Strand Count for 100# ?

[WillS]

But how many strands of Cinnamon did you use? 

[toomanyknots]

But how many strands of Cinnamon did you use?

 

[JW_Halverson]

You're all crazy with your rope strings 

Just lay a few more strands under the serving until it feels comfortable.  18 strand strings will rob your cast like crazy!

In my (humble) opinion, I don't think 18 strands is by any means a rope. Brownell themselves recommend 18 - 20 strands for a general string (not a warbow string) for fast flight plus. But I don't flight shoot or anything...

Um, lemme see.  The company that SELLS the string tells you to use lotsa string.  Hmm. 

Kinda reminds me of the cell companies that sell you minutes on their phones but then have a 31 step phone tree that you gotta go thru and eleven-teen long-winded verbal instructions before you can retrieve a 9 second long voicemail.  Hmmm.

Not sure how the rule of thumb holds up when you get to the big bows, but 4x the draw weight in tensile strength is what I have read.  For example, a 50 lb draw bow would need a 200 lb tensile strength bowstring. 

[JackCrafty]

The FF formula I use is 1/2 the poundage times 10 = the strength needed for the string.

Assuming that your FF is 50lb test per stand, then 100lbs divided by 2 = 50lbs ... multiplied by 10 = 500lbs ... divided by 50lb per strand  = 10 strands.

I just started using FF this year and I love it.

[JW_Halverson]

So it is true, there are only three types of people.  Those that are good at numbers and those that ain't!

Jackcrafty?  Can you just go 5 times the poundage of the bow?   

[adb]

I believe the breaking strength of FF is 90# per strand. I haven't tested that myself, but I'm sure I read that somewhere. So... you could probably get away with a 6 strand string, but I doubt your fingers would be very happy shooting it with a 100# warbow. I bet your bow wouldn't be very happy either.

[JW_Halverson]

But that's where you get creative with the serving, laying extra strands under the serving, doubling the serving on itself, etc.

[JackCrafty]

Yes, 5 times the poundage of the bow is the same thing as my formula but then we would be using the same math...  and that's a scary thing. 

Oh, and none of my bows are happy.  They are stressed. 

[JackCrafty]

The 90lb test sounds a little high but it might be right.  I've got 80lb test Dyneema braided fishing line and it seems a bit heftier than a single strand of my FF.  I believe Dyneema and Spectra are basically the same thing:  the material FF is made of.

[Del the cat]

I did look on the Angel Majesty web site but it was not much use, it assumed we all shoot those sissy target bows
They have very litte information, but I thought you guys would like these two quotes.
I usually use 10 strands, but padded out round the nocks and serving with a few strands of Dacron.... (gotta use it up somehow )

...14 to 18 strands for recurve bows, 20 to 24 strand for compound bows...

ASB causes the initial velocity to increase. When you release an arrow, you can feel few fluttering.
ASB makes you to get much more bull points.

Don't get points for bull on this site
Del

[JW_Halverson]

Don't get points for bull on this site
Del

Oh contraire!

[Del the cat]

Don't get points for bull on this site
Del

Oh contraire!

They are right about getting fewer flutterings... I think it's just my age
Del

[meanewood]

I'm sorry to say but this debate is starting to sound like a bunch of compound guys describing their pulleys!

I still feel guilty using modern string materials and wouldn't be able to sleep at night unless I used 18-22 strands of Fast Flight just for the look. Some of the arrows I'm making would look like broom handles if I shot them from a puny string!

I've only made one linen string so far and it's bulky so that's the look I want for all my bows and bugger performance.

[WillS]

That doesn't make any sense 

You'd purposely negate performance from a bow, just so that it looked like the first linen string that you made?  What if you used the wrong linen, and made it badly?

You should look at the actual hemp string that was found on board the Mary Rose.  It's tiny.   There's a reason Pip whatsisface doesn't believe that any of the MR bows were over 100# in draw weight (which has clearly been disproven), and he's basing his information on the fact that the string and nocks were so small that no string that thin could withstand bows of 150# but of course we have no idea how the original strings were made.

The arrow nocks are tiny as well, so bulky 18 - 22 strand strings are totally untraditional AND will retard your cast.  Doesn't seem logical to me   All the effort you put into tillering a bow is to make it as fast, powerful and effective as possible, so why suddenly decide not to use string that can help?

[adb]

Pish posh! Like I said earlier, I've tested this 'theory.' I tried a 14 strand FF, and a 20 strand FF, and I found ZERO difference in cast, all else being equal. With the 20 strand string, I didn't step back and go "holy shit, my arrows are falling 20 yards short." And, the 20 strand string is a lot nicer on my fingers!! The difference in weight between a 14 strand and a 20 strand string is NEGLIGIBLE. I've weighed them on a sensitive grain scale, and it's such a small amount as to not make a difference IMHO.