No press tuning?

[Dave0317]

I’ve gotten into Archery this past year or so. Shooting a Ross Cardiac I bought used. Has a QAD fall away rest and a simple 4 pin sight from Apex Gear.
I used a bow medic press to replace the string. All went well until I was loosening the tension, and the press just kind of crumbled apart. Very concerning obviously.
Anyway, now I am left with several tuning tasks to be done, with no press. (The manufacturer is sending a new one, which I will be hesitant to trust).
Does everyone that is serious about archery just eventually buy their own legit bench mounted bow press? Or do y’all have shops that let you tune a bow there? Or do you pay the shop to do it all?
it just doesn’t seem reasonable to drive to a shop every time I need to change a peep, adjust a fall away rest cord, etc.
Any advice from the more experienced archers here?

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

I pay a guy I trust to work on my bow. Then I don't need to stress about blowing up my bow with a 30 dollar press.

Someday I'll get my own press, and legit set up though. It's on my list.

 

[Rob5589]

I finally broke down last year and bought an EZ Green. Now I kick myself for going so long without a real press and dealing with a Bowmaster.

 

[Reburn]

We own presses, and arrow saws and then and then and then.
I have a LCA (last chance archery) press.

 

[nettereo16]

I get by with my Bowmaster. It's not the best and I wish I had a full-sized press. I really only need to press my bow a few times a year to get it tuned and I swap string every couple seasons. Eventually, I'll get an adult press but hard to justify the cost and size at this point in my life for how infrequently it gets used.

 

[Billy Goat]

All the above.


Eventually if you are serious about it you buy or build your own press. The building part can have the same issues you have already encountered.

The easy button is to just buy one.


Alternatively, many archery clubs have everything available to you, so you might be ahead to join somewhere and then have access to all the equipment and space.

 

[Chedster]

I bought a LCA EZ green pretty quick after buying my first bow and that was over four years ago. If you’re gonna get serious with archery, having your own press is so valuable.

 

[Planopurist]

I have an LCA EZ Green. I have a Bowmaster that used once or twice before I got my EZ. I’d only pack the EZ on a trip, if I couldn’t pack a second bow.


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[Beendare]

delete

 

[Rob5589]

I don’t need no stinking press…..grin


View attachment 332522

There are quick solutions for compounds where in a pinch you can press your bow, like drawing and have someone insert a couple stucks or dowels through your cams. (Carefully!)

personally I would only do that in an emergency it’s worth getting a Bow press.
.

I wouldn't try the old "dowel in the cam" on newer stuff. The cams are built so thin with such lightweight webbing, I wouldn't trust that method.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Consider a Synunm portable press if you're not ready to commit to a "real" press. I got by with a Bowmaster/Bow Medic style press for a few years with no issues, but I was always a bit worried about the jack screw threads possibly shearing or one of the crimped-on button stops slipping. The Synunm press uses a pulley system that seems like a more robust design less prone to failure.

 

[Brendan]

Depends how adventurous you are - but you could do it with paracord and a couple links of chain if you were really jammed up. I wouldn't take a bow down that way, but fine for putting a twist in a string, yoke, peep sites, etc. If you're careful...

 

[KyleR1985]

I’ve gone to shop for all, done everything I can on my own without a press and to shop for press, and own a press and do it all now.

The latter two are best options to stay intimate with your equipment. If you don’t pay enough attention to detail in ALL aspects of your hunting situation, the little bit of precision gained by doing all your own work won’t be worth the money. If you’re a detail oriented person, and gain confidence or actual precision from detailed involvement, the money is a non issue long term.

I like working on my equipment. It’s enjoyable.

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

I have an EZ green and I would highly recommend it. I do take it with me out to my cabin when I am tuning but I keep my bowmaster in my car incase I need it in an emergency.

 

[Cng]

I get by with my Bowmaster. It's not the best and I wish I had a full-sized press. I really only need to press my bow a few times a year to get it tuned and I swap string every couple seasons. Eventually, I'll get an adult press but hard to justify the cost and size at this point in my life for how infrequently it gets used.

This is the same situation I find myself in.

I have an older Elite, so I built a draw board with a 2x6 and a boat wench. I’ve found that I can use the Bow Medic press almost like the old dowel in the cam technique, in the sense that I draw the bow back on the draw board until the cams clear the fork where I can insert the Bow Medic T bars or whatever you call them. I snug it down a little and then release tension on the draw board.

The benefit is that you don’t have to sit there cranking on the Bow Medic for an hour to press it. It’s much quicker and seems like the Bow Medic is less likely to fail this way.

Having said that, a LCA would take up the same amount of space as a draw board and be much easier still…

Maybe someday.

 

[5MilesBack]

Without a press I wouldn't be able to do much of anything on my bows. Your press will pay for itself when there are no more runs to the bow shop.

 

[540-Virginian]

You either need a good press, or a good shop, but rarely need both…

 

[Archerichards]

Without a press I wouldn't be able to do much of anything on my bows. Your press will pay for itself when there are no more runs to the bow shop.

Disagree. I do about 95% of my own bow work, and all without a full scale press. I have a Synumn, which I really like and is about 75$ used. But I rarely really need it. What I do use often though is a Bow Vise, which holds my bow while I am installing a peep, serving, D loop, rest, that sort of thing. I have never owned a full scale press, but my fear is that, if I had one, I would be looking at it in the corner of my shop and thinking to myself about how much money I spent and how much space it requires and how little I use it. Maybe I am wrong, but that’s just the way I look at it.

 

[joe.cassell.3]

Ross Cardiac is a great bow. Single cam, stays in tune with good strings. Not much to tune but in my opinion you should have a press. Its like having a jack for your car. Certain things you can't do without one.

 

[JeffRaines]

Without a press I wouldn't be able to do much of anything on my bows. Your press will pay for itself when there are no more runs to the bow shop.

Couple reasons why I bought a press

1. I live at least 1 hour away from any shop. This means I have to pencil out 2 hours at least to get my shit worked on or…

2. Bow shops are usually backed up with work. While sometimes they’ll look at your rig when you walk in, often times you’re left leaving it and waiting on them to get to it wasting valuable time you could be shooting or hunting.

3. No one cares about your equipment the way you do. I’ve seen on more than one occasion bows getting sent out the door 70-80% done. Bow tech cutting corners(moving the rest when we should be shimming) trying to get the bow out the door. I know it’s done right because I’m the one who’s doing it. If I need to shim the cams I’ll take the time and do it… and don’t get me started on the bow shops that tune your bow for you while you’re not present…

It pays for itself in convenience. It pays for itself every time I have to put the bow into a press because I don’t have to drive and wait. It pays for itself because I know the bow is tuned 100%, and if getting to 100% takes an additional 3 hours it’s no big deal.

The initial investment sucks ass, but once you use it a couple times its worth becomes very apparent. Sorta like buying alpha glass - once you use them a couple times you wonder how you got along without it.