Questions about strings, twists, and brace height

[gwm]

#2867

Hi all, I’m having fun learning about tuning trad bows and I’ve got soem questions for the collective you.

I’ve aquired an AMF Redwing Hunter (’74 best I can tell), 58″ and 40#. It came with a string on it and an extra in a package. I’ve had the best luck so far with Easton 1816 30″ arrows with 4″ right helical feathers and 125 gr point.

I’ve been toying with brace height because the bow is pretty loud. So far the best results have come with a 9″ brace. As I was stringing and unstringing the bow to add twists, I noticed the string had just a bit of fraying right where it lays on the limbs. Since I had another string, I simply switched it out. And began doing the twist again.

The package says the string is AMO 60″; actual string length 55″. Without unstringing the bow, I laid a tape from tip to tip and sure enough it measures 55″. Out of curiosity, I stretch the first string across the desk and it measures 55″,too. So far, so good. If you are still with me, here are the questions.

It seems like I’ve read that string lenght should be a few inches shorter than bow length. My bow reads 58″ and my strings are 55″, so that seems good to me. What does the AMO 60″ mean?

Furthermore, is there a point where I can twist a string too many times to get the 9″ brace? With so many good string makers out there, would it be worth the effort to find a string length that gets me close to 9″ out of the package?

And finally, are string physics such that they perform better with X twists and performance diminishes after Y twists? Is there a sweet spot just based on twists?

I know I’ve got a lot to learn about so many facets of traditional archery, my mind is just working on string stuff at the moment.

Thanks in advance. I love cruising this forum.
Gary

[katman]

#13921

To many twists if the string coils up on itself when off the bow. Other down side is you have more string/mass than you need. A 58″ amo bow (the 58 on your bow) should take a 55″ string and brace at the recommended height without twisting until it stretches a bit.

Your extra 55″ string was probably put in a 60 amo bag.

Have you put any silencers on the string, cat whiskers work well. Try putting them 1/4 the distance of the string length measured from were the string leave the limb.

[Treetopflier]

#13944

If the bow is loud with a heavy arrow and string silencers, you may be braced too high. Try untwisting the string to take it down gradually until it gets quiet. If the brace height is too low you’ll know because the string will start slapping your forearm. Enjoy.

[gwm]

#13960

katman wrote: To many twists if the string coils up on itself when off the bow. Other down side is you have more string/mass than you need. A 58″ amo bow (the 58 on your bow) should take a 55″ string and brace at the recommended height without twisting until it stretches a bit.

Your extra 55″ string was probably put in a 60 amo bag.

Have you put any silencers on the string, cat whiskers work well. Try putting them 1/4 the distance of the string length measured from were the string leave the limb.

I didn’t write that very clearly. The packaged string reads like this:
Flemish spliced bowstring
Recurve
AMO String Length: 60″
Actual String Length: 55″
String Material: B50
Number of strands: 14

It came with cat whiskers on it. The serving right under the nock appears to be separating a bit, so I see a new string in my future. I figured I’d experiment with this one and order a new one when I knew exactly what I needed.

[gwm]

#13976

Treetopflier wrote: If the bow is loud with a heavy arrow and string silencers, you may be braced too high. Try untwisting the string to take it down gradually until it gets quiet. If the brace height is too low you’ll know because the string will start slapping your forearm. Enjoy.

Just went down to the garage to experiment. I think I remember starting at about 7 1/2 when I first got a stringer and could adjust the brace. Then I found the recommended height on archeryhistory as 8 1/2 to 9 1/2. Anything in 7″ range did slap the arm quite a bit. 9″ shot good but loud. Just now I could tell a difference between 8″ and 9″. Settled on 8 1/4″ for now: quieter and no slap. Thanks for the input.

[katman]

#15108

Other thing you can try is a piece of adhesive felt on the limb where the string touches the curve, some strings make a lot of noise slapping into the limb. B50 stretches so carry the felt about 2 inches past wear the string leaves the limb.

Also make sure the whiskers are at the quarters.

[sagebrush]

#20577

I used to use brush buttons on my recurves. A couple years ago I had some loud noise when releasing the string. I couldn’t figure it out. Finally I tried taking off the brush buttons. The noise disappeared. Gary

[tom-wisconsin]

#46320

Thanks for letting us follow your quest for best brace height. Very helpful for me to understand the process.

[Stephen Graf]

#46678

katman wrote: Other thing you can try is a piece of adhesive felt on the limb where the string touches the curve, some strings make a lot of noise slapping into the limb. B50 stretches so carry the felt about 2 inches past wear the string leaves the limb.

Another method to achieve this is to wrap the string below the loop in yarn. Basically serve the string with it. The advantage to the yarn over the adhesive felt is that the yarn won’t get your bow sticky. I have also experienced a lot of slippage with the adhesive felt. If you decide to try the yarn, use the thickest yarn you can get. As you serve it on, it gets pulled thin as you wrap it on.

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