[h-bomb]

has anybody here had any experience making their own bowstrings? i'd like to get into it, but i dont really know what materials i should go with. i want to learn both the flemish and endless loop, and have found plans for jigs for doing both. it looks pretty straight forward, but i could be wrong..any thoughts?

 

[Coalsmoke]

Not hard at all. I make flemish twist strings using B-50 dacron. I like dacron because it's thick enough I don't have to build up my nocks with extra material. A lot of people like fastflight, but I think dacron is a little gentler for wood bows.

I don't have a jig, I put a loop on the top and use a timber hitch on the bottom. The best tutorial I have is in one of the Traditional Archer's Bibles. I would look it up, but my dad has my set right now. The only specialized tool I have is a serving tool, and I'd say it's optional though a big time saver.

Buy a spool and give it a try.

 

[h-bomb]

thanks. i was thinkin about using the b-50, but hadnt really heard anything about it. ive already got the tools to do serving. how many strands do you think? my recurve is marked 55# dont know the actual.

 

[Dave Bulla]

Making a flemish twist string is a piece of cake and a fella could show you how to do it in about 10 minutes. Problem is, it takes about 15 pages to tell ya how to do it...

Jigs are nice but not really needed.

On B-50 strings, depending on what serving material you are using, you'll probably end up with a 14 or 16 strand string. I prefer the 14 because I don't like my nocks to fit tight.

Honestly though, I've gotten away from the B50 strings and use the low stretch stuff. There are quite a few different ones to choose from and some brands are not so skinny that you need to build the loops up.

I've heard a lot of good things about SBD strings. SBD stands for "Silent But Deadly" and you could probably look them up and buy a string to try. I'm pretty sure they have a website. It'd be worth trying one before you invest in a spool of high dollar thread.

 

[h-bomb]

i ordered a quarter pound roll of b-50 from 3rivers, it was cheap so i wont be too dissapointed if i dont like it. i like using twisted/braided nylon for my serving, i think the stuff i have is .021"

how much longer than your finished length should you cut the strands? i was thinkin 1/4" so you could get enough twists in it. im not really familiar with the flemish style properties.

 

[Coalsmoke]

I haven't heard of the SBD strings before. I know there are things out there that are low or no stretch, but for the money dacron is hard to beat. Unless you are shooting super high performance bows or flight shooting I doubt if the differences are measurable.

I don't know the rule of thumb for extra length, but I think 1/4" would be way too short. Since I usually put a knot in the bottom of mine, I just make them long and trim them to length.

 

[h-bomb]

i picked up the stuff to make an endless loop jig today, im going to try and get it built tomorrow. id be happy to post pictures/dimensions if anybodys interested.

coalsmoke, is that knot youre using just basically a slip knot? sounds a little simpler to use use rather than fightin to get the string the right length.

 

[Dave Bulla]

If you are interested, here is the sight for the SBD strings. I've never used them but have heard great things about them. Look to be a little pricey... but like I said, I've heard absolute raves about the performance and the quietness of these.

http://www.sbdbowstrings.com/index.html

 

[rooterpig]

When I got my flemish jig it came with directions. You could probably go on the net and find plans to build a flemish jig. With the jig and directions it was easy to build.

 

[Coalsmoke]

I use a timberhitch. Look it up on some of the online knot sites, it is very simple. You have to watch for wear as it will shorten the life of your string more than loops. If you're going to make a jig I think it's simple to get the length right I just never took the time.