Originally posted by JamesV:
For B50 I use 12 strands for bows under 45lb, 14 strands for bows 45-60lb. 16-18 strands over 60 and up.
Yep, I just made a new 12 strand for my 48# Bear Grizzly. I think the 14 strand is a bit over kill with a bow under 50 pounds. B50 is pretty strong stuff and I've never padded the loops.
I have found that I usually wear out the serving and it's about ready for a new string by the time the loops begin to show significant wear and I just make a new string. That's the beauty of building your own strings. A spool of B50 goes a long, long way and it doesn't cost me anything to just make a new one. Save the old string and cut it in half then I use the strands for tying nocks, tying silencers in, making repairs, sewing leather, ect.
You will also find that if you drop below a 12 strand string it doesn't have much to do with strength as it does with thickness of the string when served and it's ability to hold an arrow nock securely. I'm using the largest diameter braided serving string I could find and if I drop below 12 strands of B50 even on a kids bow the arrow nock does some sliding around and I don't care for that.
Under 50# 12 strand
Over 50# 14 strand and that's with B50 Flemish Twist string. Other string materials may vary?