Extreme string follow
Looking at the old Turkish bows from Dresden Museum collection we can see many bows with an extreme string follow. I wonder what would be the main cause of this? It's hard to imagine that those bows would have acquired such a great set only by being strung for long time and not being subjected to some serious misscariage in the past.
I think it is quite normal to explain it by prolonged time of being strung. 20-30 years of having been strung in different temperatures ought to do something with even the best bows.
I have seen pictures of the same bows showing they were strung at least 60 years and perhaps more in the many years they were on display in the Elector's collection. It was not unusual to display strung bows since few curators knew anything about archery in the 18th and 19th centuries. Those bows that were not strung often lost their strings so we can be thankful for small mercies.
I've been wondering if the permanent shape such bows have taken reflect exactly the original shape of the bow, or if the bends get more concentrated over the years. Ie. would the most stressed section of the bow at brace gather more bend than the less stressed sections over years of having been strung, and therefore showing more concentrated bends in the limbs?
Adam talks about that in the book. He states that creep is the major factor. Is that reversible?
Yes, more stress over time = more creep in the materials. The permanent strung shape reflects the stresses in the strung position. Not much different than the stresses in the drawn bow (there will be more stress closer to the grip in the drawn bow).
I suppose, one could gently warm the limbs and gradually bring them back to reflex, then leave there for a few years, perhaps at an elevated temperature. Still, the reversal will not likely be complete and the bow will remain weaker. This is of course irrelevant, since the old bows belong in the museum and must not be tampered with. Actually, the strung shape will be helpful for the visitors to imagine the bow in use.
Adam
I suppose, one could gently warm the limbs and gradually bring them back to reflex, then leave there for a few years, perhaps at an elevated temperature. Still, the reversal will not likely be complete and the bow will remain weaker. This is of course irrelevant, since the old bows belong in the museum and must not be tampered with. Actually, the strung shape will be helpful for the visitors to imagine the bow in use.
Adam
Adam,
another solution found and used extensively by clever Museum staff was to string the bows backwards ;-)
JJ
another solution found and used extensively by clever Museum staff was to string the bows backwards ;-)
JJ