"Columbarius wrote:Any advice for those of us who don't have the opportunity to handle a 'professionally made' ring, or be fitted by someone who knows what they're talking about? It looks plenty easy to make one, especially the Manchu style, but figuring out whether it fits right or whether I just think it does seems like a challenge.
I can't offer advice on "professional made" rings, because I've never bought any. I guess I figured that I know my thumb better than they do, and I needed to learn from scratch. If you look back in the thumb ring section you'll find a post by me looking for advice, and the guys here helped me resolve my obstacles (If I had to pick the best thing about the Korean community, it's the very dense amount of great people that want to help).
Make some rings out of cueballs....it sounds like a pain, but it works EXTREMELY fast (I can make one by hand with a dremel in about 30 mins or so...excluding polishing). When I first started I wanted to get horn, bone, or metal, but all of these would've been a terrible idea as they're expensive materials and I didn't know how to properly make one yet. My first 4 rings were trashed if that tells you anything, and my 5th and 6th one weren't very good either (but usable); the hardest part about making rings is you know from experience what works and what doesn't. The rings that I've trashed all looked PERFECT, but they didn't create a good synergy with my lovely bow, and without the synergy it messes up everything out from the foundation of your gear.
The only tip I can offer is to not change the style around a lot, as there's many different origins, and because it isn't comfy doesn't mean it's the style, but rather that you messed up somewhere (this is tedious, but vital for bettering them). Also, flair out the top part of the ring to distribute the pressure.
Remember, a properly fitted ring will feel good, be as small and as thin as you can make it for how you shoot (no excess/bulk...it's protection not jewelry). However, I have made on PERFECT ring that, once put on, I can't even feel it, and that doesn't change when I draw back towards the 60lb area (with my draw length). Reading over tutorials and comments, there was a lot of talk about swelling of your thumb with a good ring, and I assumed there was a certain level of pain involved, but there isn't, and the swelling should be very minimal (like a regular finger ring that you keep messing around with....you know how that makes it swell a little). Anyway, good luck man, and don't forget to post some pictures of your ring(s) when they're done!
