String issue...

[Shredd]

  I am kinda new at making strings...  When I twist one up with BCYX the string crumples up when no stress is on it...  I would think that it might be that the strands are inconsistent with tension...  Am I doing something wrong or is it the nature of the beast for BCYX..??   I do not have this problem with 8125G...  I think that I keep the tension pretty consistent when I am wrapping the strands around the jig...

   I was thinking the stretcher was the issue and I may be over stressing the fibers... It has about 115 lbs. of tension on it... A 45# bow has about 80 to 90# of tension on it and when it is shot I am sure the stresses go well above 150#...

   Are there any suggestions out there for string that works well and looks good when unstrung.??  I just want to try different strings to see how quiet and fast they can be...  I got the 8125G because it's been around and it is supposed to be easy on the bow limbs and I believe the Olympic shooters use it...  If they use it you know it's gotta be good...   

[Forwardhandle]

In recent years I been using Fast Flight Plus with no issues are you waxing the string well I never seen a string do that ?

[Bvas]

Endless or Flemish?

[Shredd]

It is endless...  Yes I wax the string...  Maybe I got a bad spool...

[Bvas]

After wrapping all your strands, check to see if the first wrap is as tight as the last. If you pull too much tension, you may be pulling your posts in. This will cause the first wraps to get slack. I’ve found it best to just pull the strands snug and check each wrap as you go to make sure it has about the same tension as the first.

[Shredd]

If the first wraps were slack those would be the ones bunching up and it would just be one or two of them...  Its more like the other way around...  Like one or two being tight and bunching up the rest...  I think it is just the nature of the beast...  It happens after I stretch it...  The fiber is a mix and I think one fiber is stretching more than the other...  The 8125G is straight Dyneema and I have no issues with it...  I have made about 5 each of the two string types...  All the 8125's look great and all the BCYX's look like CHIT..!! They look fine once they are on the bow though...

  I have not compared the two strings as far as speed and quietness...  Once I do and the BCYX does not stand up, I am canning it...  If it does I will use it for what it is good for and mostly personal use...  I would just hate to ship out a bow with a defective looking string...   I think I am gonna try some Mercury and Angel Majesty...  I have heard good about both... And they are made of just one type of fiber...

[Bvas]

I see now what your talking about Rich.

Do you put any twist in the string before stretching?  I’m still using good old b50, but I always put 3 or 4 twists in before stretching.  That might help keep the fibers from separating.

[Shredd]

   I could try that...  Thanks for your suggestions...

[Roy from Pa]

I would put a few twists in it before stretching it.

I can't see how a bad spool of string would put all the bad spots in the same place as you wrap the string around your jig. It almost looks like that spot was wrapped around a small hook.

What's your jig look like?

[Shredd]

Standard looking jig with 5/16" pins...  That is not the issue...  I'll call BCY monday...  Maybe they can shed some light on it...  I am gonna try twisting one up and stretching it...  That might do sumthin'...      

  It just does not seem right that a string should do this...  Something looks stressed...

  Every BCYX string I made does this...  Even before i had a string stretcher...

   

[Flem]

"Are there any suggestions out there for string that works well and looks good when unstrung.??"
Yes, Flemish twist with 452X.

[Roy from Pa]

The guy to ask is LBR,. " screen name here "

Chad Weaver, he is a sponsor here.

http://www.recurves.com/

[Shredd]

Yes... I have not seen him post on here in a while...

   I lied...  They are 1/4" pins on my jig...

[LBR]

Honestly I'm at a loss.  BCY-X is 83% Dyneema, 17% Vectran, but other than strand count and allowing for less stretch/creep vs. 8125 there shouldn't be anything different in the build.  I'd say it was a bad spool of material, and it may be, but no idea how it would do that in the same spot every time.  150# isn't too much to pre-stretch it under.

Call BCY and ask to speak with Roger.  More than likely he will offere to send you a new spool of material. 

[Shredd]

   Yeah...  Something is not right... It's just not in one spot... It's in about ten spots up and down the string... I wonder if color could have messed with it...  It called Gun Metal Grey...  Some colors could vary in chemical make up and one of those chemicals may not have been compatible with the fiber...

   I am gonna call them tomorrow...

    Thanks Chad...

[LBR]

It's not the color.  I've used Gun Metal in several materials, including BCY-X with no problem.  They have sold probably hundreds of pounds in that color.  With the amount they make, sometimes a goof slips by.  They will make good on it.

[LBR]

Double-check the load.  115# shouldn't do that ( stretch mine to around #250), but it looks like too much load which will cause the Vectran to kink like that.

[Shredd]

  Chad  you hit the nail on the head...  It's the Vectran...  I had a feeling it was the mix of fibers...   I just talked to Roger...  He said it could be a bad spool and that also that product can sometimes be sensitive to doing that...  He said that he would send me another spool of the BCYX...  I told him to please send me the 8125 instead...  I don't want to have to deal with the same issues again...

   I don't think I am over stretching it...   I have put it on a bow before I had a string stretcher and have had the same issue...

  Thanks again...

[Shredd]

Chad...   One more question...  When you make a string, is it better to take the string off the spool by letting the spool to spin or to just pull the string off the end of the spool??  Or doe it not matter at all?? 

   I have been spinning the spool in my hand but it works up a little heat from the friction...

[LBR]

I've used blended materials for near 25 years (450+, 452X, BCY-X) and never had that happen.  Probably just got a bad spool.  Haven't kept up with how many BCY-X strings I've made, but I started using it 7 or 8 years ago (when it came out) and I'm sure I've made over 1,000 strings with it.  It's my favorite material.

I don't think it matters how it comes off the spool, but I let the spool spin between my fingers or if it gets warm I'll grab a screwdriver and let the spool spin on that.

If the material kinked up from just being on a bow, definitely a bad spool.  With the amount of material BCY runs every day, it's going to happen...but it's rare.  I've used hundreds of pounds of BCY materials over the last 20+years I've been using BCY...as best I can recall, I've run across maybe two 1/4# spools that weren't right--they were replaced, no problem.