String length.

Scotsrick

Member
AIUK Saviour
I‘ve got a Hoyt Horizon riser that I bought as a kit second hand.

I’ve had several sets of limbs on it using the string that came with the kit. (68 inch bow)

On buying a new string (well known brand from an Archery shop) I’ve found it about an inch longer than the original string.

63 1/2 on the old string is just right but the new one at 64 1/2 I can’t get a bracing height much more than 7 inches without tying the string in knots. Does this sound right?

If I get another string am I just liable to encounter the same problem as they mostly seem to come in bow lengths rather than actual string length? I’m quite happy to pay for a custom string if necessary but where do you get them?
 

lbp121

Member
If you asked me to make a string for a 68 inch bow, I would do it at 64.5 inches. In many cases this would be about right.
If I made myself a string that had too many twists in, I'd make another one because it's only numbers until you see it on the bow, which could be the case for your Horizon and limb combination.
Once you have the correct string you will need to make your own or buy custom length stings in future.
 

FernbankArcher

New member
AIUK Saviour
Read somewhere quite recently that AMO standard string length should be 3" shorter than nominal bow length.
Your string length seems to be 5 inch shorter. Are you sure its a 68" bow? From string length it looks like 66 ???
This string/bow length relationship probably falls down if you mix different manufacturers limbs and riser.
From the same document, "standard string" are available in steel for test purposes.

Dacron strings need to be physically shorter to allow for their stretch. More modern materials, stretch is negligible.
 

boojum

Supporter
Supporter
I find selling a string by bow length to be ridiculous. I have found one retailer who actually makes strings to actual string length (when on the bow and twisted to the required brace height). They go up in 1/4 inch increments and are very helpful. Aardvark archery.
 

FernbankArcher

New member
AIUK Saviour
Attempting to standardise the measurement of BOW length (and also the BASIC string length) seems totally sensible in my view.
With a simple bow, its just the nock to nock length along the back. With the variations in recurve limb form, that simple measure becomes impractical. The "standard" string concept (from AMO) is an attempt to give some consistency in the bow length specification I can't see a simply practicable method otherwise.
Combining riser and limbs from different manufacturers frustrates the whole process since these components can vary between makers.
A standard string should bring the bow to a workable brace (probably satisfactory for the majority of archers) and provides the start point for the string length / brace trials essential for fine tuning. That requires bespoke strings (if you can't be bothered making your own).
NOW specify how string length is measured.... Mine are all measured centre-to-centre of the 10mm diam posts on my string winding jig (two post, not four). What do others do? Are they all the same?
 

dvd8n

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
I always had an issue with the AMO definition of bow length and string length. In my opinion it seems wrong headed.

To recap, AMO bow length is a standard measurement of bow length that is designated to be three inches longer than the bowstring.

Now, for an AFB, the bow length probably is the distance between the nocks, and was probably an understandable decision on the day that the AMO sat down to talk about it in the USA when almost everyone was shooting AFBs or simple one piece recurves.

For anything else the manufacturer has to make his bow, work out the best string for it, measure the string, add three to it and that becomes the notional 'bow length' of the bow. Then when someone needs a string they take the bow length and subtract the three again. In effect, 'bow length' is a particularly obtuse way of specifying how long a string is that you need for a bow.

In these days of super recurves and unusual riser dimensions it's becoming more and more divorced from reality.

In my opinion (which, admittedly is worth nothing) the manufacturers should just tell you how long a string you need (directly on a one piece or on a specified riser for limbs).
 

dvd8n

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
Oh, and when I record my strings I measure them from the end of one loop to the end of the other on two posts of the jig. I'd like to claim that I thought long and hard about the ramifications of different post diameters and chose my method to minimise the effect but that'd be a fib; the truth is that it was the easiest to measure with a tape.
 
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