Doin' The (Flemish) Twist!!!!(FINISHED & SERVED)

[FlyinCedar]

For those of you who are interested in making your own strings for your trad bows, this will be right up your alley...

I am having some problems uploading my pics (taking forever) so we will start this now, and continue as I get them uploaded.

First, you will need the following items:

1. Flemish string jig
2. B-50 (or other) string material, 2 colors
3. Beeswax cake (not required, but very handy)
4. Bowstring wax
5. Small piece of leather
6. 2 small spring clips
7. Serving tool
8. Sharp knife





For this, we are using B-50 string material. Make sure your bow can handle the higher grade Fast Flight, D97, ect.. before using it. If not sure, go with B-50 and be on the safe side. We will be making a 16 strand string. This is about a 50lb bow, so we could easily only do 12 strands, but I usually stick with 14-16 strands.

You will see that your jig is labeled A, B, C, D, and E.

D is your adjustment pin for your length of your string. My jig is not a commercial jig, rather made by someone else, so yours may be different on how you measure the length. For mine, I set the pin at the length of the bow, in this case 54"....sometimes I even go a couple more, just so I have some room to play with.

Start by putting your spool on the spool holder, and tying a knot around pin A-0.




Now, run your string over to B-0




Keeping the string taut ( all the way around) , run it down to pin C.




Now run it around your adjustment pin, D




Run the string back down to pin E.




Run the string back to the top, and go around pin A-1, and over to B-1...




You have now completed one course. Keep going in the same pattern until your reach pin B-8. That is your stopping point for this color. You will do eight strands of each color.





Now, while using one hand to hold the string down on the board, cut straight down the center of the strands that are between your A and B pins.




You now have one half of your string ready...almost...there is one more step, but my pics aren't uploaded yet, so we will continue this later....if you have any questions thus far, feel free to ask.

[BT]

Let me ask you this....

What tension are you applying while running the jig?.
Just enough to keep the dacron straight or what?.

The tension that holds the string together is accomplished by twisting correct?

[FlyinCedar]

OK...For the first one...you only need enough tension to keep the string taut between all of your pins..you dont want it sloppy and loose.

Second, you are correct..we will not tie any knots...the twist will hold the whole thing together. We will talk about this more a little later.

[BT]

Very cool

I have never tied a Flemish.
How much are the jigs.....of the top of your head ?

And.....how much many strings off a Bobin of Dacron?

[FlyinCedar]

I think the jigs run around $15-$20..been a while since I bought mine...you can get them at www.3riversarchery.com

The two spools of dacron I am using have made me about 15 strings so far, counting the ones I screwed up in the beginning and had to start all over, wasting material. There is still quite a bit of material left though. Depending on your bow length and strand preference, I would guess you could probably get 25 strings out of 2 spools if making strings for an average recurve, maybe a little less for longbows, due to the fact that you will have to make longer strings.

Oh, by the way... A recurve string should measure about 4 inches shorter than the bow's length, and a longbow string 3" shorter thatn the bow's length.

[BT]

That's a pretty go bang for the buck

[Coca Cola]

Ohh cool. I cant wait. Maybe I can start making my own strings for my own bows. Can't wait until this is finished. Also How do you determine the string length?

[FlyinCedar]

Look up a couple of posts Coca Cola.... A recurve string is 4 inches shorter than the bow length, a longbow string is 3 inches shorter than the bow length..

[Coca Cola]

I saw that. I meant when wrapping the string around the jig. After awile I realized the numbers 40-70 were the numbers that corresponded to string length. SO I figured it out. I feel kinda dumb I didnt notice it the first time

[FlyinCedar]

Ok guys, lets see if we can finish this up..... The pics are still acting weird size wise, so if it is too big, I apologize. If it is too small, just click on it to link to a larger image.

After cutting between pins A and B, remove the strands from the jig. Make sure to keep the strands just as they are....the ends should be staggered like this....





Now, apply the beeswax to both ends of your strands....how much if up to you, but I would wax at least the last 10-12 inches of each end. The easiest way to do this is to hold the strands on top of your beeswax cake with your thumb, then simply pull them between the cake and your thumb.....





When you have it coated well, the strands will all stick together ( this is much stickier than bowstring wax)....




