Flemish string makers question!

[longshadow]

How do you determine how much back twist to put in the bow string?  My strings keep coming out like two ropes twisted together, rather than a smooth round string. I have to twist them up too tight to get them to come out somewhat round. After the first end is done, I remove all the twists out of the string and then put in the back twist, but how much?

Thanks, Alan

[Bigjackfish]

I put in about 25 twists on a string that is 61 in when finished.

[jess stuart]

I count the number of twists it takes to remove all of the twists put in the string making the first loop.  I then add the same number of twists before making the second loop.  It works to keep cabling to a minimum for me.

[McDave]

I count the number of twists it takes to remove all of the twists put in the string making the first loop.  I then add the same number of twists before making the second loop.  It works to keep cabling to a minimum for me.

This is what I try to do also, but it is easier said than done.  I have found that "about" the same number of backtwists seems to work fine to remove cabling.  I go to some pains after making the first loop to separate each strand from the others before starting the backtwists.  I don't know if this makes any difference or not.

[Orion]

Yep.  I do what Jesse does, usually about 12 turns for me.  Depends on loop length and how tight I twist.

[reddogge]

Mine's written on my board out in the workshop but it's about 25-30. BTW, these are just wrist twists, not full rotations.

[bucknut]

Mine isn't very technical.  I just roll each one sort of like you would roll a cigarette (or whatever you roll) 11-12 times  per side. They always come out nice and round for me.

[Rob DiStefano]

i like flemish strings for hill style longbows and for my 66" big5 i use a 63" string.  that's 41.5" around the pegs with 8 strands of b50 in 2 bundles.  10" for each small loop, and that's about 36 twists going into the first loop and taper, so once it's done it'll get clipped while i take out all the twists of the free ends, then put back 36 twists to each bundle.  works fine for me.

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[longshadow]

Thanks guys, that makes sense to me. Strings were just not coming out right.  Number of twists in taper = number of twists in back twist. Ill give it a try in the morning. Thanks again for all the knowledge and help.

Thanks,  Alan

[mahantango]

I also backtwist about 20-30 times, not super critical. Another thing that helps to get a nice round string is don't was the individual bundles except at the ends where you are going to braid them back to form the loops. Wax the finished string after the loops are done and you have started twisting it up. I wax/ burnish with a piece of leather as I twist under tension.

[mahantango]

Wax, not was. Damn autocorrect.

[Rob DiStefano]

with my flemish strings, pure BEESWAX is MY bestest friend ...

... i can not use enuf of it before, during, and after the string is made.

[Overspined]

Yeah I back twist like rolling a "cigarette "too.  I basically backroll  each bundle in my fingers about 7 times each, which means about 30 twists +/- per bundle. But after I make a loop the first thing I do is get rid of the existing twist.

[Adirondack Hunter]

put one contrasting color strand in your bundle. This will show you how much back twisting you need.