best string material for silk backed oak board bow?

[Dennis G]

Ok, have my first wood bow made and have shot it 50 times or so. basic red oak 1.5" x 70" board bow backed with silk fabric, used mostly Sam Harper's method. It came out pulling 30# @ 28" about 10# lighter then my goal, but it looks good (at least when it's braced) and shoots quite well so I'm thrilled. My 1'st 2 attempts broke during tillering.
 couple of questions: should I stick with Dacron based string material or can a bow like this handle some of the less stretchy modern fibers? I just have a temporary string on it that I made from some poly weave cord for now. Also is it normal for a bow like this to take 3 or 4 inches of set?

[Roy from Pa]

I would stay with B-50

[Art B]

No, 3-4" of set isn't acceptable for any wood bow. Next time rough out your bow and store horizontally in your house for a week or so before putting it to the bend. This will allow the moisture content to drop and help prevent some set.

Sure, with the bow you have now, a low stretch string will help tremendously. Ol' Roy there has yet to evolve   ! Art