Maintenance

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This section covers what checks need to be carried out on archery equipment and the maintenance needed to keep equipment in good order. However, it does not go into detail as to how the maintenance work should be carried out. In other words it advises on what you need to do but doesn’t tell you how to do it.

Click on a button below to jump to the section on the age and find out more.

Bows and arrows are tools designed to fulfil a particular purpose and you will get the best out of these tools if they are properly maintained. Damage, loose fittings and wear & tear will affect how you shoot.
 

The key thing is to check your equipment regularly to ensure that it stays in good order.
 

You should do this:

• When you set your bow up - to make sure everything is OK before you start shooting.
• While you are shooting - to make sure that nothing has gone wrong or something you missed at set-up has become more obvious. For example your sight might works loose and need tightnening, which can greatly affect your performance.
• When you take your bow down. Checking things when you take the bow down allows you to draw up a list of maintenance tasks to be completed away from the field.

None of the checks should take a great deal of time and, if they are done regularly and acted upon, nor should it take long to put right anything that is wrong. Essentially it’s a case of a stitch in time...

Essentially you should be looking for visible damage and whether or not the riser is twisted.

Archers should carry out a visual check for damage such as cracks and chips. Often these are cosmetic and will not impact on the bow’s performance. For example I have several wooden risers where the platform below the arrow rest is chipped, so far as I can tell this makes little difference to the way the bows perform. If the damage was where the limbs bolt on or clip into ILF housings that would be more serious, though not necessarily terminal. The archer has to take a view on what is likely to impact on the shot or safety when using the bow. If either are affected the next decision is over whether it is something that can be repaired or whether the riser simply needs to be discarded. Damage to other parts of the bow are likely to be more serious. However, bear in mind that visible damage may be an indication of something more severe and so archers should look beyond the obvious whenever they spot anything. 

Checking the riser for twists can be difficult. It should be done when the bow is braced and the first stage is to look at the alignment of the string through the bow, either visually or using gauges designed for the purpose ~ take care to ensure that limbs are correctly seated as otherwise it is possible to get a false impression of what the true situation is.. Plastic risers, such as KAP’s Surprise, are most susceptible. Sometimes they can be straightened using force, possibly aided by some heating, thought this is itself tricky, or even hammered back into shape. However, in reality once a riser is twisted it is probably unusable and needs to be replaced.

Most risers, other than one piece bows,  will have a number of screws and things screwed onto them. It makes sense to check these for tightness from time to time. Something buzzing or rattling on the bow when you shoot can be very annoying and will impact on how you shoot.

Always check the bow when setting-up. You should look at bracing height, tiller and from time to time, limb alignment. Bracing height is easily adjusted by adding or removing twists in the string (to respectively raise or lower it by shortening or lengthening the string). Adjusting the tiller or limb alignment takes a bit longer - see the section on setting up your bow for guidance on this.

 Archers should carry out a visual check for twists/bends, chips and delimitation. 

• Twists and bends may not be capable of being repaired so the likelihood is that where they arise the limbs will need to be replaced. Having said that applying gentle pressure, possibly with a bit of added heat is worth trying but isn’t easy.
• Chips on the facing of limbs may be cosmetic, just affecting the varnish or paint finish, especially if small. Small chips can be touched up with paint or varnish and doing so may mean potential future problems are at least put off. Larger chips or splits mean the limb probably needs to be replaced as they can lead to limb failure.. Replacement is certainly required where delimitation (layers splitting away from one another) occurs.

It is worth taking good care of your limbs, and riser, when stored in your bow case as that’s often when problems arise. Ideally put them in bags designed for the purpose, many are sold with something suitable and there are lots available if not. Some manufacturers recommend polishing limbs and risers with car or furniture polish. It is possible that doing so will protect them from damage, it will certainly ensure the archer looks closely at the bow and will be aware of dame as it occurs. There is the added benefit that the bow will stay looking good for longer and, as we know, if you are happy with your bow you are likely to shoot it better. Bear in mind that polishing the shoulders at the limb tips, where the string fits, might not be advisable as you don’t want your string moving around there during the shot/draw cycle.

Strings are generally made of modern man-made polymers that have varying amounts of stretch. The amount of stretch affects both how the bow is set up and, more importantly, how it will perform. Some limbs are not suitable for string material that has very little stretch and so are shot with older materials such as Dacron rather than more modern materials. 

Adding or removing twists from the string affects both set-up and performance. You will work out over time what works best for your bow and having done so, and measured the bracing height etc., you will then be able to set the bow up the same way each time you shoot.

