I found two old Dacron bowstrings I'd forgotten about in a drawer. They were both set up with silencers, nocking points, and had been used previously. When I put them on my Howatt Hunter, I was pleased to see the brace height was just right. So I did some shooting with them, and each time I put the bow square on them when finished, they had stretched at least an inch! It has now been about four days of backyard shooting and they're still stretching, but not quite as drastically as that first day. These strings are in good shape, freshly waxed, and the serving is okay. Is this kind of stretching normal?

The twists are probably drawing tight as well as stretching. I pre-stretch my strings & may have to add a few twists after a couple of shooting sessions then they hold just fine. They may draw back up some when not used but quickly stretch back out to where they were set. I do leave the bows I am currently shooting strung,sometimes for weeks at a time. NOT SELFBOWS >>>>-----> Ken

A friend of mine told me that back in the day when he shot a lot of tournaments with Dacron, he would leave his post trunk for several days before a shoot.

Did you know wax contributes to string creep, all materials.

I suspect the twists are slipping where they splice into the loops. Endless loop strings don't do that. Flemish strings shouldn't do it either as long as the splice is long enough and you have enough wax in there.

Wax is the key; pure bees wax! if you mix bee's wax with softeners your pig tails will slip and keep slipping. Yes pure bee's wax is hard but that's why it doesn't slip, and it takes a little more effort to use, but it will make a better string.

Bob

When I brace a bow with a new string, I lay the back of the handle on a padded surface like a table top and gently press the limbs toward the table a few times. This removes most of the initial stretch.

In "Shooting the Stickbow", the author lays the strung bow across his upper legs and presses the limbs to remove some stretch.

Wax... Yeah, I should wax more.

Yes, Dacron and all other materials stop stretching. As others have made reference to, lots of folks confuse the slipping of the pigtails of a poorly made string with stretching.

Not nearly the same thing.

And the method that Gray Goose Feather outlined works quite well in settling a new string.

You may want to replace it ASAP. Years ago when the “trad” thing started up I had a twist string made for a LB I had it literally unraveled. Very embarrassing to say the least.

Fiddler -

No, and it with stretch and recover on every shot - every material does. What you're talking about is creep, unrecoverable elongation, not stretch. An endless loop Dacron string will settle during the first shooting session.

As others have said, a poorly made Flemish splice may continue to lengthen over time, but it's not the material, it's the splice slipping.

Viper out.

If it unraveled a step was left out while making the string. A string made with loose twist slips , sometimes till its way too long. I got one on a new bow that lost half its pigtail length. Best thing it throw it away.

Iwander - "he would leave his post trunk for several days before a shoot"

What does that mean?... Thanks...

That's exactly what I did. Voice typing without proofreading. Sorry about that.

No that's why i stopped using on bows I was shooting. I still have bows with it on but I like low stretch.

Back in the day was always twisting up and checking brace it seemed.

It was good when it was good and we didn't know any better but the string materials and the high performance quality and less string counts far surpassed this string material.

I don't know what you guys are doing but I have Dacron strings on bows that are several years old and do not move brace height.

I totally disagree with RymanCat and agree with NY Yankee.

A properly made B50 Flemish string will not stretch anymore after the first usage.

Bob

X3 with NY Yankee.

I have dacron strings on my bows that have never stretched and the brace height has never moved after first being used. Right now I'm shooting my 1990 Bear Kodiak using a B50 dacron string that I put on a year ago and it has stayed braced at 8 1/4". I do pre-stretch my strings.

The strings just aren't made correctly. I've made natural material strings that don't continue to stretch after they settle.

When I make my B-50 Dacron strings using Brownell material I do you Bees wax mixed with pine rosin that I melt down and it makes a nice tackiness not to mention I always prestretch my b 50 in a custom stretching jig I made years ago. “Made Right Stays Tight” !

Is B50/55 pre-waxed? If yes, should it be cleaned (using alcohol) b/4 making the "pig tails"?

I make and use B50 flemish twist strings all the time and never have any problems with them stretching. It's the way you're making the splice.

It is prewaxed and no it should not be cleaned.

Why would you even do that?

My home made endless loop Dacron strings stop as soon as they are shot a few times. A well made string won't keep on moving regardless of how it's made, but that's one reason I like my own endless loop.

Frank. I should have worded it -- is it pre-waxed with bees wax or something different? If not bees wax. should it be cleaned? As mentioned above - bees wax doesn't slip.

bow-n-head:

Just use it as is, but wax the pig tails before twisting into loops, make the string place it on the bow and stretch it then wax the entire string and burnish with a piece of leather, not hard enough to cause abrasions, just enough to melt the wax into the body of the string, then add serving.

Bob

Got it. I do like Bob suggests.i just wax it well with Beeswax when I lay out my strands.

If the string is made too long and twisted up excessively to shorten it, it will stretch forever. You want about 15 to 20 twists in a properly made string.

The area that is twisted up on a Flemish Twist String to make the loop and then married into the main body of the string is one big knot on both ends of the string, consisting of many fibers. The loser the string is twisted together when made, the more slip in those knots. Yes wax will add to that slippage. As the knot is drawn tighter and tighter the less slip occurs (and the excess wax is squeezed out) to the point it is not noticeable. After that point each time you unstring the bow, the knots relaxes and you will get, for lack of a better description microscopic tightening/slipping, when you restring it. Nothing you can see but it does happen. That is why you periodically should check your brace height on Flemish Twist Strings, even on High Performance Material Strings it happens. When you can see Dacron stretching, is if you have had your bow unstrung for a couple of days or more, check the brace height right when you restring it. The brace height will be higher, if the bow is left strung for a little bit, the brace height will drop back to what it was before unstrung. DANNY

Viper X2

I wouldn’t use b50 to tie up my tomato stakes , but that’s just me

If you are shooting a vintage bow B-50 is the safest way to go.

As bad as B-50 and B-55 are it's amazing that anyone was ever able to shoot an arrow, kill an animal, or shoot a respectable competition score.

Frank, you know the competition scores are based on string material, right?

*sarcasm mode on*

Back to the topic, a well made B50 / B55 string will stop stretching after 10 arrows.

All my recurves and ASL’s get B50. I never have any problems. My buddy makes the flemish twist string for me. He gives them a good stretch and good to go.

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