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String stretch

Creamer

Active Member
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Athens
Question for the experts, I'm still pretty green with the trad bow stuff. I upgraded my string from the stock string that came with my Sage Elite to a D97 flemish twist string about 2 months ago. I expected the string to stretch some, and a few weeks in, I did have to add some additional twist when i noticed my brace height had gotten smaller. At about the 4 week mark, I added a little more twist to get my BH back to about 8", which seems to be the sweet spot for my bow. Last night, I was shooting and thought the bow seemed a bit noisier than it should have been, pulled out the square and sure enough, the BH was getting shorter again from string stretch. More twists, BH back to 8", and all seems good again.

Is this pretty normal with D97? I wasn't expecting this string to stretch quite this much. I don't leave the bow strung for more than a day or two at a time, and I do shoot nearly every day. Is this pretty normal?
 
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jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
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Ohio
Funny because last night I was feeling like my bow was getting louder and had more vibration. But unfortunately I never wrote down what my original brace height was to begin with! I may just add some twists and feel it out to see if it gets better or worse.
 

Chass

Active Member
2,172
52
The Hills
Well shoot, I never knew brace height could make a noisy bow. I'll have to check mine out cuz it's got some serious twang to it now and it's starting to affect the flight. Thanks!
 

Creamer

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When you twist the string don't forget to measure ata to see if you need to take a twist out of the bus cable and make sure to check the yoke again.

Where's coonies green smirk smiley when you need it? 😅

what-do-you-mean--meme-7608.jpg
 
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Chass

Active Member
2,172
52
The Hills
When you twist the string don't forget to measure ata to see if you need to take a twist out of the bus cable and make sure to check the yoke again.

Where's coonies green smirk smiley when you need it? 😅
Crack an egg after I'm done twisting? On the bow? Done!
 
Brace hieght absolutly has an effect on vibration and shock. If the bow is braced too short the limbs are not under the proper tention at which they were tillered for. So the limbs will over rebound and you will get more more twang/vibration. You might also notice the string hitting your wrist.

When you twist the string don't forget to measure ata to see if you need to take a twist out of the bus cable and make sure to check the yoke again.

Where's coonies green smirk smiley when you need it? 😅

Aint no bus cable on a trad bow fool. o_O
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,691
177
Ohio
D97 is gonna stretch a little, but I've never had one stretch more than about 1" total. I've been twisting my own strings of D97 for 20 years or more. how much a Flemmish string stretches is as much a function of who is making it as it is the type of material. a loosely twisted (read poorly made) string will stretch a lot more than a good one that is reverse twisted correctly. a string with two plies instead of three will stretch more, too.

proper brace height is pretty important for tuning a trad bow, and while the maker of the bow will have a recommended brace height, it's best to experiment a little and find the sweet spot of low noise and felt vibration for your arrows and shooting style before adorning the string with any sort of silencer. one of the greatest things about a traditional bow is they can be made whisper quiet. so quiet that a deer won't hear it from 50 feet away.
 

Creamer

Active Member
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81
Athens
D97 is gonna stretch a little, but I've never had one stretch more than about 1" total. I've been twisting my own strings of D97 for 20 years or more. how much a Flemmish string stretches is as much a function of who is making it as it is the type of material. a loosely twisted (read poorly made) string will stretch a lot more than a good one that is reverse twisted correctly. a string with two plies instead of three will stretch more, too.

proper brace height is pretty important for tuning a trad bow, and while the maker of the bow will have a recommended brace height, it's best to experiment a little and find the sweet spot of low noise and felt vibration for your arrows and shooting style before adorning the string with any sort of silencer. one of the greatest things about a traditional bow is they can be made whisper quiet. so quiet that a deer won't hear it from 50 feet away.

I'm guessing I am around an inch of total stretch on this D97 string. As I remember it, the first time I added twist it was a little less than half an inch. The second time, maybe half that, the last time about another 3/8" or so.
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,691
177
Ohio
if you want to get 90+% of the stretch out of a Dynaflight string immediately, brace your bow with the new string, twisted up higher than your desired brace height. get a scrap of leather and use it to pinch the string and rub it up and down the length of the string like a maniac trying to get it hot enough to burst into flames. let it sit braced for a while then twist (or untwist) to desired brace height and shoot it. you won't get much more stretch after you heat it up like this. also melts wax into the plies and strands very nicely, too.
 
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