Modifying bowstrings?

[Miikka]

Hi!

Has anyone modified their bowstrings? I just bought an expensive custom bowstring and I'm about to shed few inches from my riser lenght and was thinking I could shorten the string by few inches. Dropping from 64" to 62", the string is flemish.

How about turning recurve strings to longbow?

[The Whittler]

If it's a Flemish twist then you can you can have someone tell you how to unbraid one end and redo it, or just buy another string. If it's an endless it might be better to just buy another. Good luck.

[Trenton G.]

2 inches seems like a pretty big change. Your string would be twisted up like a spring. I would probably just make or buy a new string.

[wtpops]

Takes some practice but you can shorten a Flemish string most the time not worth the trouble just get a new string. With that said give it a try you will see how there made and might start on a new journey of making your own strings.
Your question on recurve to longbow not sure what you are asking if you want to make a string longer to fit a long bow then the answer in no

[Miikka]

By recurve to longbow I mean is the trouble of untwisting The string and then retwisting it with a tighter loop worth the effort? I think the difference in rc and lb strings is that the lb ones have smaller loops? How hard is it to redo the string? Can I just undo one end start the loop 2" earlier?

[old_goat2]

By recurve to longbow I mean is the trouble of untwisting The string and then retwisting it with a tighter loop worth the effort? I think the difference in rc and lb strings is that the lb ones have smaller loops? How hard is it to redo the string? Can I just undo one end start the loop 2" earlier?

You would have to undo each end and do equal changes to each end or your center serving would be out of place. Plenty of places to get a good quality string for $20ish. You could experiment and try it with an old string, but by the time you do all that you will know how to make bow strings for the most part which is actually pretty easy if you keep notes.

[McDave]

To shorten correctly, you would have to unbraid the strands down to the first loop, which means removing the serving, and then rebraid. Some longbows require a smaller loop in order for the string to stay on; others will work with a recurve sized loop.  If yours requires a smaller loop, then you would need to unbraid the whole string. I suppose it would be possible to re-use the serving, but it will be a twisted mess when you take it off.  Lot of effort, particularly if you don't know how to make strings.  Probably better to buy a new string and put the old one on an "orphan string" nail, in case something turns up later that it will fit.

[Orion]

If you know how to make a Flemish twist string, then untwisting the loops and redoing them shouldn't be much of a problem.  In the process, however, the separate bundles may not mesh as neatly with one another the length of the string unless you totally unwind the string and basically remake it.  As others have pointed out, it is rather a lot of work, but it is doable.

[Yooper-traveler]

Hi!

Has anyone modified their bowstrings? I just bought an expensive custom bowstring and I'm about to shed few inches from my riser lenght and was thinking I could shorten the string by few inches. Dropping from 64" to 62", the string is flemish.

How about turning recurve strings to longbow?

I have never modified a bow string by 2".  I would advise you to simply buy a shorter bow to match your string.  It's what I do and somehow its much more satisfying......

[Roy from Pa]

It's possible but it will never be as good as the first string looked.

[Miikka]

Hi!

Has anyone modified their bowstrings? I just bought an expensive custom bowstring and I'm about to shed few inches from my riser lenght and was thinking I could shorten the string by few inches. Dropping from 64" to 62", the string is flemish.

How about turning recurve strings to longbow?

I have never modified a bow string by 2".  I would advise you to simply buy a shorter bow to match your string.  It's what I do and somehow its much more satisfying......

I've tried that but it gets expensive really fast 

I only have one 64" bow (riser/limb combo), the rest are 60" or 62" and the odd 64" is kind of annoying

[stevem]

Many times I have made a sting that was too long/short.  As mentioned above, just undo one loop (since you already have serving that will need to come off) and back things up to the point where the first loop was completed.  Then add/subtract whatever adjustment needs to be made, make the new loop and, viola, a string just right!  Since you making a new loop, it can be either a small longbow loop or a wider recurve loop.

[Petrichor]

It's possible but I don't think you will be happy with the result.  If you research how to do it, you will find that you have basically done half the work to make a new string. It's not hard and there are plenty of resources out there to help you.  Learning your nock and experimenting with different strand counts is rewarding as you will eventually wind up with the perfect string for you.