Newbie question

[stone-over]

Is there a rule of thumb to follow for determining what my string length should be? I usually just fiddle with it until it looks ok.

[johnston]

Long bow approx. 3" shorter than bow length, recurve approx. 4".
If your brace height is too low twist the string to shorten. Remember new strings stretch so adjustments may be necessary.

Lane

[woodstick]

depends on what the brace height is, if you but the bow ask the builder. i make mt strings 3" shorter and twist them up till i get my brace i want.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Yep, that's what I do for all my bows that I build. I make them 3" shorter than the distance between the nock grooves and twist until I get the brace height I want, and every bow has been different as far as the brace ht. that it likes. I let the performance tell me where it needs to be, some have been as low as 6" and as high as nearly 7" depending on the design and material.
The flemish twist strings I make myself using B50 will need a few twists as I shoot them in, they always stretch a little but once they are set and done stretching they are the best strings I've ever used in my opinion. Maybe it's because I make them myself and if they turn out wrong or I blow a serving it's my fault?

If it's a factory recurve measure from nock groove to nock groove and subtract about 4" from that distance.

[BowJunkie]

Ok  so the bow performance should dictate the brace height.
So with that said,,,,
what are the key factors that let you know when you have the brace height dialed in for a given bow?

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I start at 6" and begin tuning with my nock on the string and most of it is by feel and watching the arrow but I know what weight bow my 3 sets of carbons shoot well with and just about where the nock should be on the string to get them to fly good. After getting pretty decent arrow flight by adjusting the nock, I start fine tuning by adding twist to the string until I hit the sweet spot where the arrows fly like darts. Then I make a note of the brace ht. that it likes and either write it in my log book of notes and other stuff or I'll write in on the bow itself with a fine tip black sharpie. Depends on if I'm keeping the bow or not.

That's just how I do it, not really any scientific procedure for it  but more like feeling out what the bow wants. If I go past the brace ht. and out of the sweet spot the arrow flight gets erradic and I have to untwist the string a few turns to bring it back down a notch.
Did all that make any sense?

[BowJunkie]

Yes ,, makes sense, so I guess I just need to play with the string to figure it out.
Thanks for the information

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I don't use a bow square to set my string nock because it really wouldn't matter if I did. Rarely can I go by a square, but I guess I have been doing this so long (27+ years) that I just have an eye for where it needs to be?
After you set up enough bows it just becomes second nature, but once you feel like you have your string nock set where the arrow "should be" flying well and you know your arrow spine is right for your setup then that's where string tuning really comes into play.
Have you ever had the arrow tuned to the bow where it was flying pretty good but not quite perfect? You can add or remove twist from the string to hit that "Sweet Spot" without even touching anything else.
I guess that's really what I was trying to convey in my previous post, but it's really hard to explain it in words.

[BowJunkie]

I know exactly what you mean, I have a board bow I built a few years back. Shoots pretty nice,
I did set the string knock point with a square, then I walked the knock up and down till I fine tuned it.
Regardless of the yardage I shoot at, up to 40-50 yards, I can group arrows about 4'' diameter.
So I guess now, I need to note the position of the string knock, and then twist and untwist the string and see if I can dial it in better.
If the grouping get better, then note the brace height.
Does this sound about right?

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Yep, that's exactly right. No need to readjust the string nock either when you twist the string. Just leave that alone and add about 2-3 twists at a time and see what effect that has on arrow flight. It will either make it better, or it won't change at all, or it will get worse. If it gets better then try a couple more twists noting how many you went and if it gets worse then take those twists out so you are back where you were when the arrow flight got better and that is your sweet spot.
If you add twist the first time and arrow flight gets immediately worse then you have too much, so go back to where you started then take 2-3 twists out and see how that works. It's trial and error, but at least it's calculated as long as you count your twists and make note of where you started so you can always go back to where you were and try something else.

[BowJunkie]

Great, thanks for the guidance.

[stone-over]

Awesome, this was all very helpful, thank you!