I'll be watching this one. I was thinking about asking a similar question along these lines this morning Jim. As this site carries a high %age of elite archers, I'd like to know the preferences and subjective feedback on the members preferred string materials.

Personally I have been shooting endless loop 16 strand Astroflight strings on my bows for about four months. The strings themselves tend to "fuzz" quite a bit, offer acceptable performance (read not the fastest), and are extremely quiet. I have a friend making me some endless 12 strand D10 strings to use until I can get an endless jig/stretcher of my own (WTB ad posted for one in the TB by the way).

 

I make flemish strings using Brownell's UltraCam. I use this material because it does not creep when using less than traditional strand counts. I use 9 or 10 strands and pad the loops to 15 or 16. I keep the number of twists between the ratios of 1/2 to 3/4. This means on a 60 inch string there would be between 30 and 45 twists, and I prefer the lower number. This construction method is very similar to those that Rick Barbee sells.

 

Rick has quite a reputation for his 3 bundle Ultra Cam strings. Definitely does his research and knows what he's doing.

Has anyone started shooting BCY's 8190 yet?

 

and your stings, nuthatch are of very good quality.
we quite often see overbuilt stings. yours were clean and to the point. just what we look for.
we pulled strands till they broke and recorded the break weight.
we then made up strings of equal spec and put them on a grain scale.
cant remember the numbers now but it was interesting.
not only that the tension should be equal over all strands. this in our opinion makes a difference too.

 

I'm humbled! But you broke my string on purpose!

 

sorry... my post reads wrong.
we tested samples of different string materials.
your string is dandy and doing well.
my post intended to mean new line new thought. and thats Not how it reads. sorry!

dad changes limbs faster than he changes his socks. your string is setup for one pair of his limbs.
he shoots prototypes all the time but has his own limbs for backups incase something being tested has a supprise installed...

 

Nuthatch - I'm new here and didn't know you were a string maker. Good info to know.

 

Nuthatch - what type and size of center serving are you using for typical nock fit?
Thanks

 

.026 Halo or Crown.

 

Thanks!

 

Well, I've been using 12 strands of DF97 (two bundle flemish) on a 40# @ 28" (I'm only pulling about 26"). String is of excellent quality. Just looking at maybe using something different for my next string.

 

I have used Differant FF materials with good results. However I am back to Dacron. I shoot a Fedora 570TD primarily and that's what he recommends. This bow shoots over 200 fps quiet as a mouse with Dacron. I cannot get the same results form my other bows with Dacron and really don't know why. So it may depend on your rig.

 

I always make 16 strand endless loop using 8125G. I tried the lower strand strings but honestly never found any advantage.

 

I settled on 14 strands 8125 but have done less. Thicker is more comfortable
#48-#55. (flemish) Went to endless D97 and am happier now. I started making flemish out of curiosity and liked them for some time. As I get older I like the ease of endless. You can factor in for twists to your liking. I don't like over 20 myself. I find D97 to be hardier as I don't see as much fraying through the summer.

Wonder if you can muffler these?

Lou

 

I use 452x which is a blend of 67% SK75 Dyneema and 33% Vectran. It will not creep EVER once set (usually strung overnight and about 10-20 shots). The 100% Dyneema stuff like 8125 does creep a little over time. These are BYC strings - http://www.bcyfibers.com/Bowstring.php Brownells has comparable.

I played with skinny strings and found they had minimal, if any speed gains. You have to remember the less strands the more stretch which is a loss of energy. But the real deciding factor was skinny strings have a much higher frequency noise which is impossible to dampen. The higher pitch sounds louder and will spook game more. Think of strings on guitar.

