Ever since they were invented, TD (Take Down or Demountable) bows have been preferred by the shrewd archers. In my shop the monolithics did not even reach 5% of sales and the reason is not the convenience of being able to disassemble it, most archers almost never disassemble it.
The real reason lies in the fact that the mass of the screw-insert-washer group represents a stabilizing weight precisely in the exact point where it has the greatest effect and the shot is more precise. The first version of my Picchio even had 10mm screws instead of the usual 8mm screws to increase the weight a little.
Some have thought that, therefore, the heavier riser is an advantage and are concerned about having Ebony or other heavy materials that make up the riser but it is absolutely not the same. The weight that is not at the top of the riser represents only a problem to be supported but not an aid to stabilization. The only weight that acts as a stabilizer is the weight at the two edges of the riser near the limbs.
For this reason many years ago I had the STABILIZING WASHERS made and marketed which partially solved the problem and with little expense but completely sacrificed the elegance and aesthetics of the bow
The solution was, however, only partial, both because these washers added just 80 grams of weight per side, they were really ugly to look at and then they didn’t solve another problem, that of rebalancing the weight of the riser.
Each riser weighs 30 to 50 grams more at the bottom due to the grip. From my experiments I have noticed that rebalancing this difference by adding more weight to the top, the bow becomes more stable.
So, the solution I applied in the TESTAROSSA is to add weight to the insert, to a greater extent than the upper one. In this way the two halves of the riser rebalance and react identically to release.
The amount of increased weight is really considerable and can even reach 900grams, of course it will be based on the customer’s choice. Everything is inserted before gluing the two halves of the riser together and therefore nothing will be visible from the outside.
All this, in addition to making the bow more stable, frees us from the need for visible heavy screws and washers and has allowed me to use 6mm screws without washers that are extremely more elegant (of course the washers can be added if you wish).
During every order you can decide how much weight you wish to add and i will write the total weight on each riser.
Below you can find a table with the medium weights for the various kinds of wood with the various stabilizing weights.
RISER 430 | EMPTY | +500g | +750g | +1000g |
lightweight woods | 450g | 900g | 1100g | 1400g |
mediumweight woods | 550g | 1000g | 1250g | 1500g |
legni pesanti | 750g | 1200g | 1450g | 1700g |
RISER 500 | EMPTY | +500g | +750g | +1000g |
lightweight woods | 600g | 1050g | 1300g | 1550g |
mediumweight woods | 750g | 1200g | 1450g | 1700g |
heavyweight woods | 900g | 1350g | 1600g | 1850g |
To the weight of the riser you shall add around 330g for the pair of limbs to get the full weight of the bow. You can reach a total weight of around 2kg but i ensure you that, apart from the initial surprise while handling it, using it won’t be a problem. I wouldn’t reccomend heavy weights to hunters or girls since it might be inconvenient for them.