info on string making please

[kerry]

Hey Guys,A mate of mine wants to build his own bowstrings and needs some help with string strand counts ,serving materials pretty much everything I guess. I have looked thru some of the posts on here but need something more specific.His bow is 57lb.@28" ,recurve. he uses easton super nocks @ 0.098" and wishes to use fastflite . Any help will be appreciated cheers Kerry

[greybeard]

Hi Kerry, the following should help;

http://www.bcyfibers.com/Bowstring.php

http://www.eastonarchery.com/blog/bowstring-tech-tips

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1549354

Daryl.

[kerry]

excellent thanks Daryl I will pass them on to him .

[DrAK DaRippa]

the two common ways to make a bowstring are endless loop and flemish twist.

the endless loop relies on a specific jig in order to make a good string, and so required spending some cash. [either to buy or make]
the flemish twist usually uses a simple tool to prepare the string, but it's not strictly required.

interestingly, on endless loop, where the loops are at the end of the string will be half the thickness of the main part of the string which is why it usually has serving over the entire end of the string, you can add some short lengths of string before serving to add security.. i have never made an endless loop string btw.

the flemish twist jig is easy to make, and is all based on a technique of having two bundles of string, by twisting them one way individually, then twisting them together in the other direction, one twist at a time, it makes the string stable because the two opposing twists cancel out any untwisting... the loops are made by splicing the ends of the strands back into the string body.. but its a hard thing to fully explain in text.

google how to make a flemish twist string, they are awesome. it might take a few attempts before it works, it's good to practice on a foot long test piece

the flemish twist jig is just a board with some nails that help get a rough size for le strands, and simplifies staggering the ends so they are different lengths, which make the string look neater when its finished.

[kerry]

thanx for that, keep em coming please guys.

[Dennis La Varenne]

Actually, an endless string can also be made using nothing more than thee sticks stuck in the ground.

The process is commenced by tying the start of the string to one of the pegs which are distanced apart to the required length and the string spool is passed around each end to bring the string to the required strand count.

At the correct strand count, the end of the string is again brought back to the starting peg and back past it by around 6 inches. At that point, the third peg is placed a few inches away from the finishing peg and the end of the string tied to it. One then moves the third peg out away from the line of the body of the string to form a shallow triangle of the string.

With the string-ends now secured, commence whipping between the two pegs which form the base of the triangle long enough to form an eye, then, remove the third peg and slide that eye-section around to the middle of the distance between the two measuring pegs and tie off the whipping.

With the first eye-section formed, repeat the whipping on the side opposite the first eye-section. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT BOTH THESE EYE-SECTIONS ARE EXACTLY OPPOSITE EACH OTHER AND HAVE THE SAME LENGTH OF STRING BODY BETWEEN THEM.

With the second eye-section formed, move the two eye sections back around so that they centre on the main pegs, then bring both halves of the string body together by whipping them together commencing where ends of the eye section align. This stage of whipping can start by over-whipping the ends of the eye-section by about 1/4" (so long as there is enough size in the eye to fit the bow's nocks) so that the two halves of the string body do not pull apart.

Alternatively, the eye-sections can be brought together with only the one side being about 1/4" longer than the other and whipping commenced in the same way. Neither is better than the other except in appearance.

Having formed the eye itself, whipping of the string body can continue for about 3 inches along the string body and finished.

Then, the process is continued at the other end.

At this stage, it does not hurt if the whole is suspended with a brick or anything heavy at the lower end to help stretch it out before applying it to the bow and centre-whipping it.

The process can be easily followed in the diagram below.

MAKING ENDLESS STRING.jpg (210.43 KiB) Viewed 2334 times

[kerry]

Well that's very simple ,thanx for that Dennis.

[davethepom]

Thanks for putting this up for me Kerry, there's some good information here!

After having a read of the above, I think I'll probably go with a 12 strand D97 endless loop string with Halo serving for loops and centre. Would this be suitable?

Would .024" serving give a good nock fit using Easton Super Nocks?

I'm trying to get a good idea of what will work, without spending loads of money and finding I need to use a different strand count or serving.

I'm confident that I can put a jig together for very little money, and will start sorting out materials this weekend...Ah hobbies leading to sub-hobbies...