# Removing ILF limbs?



## ladyeclectic (Dec 10, 2012)

Should removing ILF/HDS limbs be so hard? 

My SF Forged Plus with Hoyt limbs is a &@$! to get apart. The Dude has to do it for me but it involves a lot of wiggling the limb to get it to release, which makes me nervous especially with carbon fiber.  Everything I read says it should be easy, but it's not. Very, very not. 

I'm asking because I'm at the range today alone and now have to transport my bow lashed together until I get someone with actual muscle to pry them apart. Is this normal?


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## joebehar (Nov 13, 2012)

I'm not the right guy to answer as I have only had ILF set up for less than a week, but I've found that there is a technique to attaching and removing limbs. I'm still not very adept at it, but it seems like just pulling the limbs straight out is the easiest way to remove them. No muscle needed. If you can draw your bow, you have more than enough strength. I'm pretty sure its all technique.


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## Norman2 (Aug 4, 2012)

Hi Sarah, I have my SF Forged Plus riser with the limb bolts three full turns out from completely tight. Although I have SF
Premium Carbon limbs they are easy to take out. I am not familiar with Hoyt limbs but definitely they should not be that
hard to pull apart. Maybe someone on this forum has another opinion. I am presently shooting 24# with a 28.5" Draw length.
and shoot 900 Carbon One arrows. Is the limb pocket tight around the Limb bolt? Regards
Norman


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## archeryal (Apr 16, 2005)

If the limbs are cranked down all the way, they could be hard to remove. If they are, try backing the bolts out 1/2 - 1 turn (loosen set screws on face of riser, then loosen the bolts, retighten the set screws. Back out the same amount on each bolt to keep tiller the same). 

You could also try putting some string wax, parrafin or white grease in the "u" at the base of the limbs. Sometimes, the limb bases has a little too much lacquer on them, which should correct itself with use, though you could try lightly sanding it, but lubing/waxing is usually enough.


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## icehaven (Nov 30, 2010)

If you're having trouble pulling them out, there are 2 direct solutions. (i've done both of these).

1. The most probable problem is that the notch is too small. It should fit snuggly but should also slide onto the limb bolt very easily. You can identify this problem because the inside of the notch will have smooth parts due to the rubbing. To fix this (this is the more permanent fix to what Archeryal mentioned above), take a file or sand paper and grind down the notch slowly, starting with the smooth areas. I've done this with both carbon foam limbs and carbon wood limbs, and it fixes it very fast. It doesn't harm the limbs at all because the notch isn't (and shouldn't be) where the stress is. The stress should be on the face of the limbs, not in the notch.

2. If the notch is fitting just right, then you can adjust the spot where the dovetail clicks into the riser. Sometimes, but not always, you can adjust the tilt of the dovetail relative to the riser. If the dovetail is tilted too much, it will interfere with the detent ball (springy piece) and cause the limb to get stuck.

hope that helps!


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

First try the limb bolts, but then if that doesn't do it, look at the spring loaded button on the dovetail. If you can't push it in with your finger, then the spring is too stiff and needs to be replaced with a lighter one. This is where I've seen many limbs "stick" in the pockets. Sometimes the spring is too long and it jams the detend button so it can't compress properly.


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## ladyeclectic (Dec 10, 2012)

Yeah, the spring is super tight. I tried the riser with an old pair of WinAct limbs and it pulled free muuuuuch easier, so it's the Hoyt limbs. They're new enough I guess for the spring to be super stiff. I'll try to lube it up a bit to let them slide free easier, hopefully it's an easy fix. Otherwise, I may need to indeed try a softer spring because these Hoyts are tough!!


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## ninevalleys (Apr 8, 2007)

Howdy,

I had this problem with cheap samick limbs in hoyt risers, the solution i found was: get some string wax and rub it on the dovetale, and limbolts / limb groove.
This made it a lot less stiff (still stiff), and eventually they were fine.

I now do this to all my limbs and have never had any problems since.

NV


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

ladyeclectic said:


> Should removing ILF/HDS limbs be so hard?
> 
> My SF Forged Plus with Hoyt limbs is a &@$! to get apart. The Dude has to do it for me but it involves a lot of wiggling the limb to get it to release, which makes me nervous especially with carbon fiber.  Everything I read says it should be easy, but it's not. Very, very not.
> 
> I'm asking because I'm at the range today alone and now have to transport my bow lashed together until I get someone with actual muscle to pry them apart. Is this normal?


Hello ladyeclectic:

The Hoyt limbs are coated in a clear coat finish.
Sometimes this clear coat finish is applied a bit too THICK.

So,
when you slam the Hoyt limbs onto the limb bolt,
they SNAP in
and can become near impossible to pull out.

Lots of the high school kids (mostly girls) are shooting recurve
and many are using the Sebastien Flute risers..(truly excellent stuff).

So,
they could not pull out their limbs...practically impossible.

I am a big guy (6'2" and 290 lbs)
and I had great difficulty pulling out the limbs.

I discovered,
I needed to use really fine files (needle files)
and started to sand down the clear coat finish
on the slot on the end of the Hoyt Limbs (thousandths of an inch)
making a tiny pile of clear coat finish powder from the sanding/filing
and constantly testing the fit...
for ease of insertion
and
especially *ease of removal.*


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## ladyeclectic (Dec 10, 2012)

Well, I decided to try the waxing idea and, wouldn't you know, it works like a dream! The dovetail spring is still super stiff, such that it sticks open sometimes, but the wax helped allow the limb to slide right out with minimal work. 

N&B, the limbs still wiggle in the pocket a bit so I'm going to hold off on filing off any edges just yet. I'll definitely keep it in mind however, thanks so much for the advice!!


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## Odin (Mar 8, 2008)

I had the same problem before. Now when I got new limbs, I remove the sping in the dovetail and cut it a little bit until the spring stud become soft. Also you don't scratch the riser in the limb pocket when you take them off.


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## gumibears (Jun 1, 2008)

It is also natural for new limbs to get stuck in the limb pocket. Ive had that problem with new from the manufacturer limbs. The dovetail/spring will wear down as you "break it in" allowing it to be easy to pull in and out. For now the solutions suggested above are useful if you dont have help to pull it out.


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