FF string materials OK on Bear T/D limbs?

[dnurk]

Good morning Tradgang.   Quick question for the wisdom of this board.

Are the older grayling era white tip limbs take down limbs OK to shoot with newer fast flight type materials?   I've got an old Dacron string on there now but I would like to try a skinnier string if it wouldn't risk damaging those beautiful old limbs.  

Any thoughts and advice would be appreciated.  

Thanks

[black velvet]

I have a set of red tips with a 14 strand astro flite string padded to 18 and the bow has less noise and much less vibration. I shoot modern string material on all my older bows.

[Orion]

I use 12 strands of D-97, padded to 16 in the loops, on red tip and white tip limbs.  I've never had a problem, but if they break, so be it.  There are a fair number of those old limbs around, and the newer limbs are just as good, IMO.

[Hud]

Some limbs come with colored wood tip overlays and were never intended to be used with the newer string material. Secondly, string grooves that are cut deep can break. Compare the newer limbs designed for Fast Flight and similar strings to the old limbs and you will see. When a tip overlay breaks, the limb may delaminate. There is no telling where the arrow, or limb will end up. I have survived two delamination, one hit top of my head. I have seen several bows blow up with pieces flying in every direction and a friend that had a piece of arrow go through his bowhand.

There have been a number of threads on this subject and a number of people, that say they have never had a problem. It only takes one accident (mostly avoidable) to make a believer.

[damascusdave]

And in the last post lies your answer...take a look at those tips compared to tips that are rated for HMPE materials and make your decision based on that...BCY-X is a great string material at 20 to 24 strands with no need to pad the loops...I am currently using it with a 1962 Kodiak Magnum (expertly refinished by that Orion fella a couple of posts up) which has about as stout a tips as any bow out there and a 1960 Kodiak Deluxe which is a bow that many would say should not be shot with any string...once again the tips are well designed with good materials...it is my belief that had there been such material back in the early 1960's Bear would have quite happily recommended it for those bows, dacron was simply the best material they could come up with (just as it was the best material for braided fishing line)

DDave

[dnurk]

So if I'm reading between the lines of some of these posts I'm hearing that many folks do indeed use HMPE materials on the older Bear limbs with no problems but there are anecdotal stories of that material causing delaminations and other big problems?  

Is that about right?

[cacciatore]

I had only one bow delaminating on me and it was a moder ff sting compatible one. Many guys use skinny ff strings on older Bear,as I do,but nobody will tell you that it is absolutely free of risks,like every other bow.

[black velvet]

Its not the string material. I have been shooting bows for 62 years now and bows exploded and delaminated with B50. Its more then likely a defect in the bow or something the shooter caused. Like maybe a dry fire at one time or another. Also shooting to light and arrow puts stress on the limbs.

[M60gunner]

I use a skinny string on my long bow but it was made with padded loops. ( SBD string). I have one limb Delma at the tip but that was many years ago before the string makers started to pad the loops.

[frank bullitt]

D.Dave is right, bows were'nt built for a certain string material,string material are blended for certain bows!

Another issue that occurerd in the birth of Fast Flight, spectra, was the advent of superlite alum.and the birth of tiny carbon arrows. Alot of things,  explosion of archery technology, going on and you know the rest of the story!

Common sense....is outdated?

[frank bullitt]

D.Dave is right, bows were'nt built for a certain string material,string material are blended for certain bows!

Another issue that occurerd in the birth of Fast Flight, spectra, was the advent of superlite alum.and the birth of tiny carbon arrows. Alot of things,  explosion of archery technology, going on and you know the rest of the story!

Common sense....is outdated?

[smokin joe]

As a Bear TD aficionado and owner, my question is this: Why risk ruining a set of white-tip Grayling limbs when new and used Bear TD fast flight limbs are so easily available? And a b50 string for the white-tip limbs is a very cheap bit of insurance against them getting ruined.

[black velvet]

Fast flite is not the first low stretch string material. In the early 70's Kevlar was the first high performance string. It was all the rage back the n and the bows didn't explode from using it. The new materials are just an improvement over Kevlar.

And as Cacciatore said the last bow I saw shear a tip was from a well known bowyer and the bow was designed for FF. After all the blaming of the string it was found out to be a problem from not taking care of the bow. Somehow the limb tip protector got wet and held the moisture weakening the tip.

Now we leave the decision up to yourself. I have yet to see any data to prove or disprove the effects of fastflite material damage on older bows.

[black velvet]

Fast flite is not the first low stretch string material. In the early 70's Kevlar was the first high performance string. It was all the rage back the n and the bows didn't explode from using it. The new materials are just an improvement over Kevlar.

And as Cacciatore said the last bow I saw shear a tip was from a well known bowyer and the bow was designed for FF. After all the blaming of the string it was found out to be a problem from not taking care of the bow. Somehow the limb tip protector got wet and held the moisture weakening the tip.

Now we leave the decision up to yourself. I have yet to see any data to prove or disprove the effects of fastflite material damage on older bows.

[R.V.T.B.]

I agree with Smokin Joe... why take the risk

[frank bullitt]

  Double post day!

[frank bullitt]

No Velvet, kevlar was not h.p. or it would still be used.
I stiil have an ol ugly green spool of it.

Kevlar had s problem of showing no sign of failure. It had it's merits as a static material such as protective vests, but could not work together with friction and flexibility needed in a dynamic state as a bowstring.

As worrying about limb failure with retro limbs, to me, is like the dangers of driving to work....deer,. Cell phone usage, you get the picture.

[stagetek]

I don't do it with mine. But, if I were inclined to try it, it would be with a take-down. Those limbs are easily replaced, as opposed to say a one piece 67.5 Super K.