Well, as I've already posted I've started making my own flemish strings, getting the hang of it.
Now the problem I seem to be having is serving the darn things.
I had bought the BCY Bearpaw serving tool @ Gander Mtn., served one string with it but didn't like it because it was, IMO, too heavy. The weight of it would cause it to droop if I flipped it too hard, and if I tried tightening it up it was TOO tight and wouldn't spin freely without twisting the string while trying to serve with it.
Took that back and traded in for a Bohning serving tool. I find that I CANNOT get a good setting on it. I have two settings: too tight or too loose-nothing in between. When it is too tight the TINIEST loosening of the tension screw then allows it to droop.
Is there some trick to adjusting this #$@%?  

try teflon washers instead of the cheapos that come with it.

Thanks AkDan, I'll give that a try. I've been fighting this #$@% for the last hour trying to serve my string. Another problem with it is as I try to spin it around the string I will hit the wing nut and it's all of a sudden TOTALLY loose and drops to the floor!

Kinda like swinging a hoola-hoop,there's an art to it(LOL).I have the same troubles,I sometimes give up and do it one turn at a time.Takes longer but still gets it done.
Good luck-Ray.

What I do with all my serving tools is I replace the bolt with one about a 1/2" longer.Then went to the hardware store and got a small round spring and put it between the wing nut and the server body.This will help you keep tension on the wing nut,not to tight or too loose and the serving tool doesn't become loose as you are serving the string.It makes it easier to maintain proper tension,the wing nut doesn't get loose as you serve and is not too tight,works great on my serving tools.

Great idea John!!
What I have done is sandwich a lock washer between a couple of steel flat washers on the wingnut side and it gives me much more control of tension.

As you may know as you use more serving off of the spool and the spool becomes smaller you will need to lighten up a little on the tension.

A small piece of cardboard works,just cut it like a washer.

I love reading thread like this one, being new to trad Archery, you guy's save me a lot of head aches.

Thank for sharing

Tim,
tried that. Tried TWO of them, no joy.
John,
sounds like that just might work. Going to Home Depot!

I use Cajun serving tools--got 50 or so.  I replace the bolt with a longer one and add a few fender washers for a little extra weight.  They are dang near bomb-proof (still using my first ones)and the tension is more adjustable than any I've used.  They aren't the cheapest, but aren't too expensive either.

I have always used the Serve Tite jig and don't have any problems. I have had the same one for 20+ years. Just tighten or loosen the wing nut and adjusts tension easily.

Chad,
thanks for the info, I checked into one of those, looks better than this Bohning piece of.....errrr.....plastic.       I'll pick one up-found it for as low as $12.44-including a spool of serving. Actually less than what I paid for this one.


John,
thanks for that tip. Yep, that worked! Had to buy an assortment kit of springs to get what I needed-$3.97-but I had an assortment of springs to try. I also replaced the washers that came with it with some nylon ones as AkDan suggested. Of COURSE I couldn't find the right bolt, hadda go with a 1/4 x 3.5 one in place of whatever metric size the original one is. The head doesn't fit in the recess, but with the spring pressure it seems to be holding OK.

Dan,
then I must have a lemon, because that's the same model I'm having trouble with. I am not exaggerating - it is (or was until I did what John suggested) either totally locked or totally loose, nothing in between!  If I DID manage to get it set where it WOULD have acceptable tension I'd get two or three turns before I bumped the wing nut and watched it unspool to the floor-it only took LESS than a 16th of a turn for it to go from locked to loose.

Now that I THINK it's going to work gotta go make up another string!

Thanks for all your inputs. Been a big help.    

that model you have is like the older bjorn..actually exactly alike...I think the bjorn is about 1/16 of an inch wider.  It's kind of a built in spring.  The outfeed on it's bigger..I had to use a hot needle to open up the opposite side.   The washers on the bjorn are also teflon but much much thinner then what I could find locally so far, adding to that spring effect by making the sides have to move more before they contact the spool.  

