I am going to ask a dumb question here,
What's the benefit of a custom string compared to what the bow maker, on a custom bow sends you ?
I know in my wheel days, that was the first thing I did, change the string & cables to custom.
I shoot a recurve, can a custom string be quieter ? Faster ?
Or is that contradiction, quieter and faster, sometimes faster is noisier !
What's the best material to make them out of if you make your own, can you make a custom string as good as the ones on the market like from Bobby ?
Ken traditional strings be made out of BCY 452 Bowstring Material, using a 22 strand instead of a 12 strand, because BCY 452 Bowstring Material is thinner ?
Thanks
Pastor Carl
QuoteWhat's the benefit of a custom string compared to what the bow maker, on a custom bow sends you ?
Depends--I've seen some really nice bows with some really sad looking strings on them. Never understood why someone would put a $5 string on a $1,000 bow. Some bowyers have strings custom made for their specific bows, some don't.
QuoteI shoot a recurve, can a custom string be quieter ? Faster ?
It can be both, but it's not a guarantee.
QuoteOr is that contradiction, quieter and faster, sometimes faster is noisier !
You are correct--sometimes faster is noisier--not always though. Lots of variables to consider.
QuoteWhat's the best material to make them out of if you make your own, can you make a custom string as good as the ones on the market like from Bobby ?
What the "best" material is depends on who you ask, and can vary depending on the bow. The best over-all for me is Dynaflight '97. Some folks like other materials, and it seems some bows "like" one material better than another. A little tuning can go a long way in most cases.
Making a good string is easy--you just need good instructions and practice. I know of a few instances of folks buying an instructional DVD and not long afterward start selling strings.
QuoteKen traditional strings be made out of BCY 452 Bowstring Material, using a 22 strand instead of a 12 strand, because BCY 452 Bowstring Material is thinner ?
You can make trad strings from 452. You won't need 22 strands in the string, but you will need to pad the loops out to 18-22 strands. You could use a whole lot less in the string itself.
Chad
Thanks Chad,
I did do a search on strings, and you sure do get a lot of different opinions.
I have seen some instructional DVDs for sale, I think that would be right up my alley, a used to work in a bow shop and change strings and modify servings, I think it would be more interesting for me to try and make my own, maybe by a couple custom ones to see how they're done and the difference in the materials, be a little bit of a hands-on research.
I think I will give Bobby's strings a try. Because some of the material is expensive, you don't want to be experimenting with something you want to keep.
Thanks again
Pastor Carl
I taught Chad this afternoon, he gave me a lot of pointers. Really nice fellow to work with, and he is also busy, so that means he's good. I was going to order a string from him, but I didn't have the measurements, so I have to get back to him.
But I think I'm the order is DVD and give it a try.
Carl
TTT
Chad makes a great string and has put together a very good DVD on making strings. IMHO ,LBR is the way to go.
I have a question on materials. Is B500 equivelant to B50 dacron. not to mix the two but I have been making my strings out of B50 but would like to make some of the wilder colors that B500 comes in. any thoughts.
B-50 and B-500 are similar--either can be used on any bow--but I wouldn't mix the two in a string. I don't think it will hurt the bow, just don't think it will make a good string--variations in strand size, stretch, creep, etc. between the two.
Chad
I just started to try some B500 and find it doesn't stretch as much as the B50, so my strings shoot in faster. I also like the colors it comes in. I'm not good enough to tell any difference in performance. I like the way it shoots though. I'll be changing over to it on all my bows. I've been trying different FF materials on my bows, and so far I just like the Dacron best. Feels better on the bows I shoot and quieter. The few FPS I lose with Dacron is not as inportant as quiet to me.
Keep the info comming
Thanks Guys
Pastor Carl
I guess I need to revise my preference for Dacron. I just tried a D97 string I got from Bobby Graham and it is not only faster, but is very quiet even with no silencers. Nice feel to the shot too. I tried 8125 and it was noisy. Guess I'll have to try different materials on each bow to see what works best with each one.
Thanks Danny,
It's great to see the guys out there are paying attention to what they're putting on their bow and the success of it. There's so much information on this web site, it's great that guys like you and others are willing to share their " secrets " about their success on what changes they've made to their equipment and how it has help them.
Thanks again
Carl
My favorite is a DF97 14 strand. Works for me on about every bow I have had.
My preference is Fast Flight. Dacron just has a dead feel to it on my bows. And even my 12 stranders with reinforced loops are whisper quiet with a small bunch of fine strand rubber whiskers.
I like it because it doesnt stretch or compress. For hunting game and birds in most every condition and circumstance possible, serving compression is important. I dont like snap-on nocks and for shots like reverse cant shooting lying down in a goose blind, the nock has to fit the serving nice and snug. And I dont like heat-tweeking nocks to fit. I serve to fit my nocks.
Fast Flight string and serving holds up very well even with a double serving, which I use on my 12 strand strings. And compression of the serving at the nock point is not a good thing for speed loading arrows with one nock under either. The nock needs to slide into place every time without getting caught up on a ridge that often forms on the edges of where the nock has caused a groove in the serving.
Attention to detail... both a blessing and a curse!!! LOL
Speaking about strings, I'm a big fan of dacron strings. Whenever I get a bow with a FF string, I replace it for a dacron string. My bows are quieter, smoother and more forgiving, but...the exception is Black Widow bows. They come with D97 and in that case, the bow feels better than with dacron. Isn't it strange?
I have a couple of Chad's strings for my longbow and they are top notch. I would like to order his video and try it but I am afraid I would never do as well as he.
As for material, I recently replaced the dacron string on my FITA bow with a Dynaflight string and could not believe how much smoother and quieter the bow became.
Chad will hook you up for sure!
I've had a couple of his strings and liked them alot.
I ordered his DVD and hsve started making my own.
I do have to order one from him soon because I want a purple bundle and I can't see orderin a spool for just a couple of strings
I talked to chad about that, that is making just about making just a couple of strings, because that's about all I would do for myself. I would probably go through Maybe two strings a year maybe three, and he said once I started making strings and people found out, they maybe asking me to make strings for them.
He told me there's not enough people making strings, probably because there is just not the money in it, and it is time-consuming, but for the right person, it may work out.
Carl
Chad does make a fine string, and he's right about being time consuming. I got his video and have tried a couple strings, but they came out awful. I think I can get it in time though. I can see from watching the video that even when you know what you are doing, it's way too time consuming to be very profitable at the price strings go for. My hat's off to the fellas that keep fine strings on our bows! Thanks!