Oberon Tab Face Material? Where Art Thou......

kes2463

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Hi All,

just returning to archery after a 7 year gap (supporting my kids sport & now grown up), I know Old Bloke (Dave) used to sell Oberon but have been told that he has retired & Quicks bought his targets up.

Are you still on here Dave? Hope you are enjoying your freedom.

Do you still have any Oberon hidden anywhere / did you pass it on to anyone else?

Does anyone know where I can get Oberon from?

Cheers
 

Dave

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Iirc it was available in craft shops; a very similar if not the same material. It wasn't called Oberon though.
 

Rik

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It's similar to the commonly available craft foam sheets, but I suspect it's a higher density/thicker.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do, when my current piece runs out. Might have to experiment a bit
 

kes2463

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Thanks Dave & Rik, I will check locally

Timid Toad, I have considered your route, how does it come off the fingers...... I kind of like the slight grip the Oberon gives on the tips & am always concerned that with cordovan the string slides to quickly off & it takes sooooooo long the bed in
 

Timid Toad

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I haven't shot Oberon for many years so can't really remember, but I'm a finger tippy type shooter - no deep hook for me and have never had any issues. Vulcolan does not require to be shot in. Nor does it change in the rain.
 

Rik

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Well I found something I think might work... made a tab face out of it, and I'm trying it out.
It's an EVA craft foam, but I went for the highest density stuff I could see (200kg/m^3).
Downside: I could only see it in 1.35m x 0.90m sheets...
But I've got a use for any excess. 😀
 

mf78

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Well I found something I think might work... made a tab face out of it, and I'm trying it out.
It's an EVA craft foam, but I went for the highest density stuff I could see (200kg/m^3).
Downside: I could only see it in 1.35m x 0.90m sheets...
But I've got a use for any excess. 😀
I think I may have come across the same stuff. How did the 200kg/m3 compare to the original Oberon?
 

Rik

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I think I may have come across the same stuff. How did the 200kg/m3 compare to the original Oberon?
It feels very similar. The first one I cut is still going, so I've no data on longevity. It's maybe slightly thinner than the Oberon sheets, but not much in it (I really should take some calipers to it to verify...)
 

mf78

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It feels very similar. The first one I cut is still going, so I've no data on longevity. It's maybe slightly thinner than the Oberon sheets, but not much in it (I really should take some calipers to it to verify...)
Thanks. I wasn't sure if that density was about the same as the original. There are lots of less dense, cheap cuts around (which are clearly not what I'm after as the mrs has some for crafting) but I also found a place selling 450kg/m3!

Still have a bit of the old stuff left, and as I only use it for backing it will hopefully last me.
 

tabashir

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I constantly tore mine, so moved to vulcolan. Lasts years, doesn't need shooting in and is, well, me-proof.
I bought some Vulcolan from your recommendation. I got the Spigarelli version from Quicks. I really like it as a tab face material as it doesn't deform, holds up well and indeed has no need to be 'shot in'. Very pleased, thanks for the recommendation.

However, I'm noticing some serving furring around the nock which I had not noticed with either cordovan or kangaroo leather fronts. The vulcolan I got does feel slightly less slick than cordovan does but since it shoots equally well, can't be doing too much different.

Was wondering if the furring is something you've seen and if so, how you deal with it. If the string itself were furring like that, then I'd wax it, but since it's the serving I don't want to do that!
 

Timid Toad

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Hi
Hmm, no I don't get any furring. In fact, my serving and nocking points (angel and superglue) tend to mark the vulcolan, not the other way round. How long have you been using the sheet? Maybe time to change it out?
When I shoot flight, I put silicone grease on my tab, for the slickest of slick looses. But as I actually want an inconsistent loose (only need one arrow to go a mile, not a group) I'm not sure how great that is for other forms of shooting.
 

tabashir

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Thanks TT, only been using the Vulcolan for a couple of months (discovered this thread late....). As I've been trying it out, I've been alternating between that and my normal tab face which is kangaroo leather. It has had well over 1000 arrows from it, but guessing from the earlier comments that it's likely a factor of 10 or more out of where it is going to need replacing?

I bought a second one to make into a spare tab but haven't set it up yet and comparing to the used one, it feels slightly slicker than it was when new. It isn't showing any other marks yet, which formed my comment about holding up well.

The serving is bog standard Brownell's soft twist nylon. I'll keep an eye on it for now, can always redo it if needed.

I wonder if a little wax on the serving or as you do for flight, grease on the tab, may help too. I've always gone with the generic advice of never wax the serving, but I do have a deep hook so have less concern about it being too slippy than a tippy shooter may have.

Ideally, I would like to get to fully synthetic tab so that it is easy to duplicate reliably and not affected by rain etc.

More experimentation to follow!
 

Timid Toad

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Yes, I'd guess I get 10 000 shot through mine. My serving is tough. And round and slippy. Soft twist is not my thing. For me it was like shooting with a handful of knitting yarn. I went away from it before I started using Oberon or anything else for that matter.
My recommendation would be to look at different servings rather than start trying to coat tab or string with anything. Wax is sticky not slippy, adds weight and isn't consistent.

Ask what others on here are using and have a think?
 

tabashir

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Very good point TT. I was just using soft twist as I inherited a string making kit and that's what was in there. Hadn't considered anything else.

Your earlier comment regarding the serving did make me think and I did a bit of looking around, found some threads on here as well as elsewhere and it does seem that soft twist for centre is non existent these days.

That's what I love about this sport, always something new to learn!

Guess I'm off to get some Angel.

Out of interest, I recently read The Heretic Archer and Michele recommends nylon mono-filament, although he does note that it's more likely to break than other materials so he uses that for the area round the nock, then other material further down where it could contact the arm. Anyone have an opinion or tried nylon mono-filament?
 

tabashir

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Bit more digging and found the thread on here. Seems the mono-filament is great until it breaks then it all happens very quickly. I always have a backup string, but even so, that doesn't sound like fun!
 

Timid Toad

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As I say, I use Angel, but there are other options. Be aware that making a change will probably change your nock fit.
 
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