[English Longbow] Stretching out a longbow string ? bracing height?

wysiwyg

New member
I?ve recently bought a new string for my son?s longbow. It?s a fixed loop at one end, and a bowyer?s knot at the other end ? not sure what this type of string is called? The minute I put it onto the bow I noticed how low the bracing height was (about 5 inches). So I put about 20-30 twists into the string and tried again. Managed to get the BH up to about 5? inches, but still way too low for him. The previous string he had on there gave him a BH of around 6? inches.

So next I move the bowyer?s knot along at the bottom, and re-string the bow, and finally get the correct BH of about 6? inches. Hoorah! I think to myself?. So I leave the bow strung for an hour or so, and the BH has now dropped back to just under 6?, so clearly the string is stretching out.

My question is ? is it safe to leave the bow strung while the string stretches out, or should I try stretching it by some other means? Maybe hang a weight on it? Any advice?

For info, my son is a fairly stocky 14 year old, and the bow is a Steve Ralphs tri-laminated, (so a kinda proper bow!) rated about 35lbs @ 26?.
 

Et tu brute

New member
Is the string dacron? New strings (particularly dacron) will always stretch a little as they "bed in", however once they've stretched a little when they're first used they shouldn't stretch much more. I'd just re adjust the bowyers knot to bring the bracing height back up and then it shouldn't really stretch any more. Leaving the bow strung while the string stretches should be fine.
 

Bender

New member
Set it, shoot it some, check it, adjust it, repeat. Do this for a few practice sessions and it will settle in. Given that it is using the bowyer's knot, (timber hitch) you will have to stay on top of it for as long as you continue to use that particular string, but eventually it will get to where you don't have to mess with it like after every other shot. By "shooting it in" you will get it settled in faster than just letting it sit strung.
 

MikeJ

New member
Also check that your timber hitch is not slipping, this quite a common problem if you do the twists on the hitch the wrong way depending relative to the twists in the string. There is a good diagram of a timber hitch on pip bickerstaffe`s site.
 

steve58

New member
Personally I order strings from Mr Bickerstaffe with a loop at both ends! Even in fastflite these take a couple of hundred shots to settle, so I'll use brass nocking points until I'm happy.
Have been looking at videos and trying to figure out how to make my own... anyone got any comments on this process?
 

MikeJ

New member
Your own strings? I make my own, flemish twist spliced both end for my longbow and endless for my wife and kids` recurves.

To be honest i just googled flemish string making until I had enough info to make a jig, then bought 2 different colours of string and went for it. It is something that is very easy to do but very hard to explain, but using the 2 colours helps a lot, you can show off and use 3 but I dont bother with that much.

The endless strings for the recurves are different again but if you just want double spliced flemish twists for longbow I will not confuse you by posting stuff you do not need.

How to make a flemish braid Bowstring

This link (if it works) is quite good, best advice get 2 colours build a jig and just try it
 

steve58

New member
Thanks for the link, that looks good. There are a couple of useful vids on youtube as well. Incidentally, what is the advice regarding endless loop strings on longbows? Especially, do they harm the bow?
 

English Bowman

Well-known member
The advice I have been given is that endless fastflite strings on a longbow are a no-no, but endless dacron are OK. If you use a fastflite then it must be a laid in string as the twists in the loops give the required elasticity to cushion the stop at the end of the power stroke. You don't need that with a dacron string that has stretch in it already.

Daniel
 

steve58

New member
The advice I have been given is that endless fastflite strings on a longbow are a no-no, but endless dacron are OK. If you use a fastflite then it must be a laid in string as the twists in the loops give the required elasticity to cushion the stop at the end of the power stroke. You don't need that with a dacron string that has stretch in it already.

Daniel
Thanks, that's clear and logical. Back to trying to get my head round how to twizzle bundles of thread into a string!
 
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