Who knew strings and nocks could be so confusing

LittleSkink

Active member
Myself and my daughter shoot field bows but plan to join a target club to improve our technique (and because we live next door to target club, which meets 4 times a week but field club meets once a week and is over 45 minutes drive away).

She has generic Flemish twist 12 strand Dacron B50 string. I have an ready made Supra 18 strand 8125 - looking to get some customer made spare strings each, just in case

I am slightly confused about string sizes and arrow nock fit as there seems to be a lot of subtle variation

We have a number of arrows and nock sizes varies: Largest is self nock medieval, then variety of 5/16 wooden arrows (with varying plastic nocks / tightness). Tightest are 9/32 Easton Super nock arrows which is pretty snug. The Supra string seems to marginally fatter compared to the Flemish, but they are pretty close. Been thinking about adjusting the nock widths to get comparable release

I suspect we will be getting a longer target bow set up pretty soon, so are likely to be getting a set of XX75 or similar to go with it -

Q1 are the target arrow nocks on XX75 etc likely to be similar fit to the wooden arrows we already have?

It would be nice to use any arrows on any string (on any bows), but I am sure I read somewhere that target strings tend to be thinner for speed. What I would like to avoid is having to match strings to arrows

Q2 what do I tell the chap making to strings? Is there such a thing as normal diameter or normal serving? Do I need extra fat servings for field arrows

hope that makes sense . . .
 
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AGordon

New member
No, not likely but possible , and once you select your arrows either fit nocks that snap onto your string or specify your nock to the string maker and they will serve to suit.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Nocks do come in different sizes, usually larger slot for compound strings and smaller slots for recurve. (That is a bit of a generalisation.)
What is worth noting is that strings are often handmade and not to a " standard".
The most common variables are the serving thread used and the tensions applied during manufacture, plus the thickness of the string itself due to number of strands and thickness of each strand.
The most useful advice I feel is to learn how to do a centre serving and that way you can adjust tensions and "pack out" thin strings with extra strands, so that you fit the serving to the nocks you use.
Buying a whole new string can still provide a string that isn't a perfect fit.
 

timsp8

New member
I am in exactly the same position.

Joined a UK club as a newbie, shooting brand new 24lb limbs & thinking about buying a set of 12 XX75 Platinums. Have some 2nd hand kit from a friend + new string with a thin serving and am going to need to have 32" uncut arrows. What are my options!?

I think that I will not be able to fit Easton narrow G's to anything above 2000 spine. What long arrows can I get that might fit a Beiter #1 asymmetric? I was sensibly opting for ALU arrows but could get a set of A/C/C's..
 

malbro

Instinctive Archer
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
When I bought anew bow last year I took some of my arrows with me when I picked it up to test, the bowyer redid the centere serving to match my arrows so nothing unusual in altering the serving to suit. Yet another skill to learn.
 
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