I'll have to try that spring idear..that's a helluva idea.  

That new red one has been nothing short of frustrating for me also.   Great serving tool..and they did a great thing increasing the outfeed side hole to a much bigger diameter.  The tool needs to be a touch wider and come with better washers and it'll work great.  Unfortunatly it's made in china so that'll likely never happen.

Chad got me using the serve tite servers for a little while also.  They were ok, I didnt like them as much as I liked my bjorn.  To many adjustments lol.   I need to make a trip to Chado's to have him school me in the fine art of tuning this jig.  I have two that have done nothing but sit as spares in my tackle box lol.

If you can find a bjorn, BUY IT!   Mine is black.  You'll have to feed the serving material backwards through the holes (reverse from the little arrows that tell direction), and you'll need to open a hole up on the opposite side of the tiny outfeed hole for the thicker servings..but they work great!  no binding whatso ever.

here's a link to the bjorn....unfortunatly I havent been able to find them for awhile now...http://www.abbeyarchery.com.au/p/BBBSS/Bjorn+Serving+String+Jig.html

Notice the black and red teflon washers.  You wont see the difference in width till you actually measure them outright.   The red look alikes made in china are just narrower enough they either come tight or are loose..the sides dont have to move much at all before locking down on the spool.

fwiw ...

i have 7 or 8 different brand/model string serving servers, plus a few i made from scratch.  

in the long run, a simple server like the little spinner ...



... works as good -if not better- than the complicated and expensive ones.  a simple serving tool is easy to make, to boot.  

i bought the 'high tech' bear paw serving tool and think it's a total waste of money, a real 'bear' to make work well if not at all.

ALL serving tools need fiddling and adjusting and adding washers (and/or springs) of varying materials and thicknesses as adjustable spool drags.

with a new, fully loaded serving thread spool, more tension is required to keep the jig under control when its spun.

and finally, ALL serving tools have a learning curve.  have patience, think logically, practice, stay the course and you will be rewarded.

Rob,
yeah, I thought the Bearpaw would be a good one, too, from the looks of it. Like you I found it a real pain in the rear to operate. It's just too darn heavy to manipulate easily.
I like the looks of the Lil' Spinner though, I watched the video on 3Rivers, I think the longer arm sitting over the string would make it a lot easier to use. Gonna order one.

WOO-HOO! FINALLY got a 63" string made up! The spring on the jig definitely made a difference, thanks for the tip John.  

you know I got to thinking and tinkering, whats new.

I wonder if some, or if not all of that binding isnt caused by the bolt being to small diameter causing the spool to spin basically in an oblong fashion.  

If a guy could find a sleeve or sleeved bearing to fit inside the spool that the bolt could go through?!?!  

Everytime I pull on the red serving tool, I noticed it pulse's when pulled fast like it's spinning oblonged.   So grabbing ahold of the spool you can see how loose it is.   The washers help but arent the cure.  The old bjorn works great by minimizing contact and also basically taking place of that spring built it to the server itself by having the width being a little wider.  The spool still doesnt roll on the bolt smooth but it's definatly as good as I've played with.

I'll have to try a spring on the bohning serving tool....and maybe see if I cant find a bearing to fit inside it...heck even if a guys gotta drill it out some to get a bearing inside on each end to spin smoother

Curious what sized spring you found to work Dan as I believe I can buy them seperatly at the local hardware store.  I can also buy some bearings....

Just saw the video on the lil server too..that's a pretty dang slickm idear also.......

thin, wafer 'bent' washers act like springs and won't require going for a longer spool bolt.

another trick to smooth out the spins is to use a bearing washer somewhere in yer washer stack.

here's an ancient 35+ year old plastic server that i use exclusively for #4 nylon braid serving.  a real work horse that serves all my endless string loops ...



here's the spool drag complement.  notice the bearing washer and the short spring ...



here's most of my serving tools ...



here's one of the home made servers - works darned good, too! ...