If you are a bow shop owner or a competition shooter you already know the importance of a bow press, but if you are any kind of “Do It Yourselfer” you need to own a bow press these days. If you change your own oil, or try to fix it yourself before calling in a pro, a bow press will be a necessity to you. The days of being able to make minor adjustments or repairs to your compound bow without a press are over. For me, the Spikepress from Archery Tooling Corporation is that press.
A bow press is any devise that will allow the user to compress a compound bow’s limbs in order to remove the string. Sounds pretty basic, right? Well, it used to be. I did some patent searching and here is what I found.
The Compound Bow Stringer, which worked like an old chain binder, was filed for in 1976 and the patent was awarded in 1978. Things pretty much stayed the same until 1990 and 1991, when Portable Bow Presses became popular. Then in 1992, a guy named Gary Lint filed for a Bow Press that was a free standing unit which held the bow. In 1993, Kevin Desselle filed for what would become the Apple Bow Press and then things slowed down again. That style press worked for every bow for about 10 years. As the bow companies started to make the limbs more parallel the bow press scramble started up again. In 2004 C.S. Gibbs Corporation filed for what you know as the X Press. Beyond parallel limbs started to gain popularity and the first limb tip compression press, like the Last Chance Press, was filed for in 2006. On May 17, 2011 a guy named George Gouramanis, the owner of Archery Tooling Corporation, filed a patent for a Universal Archery Bow Press. His patent was published just a few months later because he created a press that is truly different.
I work at a small archery shop that was founded 22 years ago by world renowned archer Tom DiRisio. He took on his brother Ray as his partner and they are going strong today. They started with two bow presses and that worked for years. As the bows started to change though, the need for different presses kept arising. We currently have six different presses that get used on a daily basis. Remember I said it was a small archery shop, and square footage isn’t cheap.
When I received my Spikepress from Archery Tooling Corporation the first thing I did was take it to Strictly Archery N.J. and set it up. Although Tommy and Ray were a bit skeptical about installing press number 7, I knew that was going to be the best spot for me to try all the different bow configurations in this press. What I didn’t expect was that the other presses are now starting to gather dust.
The Spikepress is truly a universal press. We have easily and safely pressed bows and crossbows from every major manufacturer in the Spikepress, regardless of limb configuration. The beauty of the Spikepress is that although it is universal, with minimal set up it becomes bow specific.
The Spikepress gets its name from the four stainless steel Spike pins that allow for different points of contact with the bow. The pin retainers float insuring that the bow is straight when in the press and they have two sets of holes, straight and 20 degree to accommodate for limb angle. The pins have a ball end, so used in conjunction with the Solid or Split Limb Grippers the limb angle can change for full takedowns. The Limb Grippers clamp onto the bow’s limbs prior to pressing and can stay on until the job is done. They hold the bow securely in the press and prevent the bow from jumping up or pushing down. This is a real problem with most limb tip compression presses. The Limb Grippers also afford more cam area clearance, which makes working on the bow much more pleasant. The “L” shaped pins work for standard limb tip compression. They are great for quick jobs like changing a peep. Archery Tooling Corporation also offers custom adaptors for the Spikepress such as Bowtech Insanity/Experience/RPM360 Pins, Y-Peg adaptors for the Bowtech Carbon Knight and Carbon Rose, Mathews Solid Limb Grippers and a Crossbow package that every bow mechanic will appreciate.
If you ever get the opportunity to meet George, you will be able to tell right away the guy is sharp. He’s always thinking. He isn’t the kind of guy that sits back and says “it’s good enough”. That’s the beauty of the press, by the time you are reading this he will already be working on a new adaptor for the 2015 model bows if the need arises. When I spoke with George about reviewing the Spikepress he told me that his intention was to build the safest and easiest press to use on the market. A press that stayed one step ahead of the technology the bow companies are using. George said he already knew what was right with the press, so he was only really interested in hearing what is wrong with it. Sorry I let you down George. I let a guy that has pressed tens of thousands of bows in his lifetime keep the Spikepress in his shop for months. We can’t figure out what is wrong with it.
With fast set up times and the Spikepresses’ unlimited adaptability, this press is a must for every shop owner. With the Spikepresses’ safety features and easy to use bow specific adaptors, it is also the perfect press for the home bow mechanic. To get more information on the Spikepress, check out Archery Tooling Corporation’s website
http://www.archerytooling.com. There you can find the press, the adaptors and a bunch of other cool products they make.
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