New Bow Dan

[Dan]

Thanks for the info . i will change the brace height . still just figuring out the message board . the string runs down the centre of the bow . This might be a stupid question but if i make the string an inch shorter will that increase brace height by one inch or is there another formula? as far as posting pictures i am on slow speed kind of like my first bow!
i could put them on my web site .that would be the easiest for me . Thanks Dan
                                                                                                   

[Strongbow88]

if you make the string one inch shorter it will increase the brace height way more then an inch if it is a flemish twist string you can twist it to shorten it if you have loops on both ends. if one end has a timber hitch or bowyers knot you can untie and adjust it a little bit.
                                                     Danny Johnson

[Pat B]

Dan,
   By twisting the string you will shorten it(if you go the right direction  ). I don't know of a formula. There is a limit as to how many twists you can put in a string. You want the string close to begin with. The more twist in a string the more stretch you get which is wasted energy.  I usually go 10 twists at a time, brace the bow and check brace. If not right repeat.
   What brace height are you at now? How long is your bow?  and string? 
Like Danny, I use a bowyers knot on the bottom limb so I adjust the string to the bow when I make it. I usually take some twists as the string stretches but if I have too many twists, I untie the bowyers knot and retie the string shorter.        Pat

[sailordad]

that brings up an interesting question.

how many twists,is too many twists.

lets say its a bow that is 66" long,flemish twist  duoble loop string?


                                                                              peace,
                                                                                      tim

[Dan]

Hey guys thanks for the info, but i would appear there are alot of things that i need to learn, flemish string knot etc.  I have bow hunted for the past 25-30 years with all kinds of  bows but never wooden ones .It wasnt until last fall
when i met an elderly fella 83 or there abouts who had been teaching classes to the natives on manitoulin island  thats up here in Canada . Anyway long story short he wanted  to sell all of his bowyer equipment and pass the art of bow making on to however was interested . He made his first bow during the war when he was stationed in Europe.
For me bow hunting is my passion , but seemed to be slipping away with bows that are topping the 300-350 fps. the challange  is not there anymore .so when fred showed me his primitive equipment and pictures of the animals he had taken i was Hooked!
I read the first Bowyers Bible and did what it said and just started . The first bow was walnut and seemed to be going good until i looked over at my belt sander, it turned into a 20 pounder in a matter of minutes, just like the book said.
Now that you know where i am coming from ,this bow is 65 inches made of ash. right now it is 55lbs at 28 inches i can draw it back but seems a little harder than i am comfortable with.
Brace height is 4 inches  I think the bow would be better 45-50lbs  should i twist the string and leave the bow at 55lbs and will it work itself down to 50lbs the more i shoot it?
I will have to get one of the bibles out to find out a little more about flemish strings and knots .
 This sounds like the place to be for some great help but i need to read a little more to understand what everyone is talking about     Thanks Dan

[Strongbow88]

If you can get a hold of TBB2 It has a chapter titled  strings and has alot of info or different types of strings and different materials also.

[Pat B]

If your bow has a continuous string(with serving around the loops and at the nock point) I don't think you can twist it for shortening but I could be wrong. A flemish string has loops that are twisted in the end and usually the loops are not served. You can twist the flemish string to shorten it and raise the brace height. Your bow should be braced probably at 5" to 6". Leaving a wood bow braced for a reasonable amount of time(up to 6hours during a hunt) shouldn't weaken it much if at all. To correctly reduce the weight you will have to remove wood from the belly(the side facing the shooter). It doesn't take much wood removal to go from 55# to 45# so take it slow and exercise the limbs and check the weight often. A cabinet scraper will be your best tool or possibly even sand paper.      Pat

[Dan]

I have all four copies of TBB  and keep going back for info . In the tools that Fred  gave me there are all kinds of assorted draw knives and i tryed them all , the thing that works best for me is a piece of an old planner blade about 8 inches long with some electrical tape on both ends . I hope to get back at the bow this weekend . Thanks