Tfc

[MovingTarget]

I did a search but didn't find an answer so.....

I keep seeing TFCs in archery catalogues and things, but could someone please tell me what they actually do? And do they really make a difference?

Thankyou

[martin]

A T.F.C or Torque Flight Compensator is an item that is fitted between a stabiliser (normally a side rod on a v-bar or top rod) that contains an adjustable rubber damper which affords the entire rod a little "springy" movement while still attached to the bow.

This T.F.C. absorbs any vibration and shock generated in the rod during the point of release.

T.F.C's have generally been superseded by "doinkers" and other types of dampening devices and some of the high end stabilisers (Beiter etc) are now so effective that archers don't fit T.F.C's with them.

Its a matter of choice really whether to fit them or not but I still use them and would recommend that you at least try them before discounting them, particularly when attaching side rods to a v-bar or as a top rod.

Hope this helps.

[Jerry Tee]

They are adjustable anti vibe mountings that go between a stabiliser and the long rod that allow you to tune how ridgidly the stab is conected to the riser. The are mostly used with single tube rods that do not have enough flexibility.They will do one thing that doinkers won't and that is allow you to set up a rod to help take out archer induced oscilations.

[MovingTarget]

Thankyou for the help. I'll see if I can borrow one from somewhere to try.

[BillM]

T.F.C's were all the rage when I started 8 years ago, so did the expected of a newby and just copy the more experience and bought some when I got the stabilisers. They didn't seem to make one jot of a difference except make the bow heavier so I took them off. I've tried them again since,after I had improved and still couldn't decide if they made any difference so they are currently lying in a cupboard somewhere. Stabilisers are there to compensate for poor technique so I wouldn't get my knickers in a twist about them and just concentrate on better technique instead.

BillM

[wingate_52]

I started with Arten TM4's. I have changed to Doinkers and a Cavalier J-Bar. No difference to scores, but less vibration in the hand.

[Raphe]

Originally Posted by BillM

Stabilisers are there to compensate for poor technique so I wouldn't get my knickers in a twist about them

... which is why most Olympians shoot with them? I wish some of the good archers would enter the national teams instead of letting all these amateurs with their training wheels still on hog the limelight.

(I agree that stabs can help mask poor technique, put surely that isn't their primary effect?)

[BillM]

Originally Posted by Raphe

... which is why most Olympians shoot with them? I wish some of the good archers would enter the national teams instead of letting all these amateurs with their training wheels still on hog the limelight. (I agree that stabs can help mask poor technique, put surely that isn't their primary effect?)

Oops! It appears I did not express myself clearly. I ditched the TFC's but do use stabilisers. My set-up, 4" extension, V-bar with 10" short rods and 30" long rod - all W+W except the extension which is Cartel. There is a 4" damper at the top of the riser and an additional weight on the short rod opposite the sight. It is nicely balanced if supported upside down on the extension about 1 1/4" from the riser and the string lies vertical.

Hope that clears up any misunderstanding.

BillM

[Raphe]

So, if I understand the clarification, stabilisers are OK, but TFCs don't do anything that shooting properly in the first place would obviate the need? That pretty much tallies with what I've picked up about them - a fad from before my time.

Sorry for jumping on that sentence, but as written it was not far off as provocative as that "recurve and compound bows are cheating" thread, to me anyway.

[Jerry Tee]

They were more than a fad, a lot more is known now about how rigid a long rod should be so the need for TFC's is no longer there. Now you have to position your tuners and get the right number of tuners to get the right flexibility. It was simpler then if you wanted your rod a bit stiffer you just tightened up the TFC to make it stiffer.