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Science of silencer placement

20K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  Bill Carlsen 
#1 ·
There used to be a thread that explained silencer placement in a measured, scientific manner that looked like it ought to make sense. It had to do with measuring in from the ends, I think, in order to maximize the dampening effect on the harmonics.

Would one of you guys who understands something about "best placement" of string silencers mind explaining it once again for me and anyone else who didn't get it the first time around?
 
#2 ·
cool vibrations

Esquire,
The short answer is that it varies depending on the bow. It has to be placed to disrupt the harmonic resonance in the string. Most find that a position about 1/4 of the length of the string from each tip is about best. I am actually working on that very question now on my bow. I'm using an Extech sound pressure meter to measure the actual Db level produced by different placements. I'll post the info when it is complete.
 
#3 ·
Good Vibrations

DAS,

Why does your post remind me of the Beach Boys? :)

I understand harmonic resonance - at least at some basic amateur guitarist level. But without equipment I suppose it's just a matter of having a starting place and then listen and feel as you experiment??

Mike
 
#4 ·
basically, yea

Esquire,
I haven't figured out a way to easily do this without using high speed video to watch the wave in the string or using a sound pressure meter. You can get part way there by just doing it by ear. I usually find that after a point I can't tell whether I'm making it better or worse. Same goes for brace height settings. Maybe it's a personal problem! The sound meter picks it up though. The sound meter can also look at the human compensated spectrum (DbA) and the normal spectrum (DbC). Animals can hear things that we cannot, so doing it by ear has limitations.

"I'm thinkin of cool vibrations"...............................
 
#5 ·
harmonics

DAS,

Thanks for the info about the silencers! I'm really the one who needed to know, Esquire and I were talking on the phone and he was kind enough to post this thread. I just got a new recurve today and it sounds like a guitar compared to my longbow. I've only been at this "Trad" stuff for a couple of months, so I don't have a lot of know how when it comes to setting up a bow.

Thanks an God bless you!
rallen (Bow Minister) :thankyou:
 
#6 ·
RAllen, welcome!

RAllen,
Welcome to the site! Figuring all this stuff out is half the fun! When you try things and end up improving your equipment it feels pretty good! Most recurves can be made quiet with a little work. One thing you should check right off though is your brace height. If it is too low, it will be noisy as heck. I found that you can lower the brace height to a point, with little or no change in noise level, then just a 1/4 inch more and the noise goes up 5 or 6 Db (that's alot). I'd give you a brace number, but every bow is different. You can make small changes to the brace height by twisting the string. Try 10 turns at a time, but I wouldn't exceed maybe 30 or 40 turns (depends on the string length). Two many turns can weaken the string. Esquire knows this stuff I'm sure. have fun!
 
#7 ·
Hey rallen....That must be yer new Falcon ya talkin bout, huh?

Mine came this past Saturday, but I'm outa town til Monday on biz.Talk about the luck...waitin 4+ months fer my first bow, and bam.... it shows up while I'm gone. My wife tells me it's purtty, but can't wait to shoot the thing.

I will get back to you next week with my notes/questions......so we can compare!

Happy shooting till then Brother!

k
 
#8 ·
kawil said:
Hey rallen....That must be yer new Falcon ya talkin bout, huh?

Mine came this past Saturday, but I'm outa town til Monday on biz.Talk about the luck...waitin 4+ months fer my first bow, and bam.... it shows up while I'm gone. My wife tells me it's purtty, but can't wait to shoot the thing.

I will get back to you next week with my notes/questions......so we can compare!

Happy shooting till then Brother!

k
Yes, I'm talkin' about the Falcon! Hey I sent you an email! Be waiting to hear from you.

Richard
 
#9 ·
There was a guy named Lee Robinson of Keep it Simple Archery" who posted a thread on the leatherwall a couple of years back. He asserted that strings have a natural harmonic of some kind, according to his research, and that the optimum place for silencers would be at intervals of 1/3 from the place where the string touches the limb tip. The second optimum spot was supposed to be at intervals of 1/4.

Numerous guys on the wall alledgedly tried it, and confirmed it. Of course it is so subjective I'm not sure who can really tell. But that may be what Esquire is thinking of.
 
#10 ·
Finding silencer location on string is very important, but in the end (if using a recurve)...
the key is silencing the string slap on the limb itself.

I'm using a strip of sound-deadening material directly on the string groove of the limb...
this thin padding has provided icing on the cake for me.
 
