Which Serving Material

thegrayson

Supporter
Supporter
I have just made my first string using 8125G and 62XS. Between posts here, youtube and various other guides there is a lot of information to take in. From all this only one question has struck me. When serving do people use all the one material or a seperate material for the loop, end and center servings?
 

Alun

Member
Thinner (0.014" or so) for ends, thicker (0.018" to 0.021") for centre. Often Halo or Majesty for centre, something like BCY 3D for end servings.
 

carl7

New member
I use everything, Halo, 3D, Polygrip, even string material for end and center servings just to see how they work. A lot depends on how many strands the string is and nock fit. There is no getting around it, you have to try a lot of materials to see what suits you personally as far as cost and how the material wears. Eventually you'll have your own way or "style" of doing it.

One things for sure with me, the string has to be bright, hot pink, flo red and orange etc.
 

EVC

New member
Just like Alun I use a thinner material for the end servings, BCY #3D in my case (Brownell's 1D is also fine) for end servings. It produces a better finish IMO.
 

lbp121

Member
For me it varies depending on recurve or compound string. For recurve I am happy to use a softer material such as Brownell No4 or BCY 400 for the end servings. These wouldn't last at all well on the centre of any string or on the cam ends of a compound.

Centres I use Halo or 62xs, Diamondback etc and compound ends I use 3D. I have used 3D on centre serving on compound but the nock fit is the deciding factor.
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
I've been using Angel ASB for both ends and centre (as I can't be bothered to choose something different for the ends). Closest thing to the old fastflight serving material I could find at the time. I tried Halo and Diamondback before that but wasn't impressed.
 

thegrayson

Supporter
Supporter
18 strands of 8125G, 62XS center serving, and I'm having trouble with a tight fit on size 2 G nocks. I can't really look at a smaller serving material for the center can I?
 

carl7

New member
18 strands of 8125G, 62XS center serving, and I'm having trouble with a tight fit on size 2 G nocks. I can't really look at a smaller serving material for the center can I?
Offhand I'm not sure what the diameter of 62XS is but they make Halo in .014 and perhaps smaller. Also, serving tension makes a lot of difference. I believe Bohning Blazer F nocks are a little bigger than Easton G nock .098

Another good resource is AT (archery talk/ arrows and strings section)

Carl
 

Alun

Member
I'm with Carl, I wonder whether you have made the centre serving tight enough. I use 16st 8125G or Angel Majesty for small g nocks (or nowadays Beither #1), so can't see that 18st would be too big for large g nocks unless it is wound loosely. Did you settle the strands before serving (i.e. garrotted the string to make it compact after putting in twists and before adding centre serving)?
 

EVC

New member
I am with the two last posters about serving tension, I use 62XS with 18 strands of 8125 in all of my strings and large G-nocks and fit is just right.
 

Anglian Archer

New member
I recently bought a new longbow and the serving at the nocking point has started to fray after only a few weeks use. Is there anything I can do to extend its life (slather it with glue?).
 
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