After you have both ends waxed, lay that bundle of strands aside, and repeat the process with your other color.

Now that we have two bundles, it is time to start forming our top loop. For a longbow, you want to use the last 8 inches of each bundle. For a revurve, use the last 9 inches. I used a marker to mark these lengths on my string board, so I do not have to get out a tape measure every time.

Making sure to keep one end of each bundle together, line them up with the appropriate mark...for this string, the 9 inch mark...




Now, grasp the string with your left hand, so that the 9 inches we just marked off are pointing to your right. In the next couple pictures, you will see that I am using one of the spring clips...this is not necessary yet, but I had to use it to act as a hand so I could take the pictures at the same time..

With the two bundles in your left hand, take hold of one bundle with your right hand...doesn't matter which one...Twist that one bundle of strands AWAY FROM YOU.....




Once you have a good tight twist in that bundle, wrap it TOWARDS YOU, over the untwisted bundle...




It should look just like this....




Now do the same thing with the other bundle...twist it AWAY FROM YOU, then wrap it TOWARD YOU, over the other bundle...





Continue this process until you have enough twisted length to make a properly sized top loop...you can check loop size by simply forming a loop out of the twisted length, and gauging whether it is sufficient to slide over your top limb.....





Once you have enough twisted legth, for a loop out of it....





Now we can make the neck of our loop...Match the tag ends up with the long ends, matching the colors..in this case, red to red and black to black..this is why it is easier to use two colors. If you only have one color, you will need to somehow mark the ends and middle of each bundle with tape or something so that you can properly match them up at this point....You should have plenty of beeswax on your bundles, so rub them together so that they look like one....






Now, repeat the process that you used to for the loop in the first place, twisting AWAY FROM YOU and wrapping TOWARD YOU... I find it easier after a few twists to put my finger through the loop to help hold the string as I twist...





Now, remember how the endsof each bundle were staggered after we took it off the jig? You are going to continue to twist and form the neck of the loop until you reach the end of the longest staggered strand. Once you reach it, put in two or three more twists. You will be able to tell, as the staggered ends will most likely stick out of the twist as you pass them....thats ok....





Use a spring clip to secure the neck and hold the loop so it doesn't unravel....





Once you have your top loop secured, go to the other end and repeat this process, only this time making the loop just big enough to fit over your lower limb tip and into your nock grooves.... Your string will want to twist up when you form the bottom loop....thats ok, let it twist....when finished with both loops, your string will look like this.....





At this point, slide the top loop down over the top limb of your bow, keeping the bottom loop free. Your string will be twisted at this point due to it moving around while you were forming the loops.





KEEPING THE CLIPS IN PLACE, untwist the strands so that you have both colors straight, running side by side....





Ok, this next step is VERY IMPORTANT...as you can see, we have made no knots in this string...the twist holds the whole thing together. If you twist the wrong way, your whole string will come apart. Holding the bottom loop, remove both spring clips... Keep some tension on the strands so that they stay striaight, and use the neck of the botom loop to twist COUNTERCLOCKWISE....





Your string is going to shorten as you twist. Once you have it twisted pretty good, go ahead and string your bow to check the length. If it is still too long, put some more twist in it...if it is too short, take some out...just be careful not to untwist the whole string...this is why I always make mine a little longer than required.Once you have your string the proper length, go ahead and leave the bow strung.





This next step may make some of you cringe, but I promise it is the correct way to do this, and will not hurt your bow.... Lay your bow down with the back (the side away from you when you shoot) of your riser on the floor or table, so that the string is up, towards you. Now, push your limbs away from you, toward the floor or table, causing the string to stretch. After this, you will need to put a little more twist in ot to bring it back to proper length.





Once you have re-twisted the string, you need to wax it. Use regular bowstring wax, applied liberally to the entire string...clumps are ok....take the small piece for leather we have in our items list, and run it up and down the string, heating up the wax and melting it into the string. Your string will darken a little and become somewhat shiny.





The only thing we have left to do at this point is serve the string...I am running out of time right now, so I will get back to that later. Read this a couple of times, and try to let it sink in. I will be checking back in to field any questions for a day or two before I show you how to serve the string.