Can I shorten a Flemish string?

[Tom Anderson]

I have a pre-made Flemish string that is about 1" longer than I need. Can I "unravel" one of the loops and shorten it?

[aromakr]

Tom:
If your familiar with making flemish strings, yes it can be done, but I don't think I'd attempt it if I did not know how to go about it.
But I guess if you knew how to make a flemish string you would not be asking this question.
Bob

[Dano]

Maybe this tutorial will help you.
 http://www3.sympatico.ca/ragiwarmbear/diy/flemish/flemish.html

[Pat B]

You can shorten a Flemish string by twisting it. Be sure you go the correct direction. I don't think you can make up an inch that way though. You can un-ravel one end and re-twist the knot or un-twist it and braid it back to a rat tail instead of a loop. That way you can tie a bowyers knot(timber hitch) and it will make adjustments easier. I always use a bowyers knot on the bottom of all of my strings.      Pat

[Glenn Newell]

You can twist the string even though 1" is a lot. If you do twist the string up I always pre-set the string by fixing one loop to something solid and placing something strong for a handle like a heavy screwdriver through the other end and lay into it will all of my weight. This works well and prestretches the string and the string will only need minor adjustments once the bow is braced and as it is being shot it...Glenn...

[portugeejn]

I am not an expert, as I've only been making strings for 1 year, but I have shortened them  by the method you mention, unraveling one loop and re-doing it.  That said, I couldn't get them to "look" as nice as the first time it was made up.  They were functional though, just not as nice looking.  My 2 cents.

RonP

[fowlarcher]

You should be able shorten it 1" by twisting. Have a look at this vid clip. About one minute into it there is a good close-up view of the twist in this string. That is about as much twist as I would want in a string, but no more. If your string (braced out) has less twist than this, you should be good. You might as well try twisting it first. If it doesn't work then re-do one of the loops.
 

[Tom Anderson]

I've been able to shorten it by twisting it quite a bit. How "twisty" is too much?

[CJC]

simply twisting the string to gain an inch is entirely to much twist.  while you probably can do it i would advise against it.  get another string or make your own its easy and fun.

[Coop]

Originally posted by CJC:
simply twisting the string to gain an inch is entirely to much twist.  while you probably can do it i would advise against it.

I am not arguing, I am just curious to hear your reason's why?

I have been building strings for 8 years so I have tried this before just to see if I could, and had no ill effects. So I am curious.

[Pat B]

One reason too much twisting isn't good is because a twisted string stretches more that an untwisted string and it absorbs more of the bows energy. Pat

[O.L. Adcock]

A Flemish string needs at least 1 twist per inch as a minimum and I've set distance records with Flemish strings twisted to 5 or 10 twists per inch. It'll settle in just fine. String stretch has nothing to do with performance....O.L.

[Tom Anderson]

Well, I twisted it up in order to get my preferred brace height and counted the number of twists per inch = 3, so I guess it's just fine as it is.
I'm used to shooting endless loop strings with minimal twist and the twisty Flemish just didn't look right to me.

[Tim Fishell]

Yup you will be just fine.  I have shortened 1-2 inches by twisting and never had a problem with it.

[trapperDave]

ditto