Wallace Mentor silencer hack

[nineworlds9]

Use wool or acrylic puffs!!

Got a new 3pc Mentor last week, the second one I've had.  Been working on tuning and finally had perfect flight and bow seemed pretty quiet overall for a working recurve...62", 7 3/4" brace height.  Stock D97 string provided by Wes with rubber cat whiskers.

I kept noticing this annoying faint buzz on the shot, no matter how I changed brace height, arrow parameters (I did notice that no matter the spine this bow shot cleaner cock feather in, I think its the deep shelf) etc.  I was going a little crazy thinking it was the limb to riser interface, tried some string wax in the bolts and pins, as well as cut to fit pieces of wax paper and was sure to snug the limbs but not overtighten.  

No change even with those adjustments.  Still that same little strange buzz on the end of the shot sound.  I recalled that my first Mentor last year had the same sound to it, even when switching to Fury material.  Then a light bulb went off, and I became suspicious...I was using cat whiskers on the other Mentor's strings too...I figured what the hell, maybe it's the damn whiskers?  I refused to believe it was any fault of the bow itself.

And guess what?  It was the whiskers! Installed a set of wool puffs and VOILA, NO MORE BUZZ.  She's has just the sweetest dull recurve thud now.  

Wallace hack for you Wallace owners or future owners!  Recurve hack!  I say recurve hack because strangely enough, the last 3pc recurve I had, a Schafer, also had wool puffs on the string and was eerily quiet for such a bow.

What I realized is I have been shooting longbows this whole past year, and they always do fine with whiskers, I think longbows have less oscillation in the limb overall due to being narrower and deeper core typically.  I've always defaulted to rubber whiskers as they hold up well in FL rainy weather in the earlier season.  

Anyway, what was a "pretty quiet" bow is now a truly PLEASANT bow to shoot.

I'm sure plenty of you will say "I told you so".  I'm making a mental note:  recurves- skip the rubber whiskers!

Two Tracks scallops would have the same effect I have no doubt.  Those are some of my favorites.  I think in the end my favorite wool is the Navajo type.  

Anyway, just wanted to share, I'm stoked and now the bow is ready for some killing!

[mec lineman]

I will get beat for this comment, but I have always thought wool was quieter than catwhiskers.  I understand in the Pacific northwest where it is usually wet catwhiskers are preferred.  My favorites are hush puppies and two track scallops

[Woodpuppy]

I like puffs better too, though I still have whiskers on my Blacktail recurve for now.

[SAMMO]

I use SK-75 Dyneema marine rope, 1/2 inch round and it is divided into 1/4 braids which I just slice off and put in three for a nice lite water-shedding last forever ball.

[Pointer]

FINALLY!!!!....someone who had the same issue as I did with my WW Mentor. Glad you found the fix

[K2]

Chuck,

My WW 3 PC Mentor should be complete by end of hunting season (Nov/Dec). I think I will put on otter/beaver balls.

LH 62" 48#@28"
Cocobolo handle; Ebony stripe
Ebony tips/overlays
Bamboo core

[nineworlds9]

Originally posted by K2:
Chuck,

My WW 3 PC Mentor should be complete by end of hunting season (Nov/Dec). I think I will put on otter/beaver balls.

LH 62" 48#@28"
Cocobolo handle; Ebony stripe
Ebony tips/overlays
Bamboo core

Sweet!  Thats gonna be a beauty!  I'd think the beaver would be similar effectiveness to wool.  I think the reason these materials are more effective than the whiskers on this particular design is these limbs being wide and thin take a little longer to stop moving upon release...I can picture the whiskers absorbing the initial shot shock well, but as the limbs vibration frequency slows down the little buggers are still slapping around causing that 'buzz' I described.  Wool or hair being a finer material probably dissipates that last bit of energy a little better.  Of note, even adding 100gr of arrow weight didn't do it, it was decidedly losing the whiskers.

[Steelhead]

Wools better than Beaver.

Wools better than anything for stopping string osclillation in my experience.

Burrs are about the only problem.

I make my wool puffs with alot of material and them trim them down to smaller tighter ball.Helps with burrs as they pull out easier and they look better and work better.

If they get a bit wet just pluck the string good.They dont hold much water though.

[ron w]

Wooly buggers work for me........I make my own yarn puffs and they work well but the buggers are the best. Never had good luck with the rubber whiskers, don't even like the way they look. I did try string leeches and they work also, but are ugly.......lol