that is not connected to the internet, asked if he used heat, could he take the set out of an old bow. He does not want to reduce its pull weight, if anything he would like it to be a few pounds more. What side does he need to heat?

Nope. Once there is a set in the limbs the wood on the belly side is already compressed. Not too many posts back the results of trying to take it out we're posted....broken bow!

SB - that's advice I could have used last week. :-(

I found an old hickory bow in my FIL's shed that had been standing on it's lower limb for decades through fog, sub-zero temps and sweltering summers. The lower limb had four or five inches of set.

I steamed the limb and got to match the 1-1/2" of set that the top limb had. Shot it for a while then the glued finger joint at the handle let go. I cleaned the joint and reglued it. Shot it some more and gave it away. Didn't break while I had it.

The limbs will de-laminate using heat

Reducing the set may not increase the draw weight. Depends on how compacted the belly fibers are. The only guaranteed way to increase draw weight is shorten it, or back it, Just depending.

Could a tea kettle be enough to heat/steam the wood to help remove the set?

You'd be better off to use dry heat. That way you aren't introducing more moisture.

But yes, steam can do it as well.

Thanks. Have an old all wood bow with a lower limb that has taken a bad set. Think I will give it a try.

I mean, people have heat treated the belly of bows before. You can easily induce reflex while you do it, and it'll add performance and poundage.

It is a Pearson Hickory. The old thing shoots, it just has about 4"or 5" of string follow.

Leave it alone and enjoy it, or hang it up. You cant reverse set. Warped wood is something totally different than set.

What Pearl said. Any methods or options I'd offer have slim chances of success at this point.

Since set is due to the belly fibers being overly-compressed, it will probably not hold any correction efforts you try to induce now... especially if you just hold it over a tea kettle. Ain't happenin.

'Heat correcting' a limb's shape, and 'heat treating' the belly to improve performance and help ward off set are two different things. Heat correcting it to make it look like it did before the belly fibers were overly compressed, doesn't repair them, so it will take that set again, and maybe worse the second time.

Heat treating best offers its rewards when done prior to any flexing of the limbs and certainly before any compression damage or set. I doubt you'll see much long term benefit there either.

I would leave it alone too. He could try heating the last 8 inches because there is not much bending there and putting in a little reflex there but it may not work. Jawge

Sorry, I assumed it was a laminated bow.

I was gifted a Bill Sterwart bow that had a crooked limb. I rubbed it with the palm of my hand and bent the limb in opposite direction. After a couple blisters and a few attempts it straightened out and has stayed straight for several years.

Pearl and Jeff have it right. Arvin

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