#11 ·
rallen,

My Falcon is the quietest bow I own. All have on it, is recurve Limbsavers near the fadeouts. The limbsavers have toned down every bow I tried them on. One exception the old Ben Pearson Hunter I refer to as Slappy. Moleskin on the limbs cured him of his boisterous behaviour.

Jim
 
#13 ·
Asymetrical Positioning of Silencers

String Leeches are my favorite on my recurves. Trad-police has not found me.

I put them at a different distance from the tips of the limbs, about 1/4 and 1/5 of nocks of the limbs.

I cannot say if there is an influence or not, only my bow is really quiet. Tab is more quiet than glove.

Most likely my fingers learned faster than my brains after all.
 
#14 ·
You can take half of one of the little rubber legged silencers and just tie it on your string with a small twist tie.This allows you to move it easily without unstringing your bow.Simply slide it up and down while you are shooting to find the best place on your string for that bow.Mark the spot and put whatever silencers you like at the marks.

I like my silencers as close to the tips as I can where they still work ok.The closer to the middle of the string they are the more they slow things down.They have to travel less nearer the tips.The weight on the string near the tips effects performance less than weight added to the limbs so I don't put anything in the string grooves and either wrap the string with yarn or use Roberts Mountain Muffler for the slap. jmo
 
#15 ·
James, a small strip of 4mm neoprene on the string groove (in addition to the MM) weighs next to nothing and really does wonders for some of the hard-to-silence recurve slappers. Haven't done a chrony comparison with and without, but I suspect it isn't much if any, but the main thing is... my ears sure can tell a difference.
 
#16 ·
Your ears is what really matters Piney. :) It always boils down to what works for us anyway. I don't really get carried away with getting a bow quiet.Everyone has a different point where it is quiet enough to hunt with.If one is too bad I just shoot a little heavier arrow and shoot the deer before they get too close. ;)
 
#17 ·
For all of the Falcon owners...

What wood combination is your bow? My falcon is a walnut riser with maple limbs ("maple walnut" flavor). I find that due to the lightness of the walnut, this bow is a lot more twangy than some of the other falcons I've shot, with dense riser materials. Just some food for thought. If I was ordering this bow again, I'd go with a heavy riser material, and a combo that's more camo friendly.
 
#18 ·
PJ,

My Falcon is Chechen riser with Elm limbs.

Feels really smooth to me, but since I have only really shot this bow so far, hard for me to compare. I have cat wiskers at the 1/4's...and wool yarn at the limb nocks....not much twang when I get a clean release.

Still trying to deal with my tendency to pinch the arrow nock though. If I do, I get a loud rap off an aluminum shaft on release.... off the shelf perhaps?

k
 
#19 ·
I have good luck with this silencing method. Backlight yourself and hold your bow in front of a white wall. Then twang the string and look for the area of most movement as it cycles down,that is where i place my silencers. And wrapping the string with yarn where it contacts the limbs works great for string slap.
 
#20 ·
G.Watkins said:
...twang the string and look for the area of most movement as it cycles down,that is where i place my silencers....
I never heard that one :) but I didn't stay at Holiday Inn, lately :) :thankyou:

On a couple of my longbows, I just tie on(overhand knot) the catwhiskers and slide them where I want, easily.

I've got a Fred Anderson Hyak that I've had for a WHILE now and never put silencers on it... :shooting:
I bet it would be cheating to get 'um too quiet...happy trails.....
 
#21 ·
I've tried a bunch of different things and in my experince PapaBull's MM string is the simplest and most effective single thing I've used short of three pound arrows. A lot of "twang" can be eliminated with brace height adjustment and a dacron string, but I like as low a brace as is practical and I like the non-stretch string on bows where it is safe. The amount of "curl" on the limb tips really influences the string slap sound. Some limbs with moderate curl respond to a bit of velcro, moleskin, or neoprene padding. The MMs work with even the most radical hook.----leastwise for me.
 
#22 ·
Years ago when I was shooting more competively I did a lot of bare shaft shooting. I had my bow set up so all the sweet spots were well defined and I could actually shoot an NFAA animal round with a bare shaft 2018. It seems to me that I remember that setting up silencers on the bow string also had an effect on bare shaft shooting. When they were placed correctly the bow's accuracy wasn't affected at all. If they were not on the string in the right place I could not shoot bare shafts at all. :2cents:
 
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