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Bow Strings Pedro Serralheiro
Bow Strings Pedro Serralheiro
Bow Strings
Part 1 of 3
Ta b l e 1
14
Product
B50
B500
B75
PENN 66
Maker
Brownell
BCY
Brownell
BCY
Strength
50 lbs
50 lbs
55 lbs
57 lbs
Fiber Type
polyester
polyester
allied polyester
allied polyester
Flex Loss
0%
0%
0%
0%
Stretch
++++
++++
+++
+++
Creep
++++
++++
+++
+++
Ft/lb*
4300
4200
4200
4300
* Waxed
To shoot a bow you need a string, preferably one made of the new
synthetic fibers. But which type of material will make the best
string for my application? How many strands should I use? What
length should I make my string? All of these questions and more
will be answered in this three-part series. We will deal with the
following aspects of bowstring making:
Part I Bow String Fibers, Understanding Them
Part II Preparing The String Making Tools, Including
Serving Choice
Part III Making The String
Ta b l e 3
Maker
BCY
Strength
155 lbs
S4
Brownell
160 lbs
ARCHERY FOCUS
Fiber Type
Vectran +
Dyneema
Vectran +
Spectra
Flex Loss
5%
5%
5%
5%
4%
5%
Stretch
+
+
+
+
+
Creep
++
++
+
+
+
+
Ft/lb*
8700
8900
6750
8900
7511
* Waxed
Fiber Type
Spectra
Dyneema
Spectra 2000
Dyneema SK 75
Dyneema
Dyneema SK 75
Stretch
Creep
Ft/lb*
4700
7%
4020
* Waxed
Strength
92 lbs
120 lbs
115 lbs
120 lbs
110 lbs
130 lbs
Ta b l e 4
Ta b l e 2
Product
Maker
Fast Flight Brownell
Dyna Flight
BCY
Fast Flight 2000Brownell
Dyna Flight 97 BCY
ASB
Angel
D &%
Brownell
15
Ta b l e 5
Fiber/String Maintenance
With any type of fiber you will need to wax them to get the
most from the string in cycle life and performance. Caring
Product
450 Premium
450 Plus
S4
Dynaflight 97
Fast Flight
Cycles to Failure
325 000
648 000
220 000
850 000
755 000
Ta b l e 7
Strand Comparison
For a comparison of numbers of strands per string, see
Fig. 6 to the right.
Product
450 Plus
S4
DF 97
FF 2000
FF
B 50
B 75
PENN 66
D 75
Strands
12
10
16
16
20
12
12
12
16
Strength
1860 lbs
1600 lbs
2400 lbs
1840 lbs
1840 lbs
600 lbs
660 lbs
684 lbs
2080 lbs
Total Length
720 in
600 in
960 in
960 in
1200 in
720 in
720 in
720 in
960 in
Ta b l e 6
Product
Number of Strands
450 Premium
12
450 Plus
16
S4
10
Dynaflight 97
16
Fast Flight
20
B50, B500, B75, &
PENN 66
12
16
Bow Strings
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by Pedro Serralheiro
Recommended
center serving
Recommended
end serving
Composite braided*
HPPE
Monofilament
Composite braided**
Nylon
Monofilament
Nylon
Monofilament
Nylon
Nylon Braided
HPPE
Nylon
Nylon braided
Bowstring
Composite blends
HPPE
Comments
For tear drops
Larry Wise has done a splendid job in his Nock Fit article,
Archery Focus Vol. 3 No. 6, so I recommend paying careful
attention to it to have a correct idea on what nock fit and
nock fitting is.
There are several serving materials on the market, but basically they come in following types:
Nylon serving
The first serving material available and still excellent for
end serving and tying peeps. #4 diameter 0.021
Braided serving
Thinner than nylon serving, but weaker. #3 1/2 - diameter
0.019
Monofilament serving
Several diameters 0.015, 0.018, 0.021, good for center
serving and easy to match nock fit.
