How many strands

[monterey]

Of B50 for a 100# bow?

[LBR]

18-21.  This is a rare situation where a 3 bundle will work better due to the string being so fat.  Depending on the length of the bow, expect the string to creep a good 3" or more.  B-55 would be a slightly better choice.

[TomMcDonald]

Would one have to make the strands shorter than usual to accommodate for that creep?
Cheers.

[Trenton G.]

I use B50 and I always have to make my strings shorter since they stretch so much. You wouldn't necessarily  have to make the strands shorter, just make the ends that twist back into the string longer. Instead of leaving 7 inches at each end to make your loop, maybe leave 8. It took me a bit of playing around before I found what worked best.

[Trenton G.]

[Pat B]

I wouldn't use B-50 for a 100# bow, too much stretch. I built a 95#@30" yew war bow a few years ago and FF type string was recommended.

[McDave]

Originally posted by LBR:
18-21.  This is a rare situation where a 3 bundle will work better due to the string being so fat.  Depending on the length of the bow, expect the string to creep a good 3" or more.  B-55 would be a slightly better choice.

Chad, one of the chapters of the Traditional Bowyers Bible is an interesting discussion of cordage.  In that chapter, the author states that 7 is the maximum number of strands there should be in a bundle, if all strands are to pull equally.  After 7, one or more strands is basically just along for the ride.  Under that theory, 3 bundles of 5 strands should be as strong or stronger than 2 bundles of 8 strands, since 1 strand in each of the 8 strand bundles is not pulling its share of the weight.  Do you agree with this?

[LBR]

The way I make strings, I measure the actual string length to determine where to start my second loop...I don't measure from the ends, so using that method you could use shorter bundles but don't have to.

McDave, seems I read that too many years ago but I haven't seen anything that proves it.  To the contrary, I've made literally thousands of strings that have more than 7 strands in the bundles (8-10 usually), and I've seen nothing to convince me that only 7 in each bundle are working.  Ropes can have MANY TIMES more strands than that in each bundle, and a Flemish string is constructed basically like a small rope.  I'll have to dig that up and read it again to see what the reasoning was behind it and who said it...but IMO it was a misconception.  I've seen tons of misconceptions about strings and string materials over the years.  Not to say they aren't honest mistakes, but they are mistakes.

[monterey]

I'll be making it as an endless.  I have B55 on hand so it will be used. It's wearing a 16 strand B55 tillering string now and it has creeped even after doing a lot of work on three bows in the 40 to 50 range.

Good advice here from all.  It's appreciated.  

[LBR]

Endless will initially settle less than Flemish, because there's less twist.  Less twist equals less air and wax to get squished out...but you will still probably get around 3" or so of creep.  When the string is taken off, it will contract a good bit so the process is repeated every time the bow is strung/unstrung.

[monterey]

Thanks, Chad, that is a characteristic of B55 that I wasn't aware.  Always good to learn something new from a knowledgeable source.