Yoke-Tuning
Yoke tuning is the process of adjusting the two legs of the Y-shaped yoke cable — the split section that connects the single control cable to both sides of a cam — so the cam tracks straight and the string remains centered at the nock. Correct yoke adjustment eliminates cam lean, which directly affects nock travel and arrow flight.Details
The yoke is the forked junction in a compound bow's cable system where one control cable splits into two legs that anchor at both ends of the cam axle. When one yoke leg is longer than the other, it pulls one side of the cam harder than the other, tilting the cam laterally — a condition called cam lean. The leaning cam redirects the string at an angle off center, causing the nock point to travel on a diagonal arc through the shot rather than a straight vertical path. The result is a paper tear that does not respond predictably to rest or nocking-point corrections.
Yoke tuning requires a bow press because adjusting the leg lengths means adding or removing twists to one leg of the yoke, which cannot be done under string tension. With the bow safely in the press and the tension relieved, you remove the string from the cam, add twists to whichever yoke leg needs to be shortened, and reassemble. Each twist shortens that leg by roughly 1/16" to 1/8", pulling the corresponding side of the cam forward and reducing the lean. The cam should sit perpendicular to the axle — a straightedge or a simple visual check at brace height confirms alignment.
The practical test for correct yoke tune is to verify that the string runs straight through the center of the cam track and that there is no visible side load on the cam. After adjustment, paper tune the bow. A horizontal tear that appeared with the cam leaning should reduce or disappear once the cam sits plumb. If the paper tear was purely vertical, cam lean is unlikely to be the cause and yoke tuning will not help.
One common pitfall is over-twisting a single leg in one session. Add one or two twists, reassemble, check cam lean, and paper tune before adding more. Over-correction produces lean in the opposite direction and introduces the same nock-travel problem you were trying to fix. Also check that both legs of the yoke are within one or two twists of each other in total count — very unequal leg twist counts indicate the yoke may need to be replaced rather than further adjusted.
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- Do I need a bow press for every yoke adjustment?
- Yes. Yoke legs are live cables under significant tension at brace height. You must fully compress the limbs in a press to safely remove the string from the cam before adding or removing twists. Never attempt to twist a yoke leg while the bow is strung.
- How do I know which yoke leg to twist?
- Look at the cam from the rear of the bow at brace height. If the top edge of the cam is leaning toward the riser, the near-side yoke leg is too long — add twists to it. If the cam leans away from the riser, the far-side leg is too long. A plumb cam shows equal tension on both legs.
- My paper tear is diagonal — nock high and nock left. Could that be a yoke problem?
- A diagonal tear often has two separate causes: the vertical component usually points to nocking point or rest height, and the horizontal component may indicate cam lean from yoke imbalance. Fix the vertical issue first by adjusting nock point or rest height, then re-paper. If a horizontal tear remains after the vertical is resolved, investigate yoke and cam lean.