Strings should be waxed on a regular basis as this helps ensure they stay in good condition and gives the archer an opportunity to check that everything is well. Proprietary waxes are available but beeswax just as well, it’s cheaper and does the job.

In addition you should check the servings for wear and tear or fraying. Frayed servings come in two types:

• Fraying at the end of the serving - which can be fixed on a temporary basis by simply      whipping/tying on the loose end of the serving thread in a similar way to tying a nocking point.
• In the middle of the serving - this can either be in the loops at either end or in the middle of the centre serving.
  • In the loops - it may be possible to put the string on a string jig, remove the old serving and       put on a new one. However, if the top end is frayed care needs to be taken to ensure that the two end of the string material do not come loose causing the string to unravel. If this happens you will need to make a new string.
  • In the centre serving - here you will need to put the serving in a string jig, mark the top and       bottom of the old serving on the string, remove the nocking point and string, pout on a new serving and nocking point, re-twist and wax your string and then you are good to go. This can take longer than you expect, so it’s always a good idea to have another string for your bow, as the saying goes.
• Wear and tear of the string is usually shown by slight fluffiness, usually below the centre      serving, which is caused by inevitable friction against the archers arm in the shot. It can be tidied up by waxing but if it is severe it may be time to look at your technique, get a coach or other archer to help you.

Whilst looking at the string it is always worth looking at your nocking point. Whichever type you use they are always likely to move over time, either up or down or away from each other leading to variations in the shot. You should look at:

• Height - check with a bracing gauge. They should be 3-5mm above the arrow rest is      recommended to the bottom nock but precisely where you put them is to some extent governed by your arrows - fatter arrows need a higher nocking point.
• Width - they need to be just wide enough to allow your arrow to nock on securely and not move up and down. So again this depends a little on the size of arrow and nock being used.
• Fit - by this I mean how securely arrows click onto the string. If they are too      tight the arrow won’t come away properly, you need to have a bigger nock      or thinner serving. Conversely if they are too loose you need a smaller      nock or to build up the serving (easily done with dental floss).
• Condition - over time most nocks will suffer wear and tear, even expensive ones like Beiter nocks (see elsewhere for more detail). It is a fairly simple task to take off the old nock, mark where it needs to be and replace it with whatever material you prefer - dental floss, serving thread etc.

Storing your string when off the bow needs to be done carefully so that it does not lose twists or get knotted. Clipping the top and bottom together in some way and ideally storing the string in a tube, they often come with one, will help. 

Finally replacing your string needs to be done from time to time. How often depends upon how often you shoot and how well you have looked after it. Archers shooting higher poundage bows will probably need to do it more often as they put the string, and indeed all parts of their bow, under greater stress when shooting.

The pressure button helps ensure the arrow leaves the bow correctly. General guidance is to leave them well alone once you have set-up and tuned your bow. However, they include a number of screws which can work loose and also screw into the bow themselves. You should check for:

• Check centre-shot- see the section on setting up your bow for an explanation of how to adjust this. Essentially it is a case of moving the collar close to the bow one way or the other to move the point of the arrow left or right as required.
• Stiffness - how stiff the button is will affect the way arrows leave the bow. See the section on tuning for more information on this. You adjust the stiffness by loosening the grub screw on the collar furthest from the bow      then tightening or loosening the spring as required.
• Tip wear - plastic tips of cheaper pressure buttons can wear, especially if      the nicking point is not set quite right and the arrow touches the tip towards its top or bottom. In the first instance simply rotate the tip. For a more permanent remedy consider moving the nocking point or arrow rest (especially if adjustable) up or down as required.
• Smoothness of movement- the button tip should move smoothly gritty/jumpy feeling. If it does feel gritty or moves in small jumps it is likely there is dirt inside the button. There are two remedies here - firstly take the button apart, clean it and put it back together again or, secondly, fit a new one. Either way you will have to spend a bit of time re-tuning your bow.

N.B. some more modern pressure buttons have click adjustments and integral scales to work from. If you have one of these make a note of where your button is set so that you can get it back to where it was whenever you carry out maintenance work.

It is often said that you can shoot a good arrow well off a bad bow but you cannot shoot a bad arrow well even off a good bow. For this reason checking arrows is one of the most important things an archer should do. Arrows can be made of various materials ~ wood, aluminium, aluminium/carbon composites, fibreglass and all carbon. However, the latter two types are not allowed on our fields, though they could be shot indoors.

There are a number of different things to check.