Nock design and placement

One of the first things you will need to do, now that you have the bow rough shaped, is to file in the string nocks. I use a 6" round file to accomplish this task. Although this is a simple process, it is very important that the nocks be well designed. Drawing #1 shows both correct and incorrectly shaped nocks. The bottom of both nocks must be straight across from each other and have the same depth, otherwise uneven string pressure is applied which will cause the limbs to be out of alignment and in extreme cases, damage the limb.

Drawing #2 represents the edge of the limb and shows 2 different angles. An incorrect angle such as the one pictured, creates a severe pressure point which will cause excessive string wear. If some of the newer string materials such as fastflight are being used, it can also cause the string to damage the limbs. This is especially true in recurves.

Once the nocks are in place, I will then glue on the limbtip overlays and reshape the top of the string groove. When final shaping the nocks, try to design them so that the string is held in the shape shown in drawing #3. Notice that the string shape is rounded and has no sharp corners. Again sharp corners can cause sting wear and possible limb damage. The final step is to sand the grooves smooth and round off any sharp area.