HPPE serving
Probably the finest end loop serving. Normally strong twoply construction, excellent abrasion resistance. #2 diameter 0.022
Composite braided serving
Outstanding durability, excellent for center serving, ten
Figure 5
Fibers, servings, serving
tools, wax, a
small rule, are
all
needed.
Have them on
hand.
Figure 2 To make
very small strings,
lengths between 10
and 20 inches, you
must use optional
holes with M4 or 18
threads to reposition the U-arm.
ARCHERY FOCUS
Now we have all the data and tools needed to start making that special string, lets do it in Part 3.
Until next time, good shooting.
Bow Strings
3
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Photo 1
Figure 1
Photo 4
Photo 3
Figure 2
Figure 4
Untie the beginning and the end strands and cut them off
Step 1
Step 2
close to the ends of the serving. Now return the string jig to
the configuration shown in Figure 1, and proceed to make
the end serving, see Photo 7.
Take a close look at this photo. Youll see that the loop is tied
Figure 3
Step 3
continued on page 13
ARCHERY FOCUS
out on your rag, in this case a red S4 string and cables. After
burning a string it becomes much softer to the touch and
performs better.
Making your own strings and cables is a must in archery,
because you can craft that special length, number of
strands, and serving combination that best suits you.
Good shooting.
Several Corrections
rom a kind letter from Brownell & Company, I realized that several errors were in the Brownell fibers
data. First, the values of string break strength of Fast
Flight and Fast Flight 2000 were wrong. The correct
vales are 95 and 135 pounds, respectively. So here is a
new Table 2Corrected. (See the bottom of page 12 to
your immediate left.)
Since Table 7 was made using data from Table 2,
some errors also occurred in that table. A corrected Table
7 is available, again, at the bottom of page 12 to your
immediate left.
In addition, Brownell has informed us that Fast
Flight has only 14 inch of creep and S4 only 18 inch.
We apologize for any inconvenience that these errors
might have brought to Brownell & Company.
Pedro Serralheiro
13
12
12
Ta b l e 7
Product
Maker
Fast Flight
Brownell
Dyna Flight
BCY
Fast Flight 2000 Brownell
Dyna Flight 97
BCY
ASB
Angel
D 75
Brownell
Ta b l e 2
Product
450 Plus
S4
DF 97
FF 2000
FF
B 50
B 75
PENN 66
D 75
Strength
95 lbs
120 lbs
135 lbs
120 lbs
110 lbs
130 lbs
Strands
12
10
16
16
20
12
12
12
16
Fiber Type
Spectra
Dyneema
Spectra 2000
Dyneema SK 75
Dyneema
Dyneema SK 75
Strength
1860 lbs
1600 lbs
1920 lbs
2160 lbs
1900 lbs
600 lbs
660 lbs
684 lbs
2080 lbs
Shooting in Rain
If it is raining and you absolutely have to shoot, there is no
magiceveryone shoots badly. The big problem is that
your arrows will load up with moisture which will cause
them to weigh more and therefore shoot low. You are better
off with plastic vanes on your arrows than with feathers. If
you absolutely must shoot arrows with feathers, weatherproof them with Scotchguard or one of the commercial
feather waterproofing treatments. Whatever you shoot,
keep your arrows dry. Put a plastic bag over your quiver,
covering your arrows. Use a scope cover to avoid getting
your scope wet.
When you shoot, add a yard or two for the extra arrow
mass. Since there are so many bow-arrow setups and so
many different kinds of rain, the more you practice and
experiment with your own equipment, the better your
results will be.
Good luck!
Total Length
720 in
600 in
960 in
960 in
1200 in
720 in
720 in
720 in
960 in
Weight
89.34 gr
87.03 gr
79.93 gr
82.86 gr
80.39 gr
97.67 gr
99.99 gr
97.67 gr
74.50 gr
Stretch
+
+
+
+
+
Creep
++
++
+
+
+
+
Spool Length
1175 ft
1005 ft
1750 ft
1688 ft
2175 ft
1075 ft
1050 ft
1075 ft
1877 ft
Ft/lb*
8700
8900
6750
8900
7511
* Waxed