Bow string makers advice

[Alreetmiowdmuka]

Hi I was hoping one of you gents could advise me please l'm looking into making my own continuous loop crossbow/bow strings.so I've read that dacron b50 is the material used.whilst reading up I read somewhere that braided dacron fishing line is a similar thing.is this correct/can it be used?.i'm only asking as I can get my hands on some for nowt Ye see

 

[Splitter126]

Hi there,
I make strings for myself and my club (pretty local to you).
We use Dacron B50 because it does the job perfectly and is quite cheap.
In a survival situation you would use whatever you could lay your hands on such as braided line.
However the B50 is cheap, has the right stretch and strength characteristics. Better to be safe than sorry!
I wouldn't like the string to break on my 65lb recurve.
Also good luck making the strings. It would be very difficult without a jig and someone to show you.

 

[dwardo]

Go for a flemish twist one end and a bowyers knot on the other. I too use B50.
I have tried the dacron based fishing line years ago as a test and it made the process a whole lot harder.

 

[Wayne]

As above I use b50 minimum 8 strands to give a bow string with a 400 lb breaking strain. Remember the string is shock loaded as the limbs are fully extended. If the string breaks there is a good chance your bow will snap.

 

[Alreetmiowdmuka]

Hi there,
I make strings for myself and my club (pretty local to you).
We use Dacron B50 because it does the job perfectly and is quite cheap.
In a survival situation you would use whatever you could lay your hands on such as braided line.
However the B50 is cheap, has the right stretch and strength characteristics. Better to be safe than sorry!
I wouldn't like the string to break on my 65lb recurve.
Also good luck making the strings. It would be very difficult without a jig and someone to show you.

Hi pal thanks for your advice.b50 dacron only then .i was planning too make the jig myself too ? I've got some oak board n big coach bolts.i'm not a tight git honest! I was gonna try continuous loop first n use serving too create loops on the ends.please feel free too shoot me down if you think this process is no goer.i'm still in the theory stage at the mo.where is the club you go too pal.

 

[Alreetmiowdmuka]

Go for a flemish twist one end and a bowyers knot on the other. I too use B50.
I have tried the dacron based fishing line years ago as a test and it made the process a whole lot harder.

Cheers thanks for the advice

 

[Alreetmiowdmuka]

As above I use b50 minimum 8 strands to give a bow string with a 400 lb breaking strain. Remember the string is shock loaded as the limbs are fully extended. If the string breaks there is a good chance your bow will snap.

Thanks mate

 

[ozzy1977]

What difference does dacron make over the more fancy hitec materials?

 

[dwardo]

Only ever tried a few fastflight n similar strings and found no difference. I would imagine they would shot a few fps difference but they are expensive.
Lower stretch and overall weight seems to = ££

 

[ozzy1977]

Ok cheers mate.

 

[ateallthepies]

The thing with modern braids is they mostly have very little stretch. This is great for modern laminated/composite bows but for wooden bows a little give in the string is a good thing.

For a cross bow then braid would be fine. I have never tried to Flemish Twist braid but the endless loop method would work well and is dead easy.

Steve

 

[Alreetmiowdmuka]

The thing with modern braids is they mostly have very little stretch. This is great for modern laminated/composite bows but for wooden bows a little give in the string is a good thing.

For a cross bow then braid would be fine. I have never tried to Flemish Twist braid but the endless loop method would work well and is dead easy.

Steve

Cheersalot