Is my flemish twist string set up wrong and damaging bow?

[jwbharper]

I was looking over my bow while it was strung, and it appeared that one limb was pulled back further than the other. I didn't have time to take measurements to see if they really were uneven or if my eyes were playing tricks on me so I unstrung it for now. I just bought the string from a bow shop and the guy at the bow shop put it on for me and set the brace height. Before I realized they might be uneven I had a consistent shot group on my target and didn't have any problems.  
Has any one had a similar experience? If they are uneven, I assume this is bad as it puts more strain on one limb over the other...but I could be wrong...I just don't know.
Should I undue all the twists and start over to make sure there are an equal number of twists on each side of the string? Or, is it harmful to the string to completely undue the twists in a flemish string?

Thanks for the help!

[bornagainbowhunter]

The twist is even throughout the entire string, no way to twist one limb tighter than the other.  As far as one limb being closer to the string than the other, could be limb fatigue.  If it is only slight, could be tiller.  One limb could be slightly weaker than the other in order to accomidate your fingers.  Usually about 1/4"-3/8", measured at the end of the riser.

If your bow is a takedown, check your limb bolts.  One may have crept out a little on you.

Hope this helps.

[ron w]

The twist is the twist, you can't have one side twisted more than the other. Is your bow tillered for 3 under or split finger. Could be that's what your seeing. One limb may be as much as 1/4 to 5/16 out of tiller and that may be all right. Measure at the fades upper and lower limb with the bow stung and see what you get.

[Ricker]

John,
If everything is normal there should be a difference in the limbs, that is "tiller".
Usually from and 1/8" to as much as a 1/2" more distance from the string to the upper limb than the same measured place on the lower limb.
Hope this makes sense.  Also it may be good if you would post a picture of the bow for us to look at.

Hope this helps.

[jwbharper]

I was shooting 1 over 2 under but was having accuracy problems so I switched to 3 under and am having more success. I don't know what the bow is tillered too...it is an older ben pearson cougar from the 70's but it looks solid.
I was going to restring it and put a level on the string to see if it is uneven.
Thanks for the info!

[bornagainbowhunter]

A level won't help you.  It would only tell you if your holding your bow level.

Take a ruler, measure the distance from the string the the limb where the handle fades out.  That is the measurement that you need to check.  That is where you would find out if the bow has onelimb weaker than the other.  The limb that is closer to the string is stronger than the other.  If this measurements are only 1/4"-3/8" apart, it is probably just the tiller (difference in strength of the limbs) that you are seeing.

[LBR]

Anyone that tells you a flemish string in general will damage your bow is clueless and/or has alterior motives.  Sadly, I've seen this claim made by two different bowyers in their warranty and another used it as an excuse (one of many) to keep from honoring his warranty--even though he supplied the string with the bow.

It doesn't matter which end you twist from--the tension will distribute itself throughout the string.

As the others stated, what you are describing is tiller--twisting the string won't affect that.  If the difference is extreme, one limb may have weakened...but again, the string doesn't have anything to do with that.

If the bow is tillered for split and you shoot it 3-under, or vice-versa, you may experience a difference in noise.  It won't hurt the bow either way.

[ishoot4thrills]

Originally posted by jwbharper:
I was shooting 1 over 2 under but was having accuracy problems so I switched to 3 under and am having more success. I don't know what the bow is tillered too...it is an older ben pearson cougar from the 70's but it looks solid.
I was going to restring it and put a level on the string to see if it is uneven.
Thanks for the info!

By shooting 3 under, you were likely going to shoot better anyway just from the fact that you shot 3 under, regardless of what the tiller is on your bow. Actually, a bow tillered for 3 under would be more even in tiller measurements instead of like 1/8" to 1/2" or so.

[jwbharper]

Thanks for the lesson guys. I will measure the tiller when I get home. I was nervous about the integrity of the bow for a minute.