I recently acquired what has to be the best condition 74 SK I have ever seen...and I have looked at a few. When I got it home and strung it the bottom limb appears to have some twist. However, it depends on the way it is viewed. maybe a better way to say it is that there seems to be no good way to positively hold this bow and see whether or not it is really got twist or it is some sort of an optical illusion. Someone suggested, "that depends on whether you are buying or selling!!!"... I can bend it a little and it kind of looks better, but then if I change angles it doesn't appear to be twisted. My question is this; is there a good positive test to tell for certain whether or not a given bow has a twisted limb? I can string it up and take some photos and post them, but the one angle is guaranteed to appear twisted...another, not so much. Thanks for reading this and thanks in advance for any info, it is greatly appreciated.

Brace the bow and pull the string back a little slowly then let it down slowly and watch the limb and see if the string does or doesn't go back in the string grove.

If the string lays to either side of the limb grove then unstring and twist the limb the opposite direction. Keep doing this until it settles in.

Thank you sir!!! I will give it a try. When I draw and watch the string it does appear to exit and lay right back into the groove like I believe it should.

If it is returning to the groove after full draw, every time, you are good to go. Listen to The Whittler to test and fix.>>>----> Ken

The string groove may or may not be a good indicator because it may or may not be straight in line with the center of the bow. And laying in the string grove may be what makes the ,limn appear twisted for that reason. I've seen that on several different bows.

As I recall, Victor Berger once shot a perfect 300 round in a tournament with a limb on a Bear bow that visibly twisted as it was drawn. (Mr. Stoudt will probably remember that episode.) So maybe a slight twist in the limb of a recurve bow isn't exactly the end of the world.

Dan you are right. I can't recall if it was Vic Berger, but that has been done more than once. There was an Olympic shooter a few years ago who did rather well with a bow with a twisted limb as well.

The main thing is the the limb follows the same path every shot as long as the arrow is on the string. After that as long as the bow stays strug it probably doesn't matter that much.

Thanks a million for all the info and replies. It is greatly appreciated!!! What I am seeing is either an optical illusion or if it is really twist it is not bad. I didn't get this bow to be my "main shooter", it is really one of those always wanted because I love the Super Kodiak kind of things...still, I am one of those guys that cant stand for something to not be right. It shoots fine and I will leave it alone unless it looks to be getting worse. If you can shoot a twisted limb bow and win I might be better off with it...I can stand all the help I can get!!! Thanks again for the info so far.

I put the bow on my drawboard and crank it back a few inches and watch both sides for twist. If there is twist, I'll tweak the limb back to center and leave it under pressure for a few hours. Then I'll crank it back three or four more inches and check again. Tweak it if necessary and walk away for a few more hours. After that, the twist should be gone. You can crank the bow up to 28 or 30 inches two or three times to be sure, then go shoot it.

Martin, they're all wrong, the bow's junk, send it to me and I'll see if I can repair it for you. If no I'll junk it for ya. Then we'll get to the bridge I have to sell in AZ, London bridge to be exact- ask Jerry Jeff Walker. LOL.

Actually, I think I could tell you if out of line in 30 seconds. I purchased something called tuning forks about a year ago and just got them about two months ago. They beat the heck out of Bieter blocks, which might also give you an idea.

Actually if you know anyone with the blocks that might help. I've never put the forks on wood bows, but they sure work on ILF. Have no doubt they work on wood.

I've had a bow that when you drew it, you could see the limb twist. When you let it down it would slip back in the string groove. I twisted it the opposite way for 60 seconds a crack and that straightened it.

Bowmania

London Bridge is in Arizona...Lake Havasu City as a matter of fact.

Thanks fellas for all the replies!! I am going to look up Bieter blocks and tuning forks and see what they are all about. Always nice to learn about new gear. I've been out of it for a little while. Back when I last shot/hunted traditional you just "saw" a twisted limb and either got rid of the bow {gave it away}, junked it or "steamed" it straight. I have never steamed one and in fact have only ever heard talk of doing so. Today when ever the subject of a twisted limb comes up the word "steam" is not mentioned. Which makes me wonder if that was nothing but an urban legend type thing. These days everyone says to simply bend it back straight, which seems to good to be true. And forgive me if I sound a little skeptical, but if you can simply bend a limb and it will stay where you put it that easily.........how does a bow maintain any draw weight?? Again, not trying to call any one out, but can you see where the question is coming from??? String up a bow, leave it for a week...it read 55#'s @ 28" a week ago. Test again a week later...it still reads 55#'s....but you can bend a twisted limb straight and it will stay????? Don't get me wrong, I sure hope so!!!

Bowmania, thanks for being there and being such a good friend!!! How much will you take to take thins thing off my hands for me??? Haha!!!

They are right, I've straightened many simply by counter twisting. Extreme cases may require heat, but only dry heat IMO. Really not a big deal, and I've gotten some great deals on several bows with minor twists.

yep

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