Two Tone Bow String (Recurve)

Crazeehair

New member
Hi Guys

I have been making single colour bow strings for a couple of years now for my own bows and my clubs. i recent acquired some BCY - 8125 (Twin Colour - Orange and black) string and no matter how i put it on the string jig i cant get the twists to work properly.

can anyone give me any help or advice as to how to get it to sit properly so that the twist's look neet and sharp?

i can only find tutorials on using to lots of material for two tone strings which i will try and some point but any advice in the mean time would be fantastic.

Cheers
 

albatross

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
If you mean you want the finished twisted string to look like a 'barbers pole' or 'stick of seaside rock' I don't think you will achieve it. I use 8125 (green and black) and I found that as the original strands are twisted, when you make the string and then twist it you cannot get the individual colours to line-up in this manner. Your string will have a 'mottled' appearance. I think you would have to use two single colour string materials to achieve that 'candy stripe' effect.

Dennnis
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
To make neatly separated twin colour strings with that neat twist pattern, requires two rolls of string material; one for each colour.
If you have a single roll and the strands have alternate colours along their length, I think it will always give a random scatter on the finished string.
 

Alun

Member
Yup. I make two-tone candy-stripe strings, and for a 16 strand string you first go round 4 times with one colour thread; tie it off, then go around four times with a different colour, and tie that off. Spend a bit of time getting the tension on the two halfs the same, and keep the two colours separate with a couple of clothes pegs or a ruler until you have finished laying in the end servings.
 

Mufti

Member
Agree with the above, but hey, has anyone tried three colours or would it look a mess?
Apart from the obvious cost hit - perhaps try two of one colour and one of another to have a background/foreground look and feel to it.
 

EVC

New member
Yup. I make two-tone candy-stripe strings, and for a 16 strand string you first go round 4 times with one colour thread; tie it off, then go around four times with a different colour, and tie that off. Spend a bit of time getting the tension on the two halfs the same, and keep the two colours separate with a couple of clothes pegs or a ruler until you have finished laying in the end servings.
What he said. I have made some but IMO it is not worth the work. OK, there was the challenge to make them but now I am back to single colour strings. :)
 

Alun

Member
Each to his own. Personally, I much prefer candy stripe strings. I find it easier to get a good string picture, and it is immediately obvious if the number of twists has changed. Apart from that, it just looks cool to have a colour-coordinated string. Here are a couple that I made recently (apologies for poor picture quality). http://alunap.smugmug.com/Sports/Archery/30641465_2n93mK

I had to work out how to do them, so as I'll be making a couple more in the next few weeks I'll video the process and put it on youtube.
 
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