Fixing
Cam Rollover Timing Problems
By Steve Helinski
Just can't seem to fix that bow that
is tearing nock high or nock low? No matter where
you move your rest or nocking point you are still
ripping the paper up pretty bad vertically?
Well your problem, as I found out this
year could be unevenly timed cams if you have a two cam
bow, as I found out this year.
How do you tell if your cams are not
turning over at the same time. Well the answer in
short is visual inspection. The easiest place to
pick up on this is when your bow is at full draw.
Draw you bow back as far as it goes then let it down
slightly and go back to full draw. Watch both cams
as you do this and make sure they flip over at the exact
same time. If there is even a slight difference it
could be causing your headaches.
You will need a full bow press or one
of the portable ones available to fix this
problem. Since I didn't want to spend the money on
a full blown bench bow press, I bought a portable one
which I can also take with me on hunting trips to fix
the odd problem that comes up, or to replace a
string. I bought The Lapper made by Game
Tracker.

Figure 1 Shows the press between the two
axles of the bow in the compressed position with the
weight off of the string.

Figure 2 Shows a closeup of the
tightening mechanism of the press in the compressed
position.

Figure 3 Shows a closeup of one of the
bow axles and where the bow press fits into the crotch
of the bow limb.
So what do you need to do to fix the
problem? Well make note of the cam that was not
turning all the way over when you had the bow at full
draw. After you get the bow press on and the
string relaxed, you will have to take the
"yoke" off of the end of the bow that had the
cam not turning all the way over. The 'yoke"
is the part of the string that splits into a Y at the
very end of the bow limb as shown in figure 3 with the
orange pointer.
Take the yoke off both sides of the
axle. You will then need to twist the piece of
string that is attached to the yoke and put some extra
twists in it in the same direction that the string
already has twists in it. This will shorten things
up on this axle and hopefully cause this cam to achieve
full turnover at the same time as the other. Start
out with a few twists and then go through the process
again as needed.

Figure 4 Some nice tears through paper
with a broadhead.
When you get all done this is what
your paper tears should look like. These arrows
were shot from 20 feet with a broadhead on. Now
you have achieved bowhunting Nirvana. Having
trouble telling which cuts were made by your broadheads
and which were made by the vanes? Put some
lipstick heavily on the broadhead before you fire it and
this should clear up the picture quickly.
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