Which way to Serve?

Bertybobby

New member
I am about to make my first string.

I intend to do all serving left to right going over the top of the string.

With string on the bow and top to the right I will do the same for the center serving.

Twisting the string onto the bow looking up the string I will twist in an anti clockwise direction.

I am a right handed recurve archer.

Is this right or have I got the wrong end of the stick somewhere?

Many thanks in advance for some sage advice!
 

grimsby archer

New member
I have oft been told that left handed archers should twist the string (and therefore serve) in the opposite direction to right handed archers.
Aparently, as you pull the string back, you L/H and R/H roll the string in opposite directions, adding a twist to the top of the string and removing a twist from the bottom.
We all know that a twist can make so much difference.

Me, I always apply half my twists to the top end of the string, and the remaining half to the bottom end of the string, so that I dont end up with the twists unevenly applied.

DONT YOU LOVE OLD HOUSEWIFES TALES :) :) :)
 

EVC

New member
I doubt the twist direction will make any difference. Perhaps when we score 1430 on a FITA round it may earn us an extra point. :)

Serve the way you feel more comfortable with. Just make sure when you twist the string you do on the same direction as you served otherwise the serving will loosen (I have been there :( ).
 

jathalls

New member
The old sailors adage goes

'worm and parcel with the lay, turn and serve the other way'

the worming (laying a thin cord into the groove of the lay of rope) and parcelling (wrapping the wormed rope with canvas) not being applicable here but the serve direction should then be against the lay or twist of the string.
 

Bald Eagle

New member
That's why the Mary Rose sank!! The servings on the sheets were against the lay of the rope!! Always serve with the lay/twist of the string!
 

albatross

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
Just a thought. If you stay on the same side of your string jig whilst you are serving. If you make the left-hand loop serving first in the way you describe (left to right front over string away from yourself then under and back over etc). When you come to serve the other end loop serving. If you start on the left as with the previous loop, when you come to form the tail of the loop (bringing the two sides together to form the loop proper) won't you be coming in the reverse direction? That is winding under the string and over the top 'towards yourself' which would be in the opposite direction to the first loop serving? I make my second loop in the opposite direction, start on the right and work leftwards. So that when I close the loop, my serving thread is still going in the same direction as the first loop I made. The centre serving of course does not present a problem.

Dennis
 

Bald Eagle

New member
Correct!If you open the posts and serve the bottom serving left to right, then close them to finish the loop, this will twist the string anti clockwise, looking from bottom to top. Serving the top right to left when closing the posts will twist the string clock wise, so the string will twist the same way all the way down.
 
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