# Does padding the limb grooves really silence your recurve?



## deadeye-1963 (Aug 7, 2017)

I wrap the part of the string that lays in the grove with yarn.


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## emrah (Aug 28, 2012)

It does a little bit. I use Velcro. String puffs or shooting a nice heavy arrow is much more effective.

Emrah 


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## Tom_AZ (Mar 14, 2014)

deadeye-1963 said:


> I wrap the part of the string that lays in the grove with yarn.


Yup. Seems to help


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

deadeye-1963 said:


> I wrap the part of the string that lays in the grove with yarn.


That's what I do too. Wrap wool yarn _tightly_ from the end of the loop down the string to a point about 1" past the last point of contact between the limb and string when the bow is at brace. Serve the end so it stays tight.

I like the wrapped string better than anything on the limb, material on the limb seems to fill up the groove more, defeating it's purpose. I think wool yarn wrapped on the string still follows the groove the way the limb was intended.


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## GEREP (May 6, 2003)

I use yarn wrap on the first 4 or 5 inches below each string loop.

KPC


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

lbf -

Kinda depends on where the noise is coming from, doesn't it?

Viper1 out.


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## Longbowfanatic (Mar 5, 2016)

Viper1 said:


> lbf -
> 
> Kinda depends on where the noise is coming from, doesn't it?
> 
> Viper1 out.


That's true. I was speaking in general terms about dampening recurve bows. I have a 68" ILF bow that has a loud rest that cannot be quieted. That said, I assumed that all recurves have a certain amount of string buzz, limb vibration and other noises associated with loosing an arrow. Taking bows like my string walking bow out of the equation, because lets face it, no one cares if tournament bows are loud. It seems that all other bows, and archers, may benefit by paying more attention to all methods of reducing noise and vibration.


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## jtkratzer (Dec 22, 2006)

Got told not to do that. You're adding weight to the area of the limb you don't want to slow down at all and it's made worse any time that material absorbs rain/moisture/etc. Proper tuning, string silencers and some weight is the way to go.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

Viper1 said:


> lbf -
> 
> Kinda depends on where the noise is coming from, doesn't it?
> 
> Viper1 out.


That’s what I thinks  

I put a small piece of soft Velcro or mole skin or calf skin at the end of the string groove to avoid string limb slap 



I’ve been told by a few Bowyer’s to keep string grooves clear


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

JParanee said:


> That’s what I thinks
> 
> I put a small piece of soft Velcro or mole skin or calf skin at the end of the string groove to avoid string limb slap
> 
> ...


This ^^^.... probably the most direct aproach, though not as pretty.

This slap is happening as the string oscillates after it hits bottom, so you can either put the material where the string would make contact, as pictured above, or put a little bit of velcro right at the point that the string would part from the limb at brace, which slightly raises the string away from the limb at that point, creating an abrupt clearance beyond it that prevents the string from slapping instead of absorbing the slap. 

I don't think there's anything wrong with wrapping the string with yarn all the way down, so long as the string has enough of an edge into the string groove. 

I was thinking of trying a hybrid approach, little bit of yarn served onto the string, like 1/2", centered at the lift points at brace.

Of course, as Viper pointed out, in any case, only helps the string slap. Most effective way to silence the bow is to address it where it's vibrating, or of course, tune what's not tuned, to minimize the vibration in the first place.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

BarneySlayer said:


> This ^^^.... probably the most direct aproach, though not as pretty.
> 
> This slap is happening as the string oscillates after it hits bottom, so you can either put the material where the string would make contact, as pictured above, or put a little bit of velcro right at the point that the string would part from the limb at brace, which slightly raises the string away from the limb at that point, creating an abrupt clearance beyond it that prevents the string from slapping instead of absorbing the slap.
> 
> ...


What do you mean not as pretty  

Hi Barney hope all is well


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## olddogrib (Apr 4, 2014)

What Joe does...and I've likely talked to the same bowyers who basically said don't do anything that impedes the ability of the string to track that groove. That said, I used to do it with no problem so your mileage may vary. I'm not shooting the limbs I used to shoot either. But their point makes sense...the string is being "reeled in" at the radius portion of the limbs. There can be no "slap" until past the contact area after it reaches brace height.


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## Longbowfanatic (Mar 5, 2016)

Thanks, everyone. Great info!


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

lbf, et al - 

I don't think a single wrap on the string is going to hurt anything, but I doubt it's going to help either. A lot of things, like puffy silencers, are put on a string "just because". If a bow is designed properly (and not all are), tuning should get rid of most noise. Sometimes 1/4" - 1/2" of brace height may be all you need. To do it right, you then have to figure out where residual noise is coming from and fix that. Look, I have target bows that are dead silent and some hunting bows that sounded like car doors slamming - go figure.

Bottom line is always to tune the bow, at least by sound, first - THEN add stuff, and as little as possible, as necessary.

Viper1 out.


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## oubackman (Feb 14, 2006)

I just padded the groves of my new ILF recurve bow & it helps. Tuning helped a lot but it was still noisy so I placed 4" Velcro at the grooves. There is still a little noise at the limb pockets. I can fix that with some foam. I have wrapped strings before on Bear recurves, but that did not help much at all.


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## Longbowfanatic (Mar 5, 2016)

Viper1 said:


> lbf, et al -
> 
> I don't think a single wrap on the string is going to hurt anything, but I doubt it's going to help either. A lot of things, like puffy silencers, are put on a string "just because". If a bow is designed properly (and not all are), tuning should get rid of most noise. Sometimes 1/4" - 1/2" of brace height may be all you need. To do it right, you then have to figure out where residual noise is coming from and fix that. Look, I have target bows that are dead silent and some hunting bows that sounded like car doors slamming - go figure.
> 
> ...


Great info. Thank you!


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## cbretriever (Jun 3, 2015)

A good string with yarn wrapped ends definitely helped me but as stated, proper tuning seems to solve most issues.


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

JParanee said:


> What do you mean not as pretty
> 
> Hi Barney hope all is well


Is great! Got a new section of roof finished. Starting tear off of the next section soon! Hope to finish before it rains, so less archery forum


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## centershot (Sep 13, 2002)

Minimal - in my experience getting the brace height right and properly spined arrows are the most important factors.


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## ghostgoblin22 (May 3, 2013)

String puffs, a heavy (TUNED) arrow, proper BH all silence the bow the most effective, limbsavers help a tad too but only look good on modern recurves, limb pads seem to only help with the things I’ve already mentioned aren’t already set up or correctly set up 


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## nvision (Feb 23, 2015)

GEREP said:


> I use yarn wrap on the first 4 or 5 inches below each string loop.
> 
> KPC


This is brilliant!


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## SteveB (Dec 18, 2003)

Most effective area to pad is from just below the braced contact point to just above.
A couple inches total is enough.


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## DDSHOOTER (Aug 22, 2005)

SteveB said:


> Most effective area to pad is from just below the braced contact point to just above.
> A couple inches total is enough.


Or just buy your strings.
Dan


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## DDSHOOTER (Aug 22, 2005)

SteveB said:


> Most effective area to pad is from just below the braced contact point to just above.
> A couple inches total is enough.


Or just buy your strings.
Dan


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