Fast flight vs dacron settling

Hoosierarcher88 · July 04, 2018, 03:53:21 AM

Ive never made a flemish twist with fast flight but i have done numerous with b50. One thing i never liked was how much it settled before i felt comfortable enough to serve. Normally i build the string, twist it up till the bh is about 1/2" big and then leave the bow strung for a day or 2. Usually after that i can twist once more to bring brace heighy about 3/16" over where i want then serve the next morning. After that i only seem to have to make a couple adjustments to length for the remainder of the life of the string which isnt bad but the beginning stretch in period to me seems to take to long. Do you guys who use fast flight expirience this or is it much better

Auzoutdoor · July 04, 2018, 05:02:36 AM

No matter what string material I make flemish twist strings from I make them and pre stretch them on a stretcher overnight and this helps heaps with settling in.
Cheers KIM

Bigjackfish · July 04, 2018, 05:32:52 AM

I made a stretcher for my strings ,and I stretch the string for a few hours and it settles in the string nicely.

Hoosierarcher88 · July 04, 2018, 06:08:16 AM

How much tension are you guys stretching at. Ive thought about making a simple stretcher with unistrut as the base, a pair of hooks with one side using a thrust bearing and a die spring to give tension

Auzoutdoor · July 04, 2018, 06:26:19 AM

On the side of my work bench I have two eye bolts and use a turn buckle for tension. I have never put a scale on there but the string is solid with no flex if you push on it. I have seen some guys talk hundreds of pounds but I think if you go twice the poundage of the bow works ok.
Cheers KIM

Hoosierarcher88 · July 04, 2018, 06:30:18 AM

Im sure i could figure out something simple to create 150# or so easily. The way i do it now isnt bad if i have the bow im making the string for on hand but if its a buddies bow from out of state its a bit of a pain.

bucknut · July 04, 2018, 08:29:43 AM

From my experience the fast flight has way less elasticity. If you test them on a cant type stretcher and quickly let tension off, Dacron squirms like a snake as it retracts when tension is let off. FF really doesn't retract at all. With Fast flight the material doesn't stretch as much as it tightens up the string itself. Again just my observation. Also, a boat winch which you can often find used at a yard sale for next to nothing makes a really good stretcher.

Keefer · July 04, 2018, 11:17:38 AM

see if this works

Keefer · July 04, 2018, 11:22:24 AM

This is a 440# scale I mounted on the other end and I just don't stretch strings But put my puffs on and wrap wool /yarn down the "Y" section of my String loops.
Get used a lot in my shop.

Hoosierarcher88 · July 04, 2018, 11:43:52 AM

Something like that wouldn't be bad at all to build. I will have to see what i have laying around. I believe i may actually have a drawboard (fixture for drawing a compound and holding it at full draw for tuning) that i built that is made from unistrut and a boat winch laying around somewhere.

Keefer · July 04, 2018, 11:58:50 AM

Justin I bought everything except boat winch and scale from "Lowes" and the strut was in the electrical isle.
They had the Nuts that slide in the struts also but you could use regular nut and bolts.
I bought a 10 or 12 foot piece of strut and cut it down with a sawz all and added a flat steel Rule to measure string stretch but not needed.
The eye bolts and "S " hooks came from there as well.
The hook on the belt strap was a bit big so I bought a smaller one and had a friend sew it on with a upholstery sewing machine .

LBR · July 04, 2018, 12:01:33 PM

How much either will settle varies with the build, strand count, wax, how much load is applied, the type material, etc. Generally speaking, "FF" type materials will settle in considerably less and have very low elasticity. You'll get some movement due to air, wax, dye, etc. being squished out but the material itself won't move much. Materials with Vectran (450+, 452X, BCY-X, X-99) have almost no elasticity so they settle the least.

Roy from Pa · July 04, 2018, 12:06:07 PM

Very nice, Keith.

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Keefer · July 04, 2018, 12:16:15 PM

Chad not sure you remember when I built the jig but it was over on Brandon's site showing all the steps .
Did you ever build yourself one ?
Brandon had one kind of like it that was on his workbench also.
I agree not all material is equal and I use it mainly for B-50 and setting up strings so it serves multiple tasks.
You could even do serving on it cause I added those PVC blocks to hold the scale from moving around and it has like 5" clearance or something like that so you could spin your serving Jig as well.
I have a bow holder I use for that on a different jig made of wood but ever since I made this in 2014 I have got a lot of use from it.

LBR · July 04, 2018, 04:19:05 PM

Honestly had forgotten about him and his site. Now that I think of it, I get a chuckle from that claim that he could "copy any bow with a few measurements and a picture"...lol.

Your jig is a cool idea, but I've had one (actually on the second one) I designed probably 20 years ago. Plans for it are on our first string making video (Doin' the Twist). It's heavy gauge square tubing, one slides inside the other for adjustment. A couple of nuts welded on top so you can tighten down the bolts to adjust for length. Screw hooks on uprights on each end allow very precise stretching. Oh yeah...smaller piece of tubing has a stick of rebar driving into it to make it stiffer (first jig wasn't strong enough, finally warped it beyond being usable). Pretty simple, need a chop saw (to cut the metal) and a welder to make it though. Figure I've stretched way over 10,000 strings on it. Only thing I've had to replace were the screw hooks on the ends.

Yours is probably easier to build and more economical for a someone not quite as busy as I am though.

Keefer · July 04, 2018, 04:58:30 PM

I have No doubt he sure is very talented for sure! I stay pretty busy making strings but not for money just enjoy helping a brother in need out when I can . I wouldn't want to twist for a living due to a severed right hand from a log splitter and that twisting cramps my bad hand after several in a day .
I talked to a gentleman at Baltimore Classic who said he gets orders every quarter and does anywhere from 7000 to 10,000 a year and I was like WOW I bet his hands will give him a fit when he gets older.
I seen some really nice serving and stretching jigs for those that do it for a living but the one I made serves me well for what I do.

LBR · July 04, 2018, 05:30:38 PM

That's averaging 19-27 strings a day, every day, 365 days a year.

Oh well. I don't care to do 1,000 a year anymore...

If I ever wear out my jig...and the back-up I made when I was making this one...I'd probably build one like yours. I don't plan to live long enough to wear these out though!