Spring steel rest help

[chryd]

Hi Folks.

I've been shooting with a drop-away rest for a while, but have just converted an old Golden Key Premier to use a spring steel blade as a cheap way to try out a spring steel rest. I've never shot or setup a spring steel before so I was hoping someone might help me out

The main questions I have are:

Should the nocking point be raised or kept level?

What angle should the blade be at?

Do you change the blade for indoor/outdoor, or use the same blade for both?

I've set mine up (0.10 blade) at a little under 40 degrees, with my nocking point slightly high. Some shots the arrow rest is pretty much silent, but other shots the rest makes a distinct "pinging" sound and I think it's making contact with the arrow about 1.5 inches from the nock. Any idea why?

Any help greatly appreciated!
Chris.

[Bald Eagle]

What arrows are you shooting? If they are big alloys then the blade may be too light. Some people like to tighten the spring up and let the blade do the work, others have a lighter spring pressure so the arrow comes up on the rest at full draw. Nock point can be set level for carbons and a bit higher for alloys I have an infinate on my bow with a blade, I think it's a 15 and I go to a 10 for ACEs

[geoffretired]

Hi Chryd,
The blade type rest on the Golden Key should work in much the same way as any other shape. The normal one is a bent wire that is held in a brass sleeve. The springiness is provided by the axle that goes through the rest body and is adjusted by the knulred brass wheel on the opposite side.
Having a springy blade will not alter things much, unless the blade is very flexible which will mean any stiff setting on the wheel will be cancelled out.
As for the angle, if it was set upright, it would not drop much as the arrow passes, making it as as if rigid. If it was horizontal, the fletchings would catch the axle as it would be at the same height as the blade and the arrow. 45 degrees is a good starting point. Sometimes dropping it or raising it can get rid of squeaks. Dropping the angle can make the V more shallow as seen by the passing arrow and fletchings, if clearance is an issue.
Changing blades would serve no real purpose that I can think of. Fatter arrows might need a lower rest but the rest height is adjustable. Different arrows might need a stiffer/weaker spring setting;again, the spring tension is adjustable on the wheel.
Getting"pinging" could be contact or it could be the blade springing back to its stops. Try powder testing to be sure. If you are getting contact, it shows that the back of the arrow is down as it passes the rest blade. That could be knocking point height or the fit might be too tight on the string.

[niceguy]

I shoot with a spring steel blade from time to time. The angle of the blade to the horizontal will depend on the stiffness of the blade and the arrow weight. I have always shot with the blade at about 30 degrees from the horizontal. What works for me is for the blade to drop about 2mm when the arrow is loaded and before the bow is drawn. I set my knocking point 2-3mm high and I don't get any contact with the blade. Each set up will be different, in particular where the arrow is in it's spine cycle as the fletched area passes over the blade (it could be bending up or down). Bending up will clear, bending down may clip the blade. Powder test the fletching area, check your arrow spine is not too week, you may have excessive deflection in the arrow.

Regards

[Marcus26]

I am a massive fan of this style of rest. Won't use anything else.
Anyway, I have mine at 40° and use a 0.10 blade for everything.
What I have found you need to be careful with is your nocking point configuration.
On my Bowtechs I just simply could not get clearence despite nock height or arrow size. That is untill this week when I went away from my double nocking point like this
Dloop
Nock
Arrow
Nock
Dloop

to this

D
A
N
D

I even got clearence with the X10's OK. (dropped X10's because I just could not get them to clear)

This will depend on your nock travel on your bow. I know Dave Cousins uses this config on his Hoyts.

[geoffretired]

Marcus, would you please clarify something for me?
The nock being single instead of double, is that done by removing the top nock set(brass piece or serving) so the arrow rests under the top knot of the d-loop, yes?
I notice several archers do this. It puts the arrow above centre inside the d-loop. But when you look at the d-loop at full draw, the jaw of the release is normally above centre so the jaw and arrow are in a better line.

[chryd]

Thanks for the help folks. I played around with the rest a bit last night and seemed to get better results. Seems I had the nocking point a bit too high, plus the center shot was not quite right. Now I just need to shoot it for a while to compare it to the drop away

Cheers,
Chris.

[Marcus26]

Spot on Geoff.

Originally Posted by geoffretired

Marcus, would you please clarify something for me?
The nock being single instead of double, is that done by removing the top nock set(brass piece or serving) so the arrow rests under the top knot of the d-loop, yes?
I notice several archers do this. It puts the arrow above centre inside the d-loop. But when you look at the d-loop at full draw, the jaw of the release is normally above centre so the jaw and arrow are in a better line.

[chryd]

Originally Posted by Marcus26

On my Bowtechs I just simply could not get clearence despite nock height or arrow size. That is untill this week when I went away from my double nocking point like this
Dloop
Nock
Arrow
Nock
Dloop

to this

D
A
N
D

I used to use the D A N D system but found the top D-loop knot would slowly slide down until it started fouling the arrow, so I changed to the
D N A N D system, although I preferred the first system when it worked ok. How do you get the top D-loop knot to stay in place Marcus?

Chris.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by chryd

How do you get the top knot to stay in place Marcus?

What are you using for the nocking point?

Adam