Brace Height

[Ptaylor]

#5711

Anyone know what the brace height of this bow should be? It’s a Whisper Stix II. AMO = 62″. 55# @ 28″.

I have a string on their I made. But want to get an endless loop string for it. And my bow tech at the archery shop in town asked me to find out what the proper brace height for this specific bow. There doesn’t seem to be a website for Whisper Stix as far as I can tell. I bought this one used. Any thoughts would be helpful gang!

[Stephen Graf]

#44238

There is no magic to it, or right or wrong.

Put the string you have made on it, get it shooting quietly, with good arrow flight, and that’s the brace hight.

I am not familiar with the Whisper Stix II. But generally you can start with a brace height of:

–8 inches for recurve

–7 inches for reflex / deflex

–6 inches for hill style

And increase it from their until the bow is quiet. Once you get it shooting quietly, with good arrow flight, you have your string length.

[Ptaylor]

#44272

Thanks Steve. My bow tech said custom bows are made so a specific brace height will shoot best..? But your advice is probably my best bet, just try out different lengths and see how they shoot.

[Stephen Graf]

#45476

When a bowyer specifies a brace height, it’s generally with the hope that the archer won’t exceed it by too much.

The higher the brace height, the more stress on the bow. The more stress on the bow, the more likely it is to fail.

But no worries, Go as low as you want, and don’t go more than 1/2 inch above what I noted in the previous post and you are well inside the safe zone.

Higher Brace height will make the bow more forgiving and quieter (usually), but will increase the draw weight, require a stiffer arrow and will shoot slower.

Lower Brace Height will make the bow less forgiving and noisier (usually), but will reduce the draw weight, require a weaker arrow and will shoot faster.

[Howie Kincaid]

#129383

I have to ask, how does brace height effect draw weight? Isn’t 45# at 28″ 45# at 28″, a brace of 7 or 8 is just mid 28 inch draw. What am I missing?

[Stephen Graf]

#129391

To make the brace height higher, the string must be shortened.  This bends the limbs more and puts them under more stress.  It also means the limbs must bend more to get to a draw length of 28 inches.  Thus more draw weight is created.

To make the brace heigh lower, the string must be lengthened.  This bends the limbs less and puts them under less stress.  It also means the limbs must bend less to get to a draw length of 28 inches.  Thus less draw weight is created.

Sometimes it helps to understand a problem by considering what will happen at the boundary conditions of said problem.  Take for example a brace height of zero inches.  If the limbs are under no stress at brace height, and the string is then drawn to 28 inches, it is easy to see that the limbs won’t have moved nearly as far to get to draw.  Thus the draw weight is much less.

All that said, the change in draw weight might be a pound or two for a brace height change of an inch.

[Howie Kincaid]

#129505

OK, so the 45# at 28″ is from factory recommended brace.  At a functional brace this will change. So best to measure with a draw scale, once the bow is  tuned, to get actual draw weight at the individuals draw length.  Got it, thanks

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