 

Mat, UltraCam won't stretch or creep, even when as few as 6 strands are used. Have heard some good thins about Astro, but have not tried it. With flemish strings made of FF material you can get stretch when there are too many twists. Kind of like a coiled spring. I experimented much with 6 to 8 strand strings. Very quiet provided the bow is in tune. In the end I have found that 9 or 10 strands is better. I really see no difference in performance, getting the center serving right on an ultra skinny string is a pain, and 6 strands just isn't as tolerant to all the things that can break strings particularly in hunting situations. The trick is to keep the number of twists at the optimal number as I stated in my first post. The reason I started experimenting with strings that have a lower than traditional count was to get a quieter shooting bow. Picking up a little extra energy isn't bad either.

Keep in mind that I am talking about flemish strings. I don't make endless loop strings and I know there are different issues with building them with lower strand counts. A 10 strand endless string would have 5 in the loops. Not sure if that is safe. I really have little experience with them.

 

Mat - I found the skinny strings weren't too much noisier in a flemish, but I did find them very tempermental. Like Bigjono, I prefer a 12-16 strand count depending on the fiber.

Bigjono - I'm considering the 8125 for my endless, as Rod recommended it to me this summer. Have you talked with anyone about their experience with the 8190 by chance?

 

Been making my own 12/14 strand 8125 endless for some time now, I do notice an improvement in performance, my new longbow "came alive" when I changed from the standard FF flemish to my 8125. As I have a whole roll I cannot see me changiny any time soon LOL

 

Thank you Pete....the 8125's a little cheaper as it's not their latest offering, so once I get my hands on a jig then I'll build with that.

With the 8125, what's your recommended strand count for a bow between 45-50#?

 

I use 12 on my ilf recurves and just fitted the same on my longbow, all are 40 lb @ my 28". I have used 14 on my 45-50lb recurves with no issues, did this because my Das recurve came with a 14 endless and I have had no issues, also no padding

 

I like the new 8190 material using 10 or 12 strand in either flemish or endless beef up in loops to 18strands..using 0.30 halo or 0.26 with 2 wraps of masking tape under serving for x nocks..stretched using 300# on my stretcher..works perfect..no stretch and quiet with light silencers..very good speed and durability

 

Thanks again Pete....that's what I'll build then.

 

I also add 2 x small silencers 10" from string grooves - old bowstrings, 2" x 20 lengths each, slotted thru string, tied with a dab of glue on knot.

 

Ive used both 8125 and TS Plus, both seem the same performance wise. Ts plus creeps a lil more but will stabilize if strung overnight. The 8125 is prewaxed and therefore better for making flemish strings. Imo

 

My Sarrel's BRSR likes them best at 12.5-13" from the nocks. I make 1.5" wool blend puffs that have done a great job of silencing my D97 and D10 flemish strings, and have made my bow almost completely noiseless when shooting the very quiet Astroflight endless strings that I've bought (shooting wood arrows of course). My interest in the 8125/8190 is to up the performance over the Astroflight.

 

I make my endless loop strings of D97...normally 12 strand..all of my bows are between 35-45 lbs...( but I also use B50,B500 and B55 on non-FF capable bows)..

 

I've about used up the last of my 8125... What is the difference between it, the old 8125 and the newer 8125G ??

Thanks

 

Pat,

8125G has Gore fibers in it for better abrasion resistance and lubricity (is that a word?). It has a lot of wax in it, so it is good for making Flemish strings and endless strings. Never noticed much difference between it and regular 8125.

I am using Astro flight now, seems a little quieter as the strands feel very soft and there is not much wax content in the string-it works better making an endless loop than a Flemish twist though because of the lack of wax, you have to constantly wax it to get your tag ends to stick together.

D97 is good stuff too, just thicker stranded 8125 IIRC.

Don

 

Hey Green, can you put up a pic of your Sarrel's Blueridge SR Please

 

Here you go Pete. The unstrung profile pic taken on the ground is of the backup Blueridge I just sold which was a birdseye maple/bocote riser.

 

very, Very, NICE my favourite bow configuration.

btw ! what took so long! LOL

 

They're definitely shooters. That being said.....I'm having a tough time with my wait for my Dryad Epic riser. :lol: