Problem with my first string

[ehartunian]

Hello everyone- so I just finished my first Flemish string for a recurve. Everything worked out well except my back twist. I think i didn’t put enough back twist in before I finished the second loop, so now when the bow is strung, about a third of the string doesn’t mesh well together. Is that an unsafe string to use?
Thanks, Eric

[stevem]

My two cents-  if the string looks like two cords instead of one, it is cosmetic and not  a safety issue. 

[DCANAPP]

It will work but it will bug you to look at to much. Make another with about 26 back twists.
 A failure is unlikely. My hands are a bit old and I limit the amount of crafting but like fletching arrows making strings are a satisfying skill to enjoy.

[McDave]

Since the second loop is the last thing you do, other than twist the string as a whole for correct length, couldn't you just untwist the second loop, untwist the two bundles back to the first loop, and then remake the string from there using more backtwists?  I've done this before when the string turned out longer than I wanted, and then remade the string a little shorter, and it turned out fine.  I won't say it was fun, but no worse than stripping off worn fletching from an arrow and then refletching it.

I agree with the comment above about cabling really being nothing more than a cosmetic issue.  I had been making strings for about 20 years before I ever heard about backtwisting, but, as someone else mentioned, it's the kind of thing that might bug you every time you look at the string, as opposed to feeling great every time you look at it after you repair it.

[ehartunian]

Since the second loop is the last thing you do, other than twist the string as a whole for correct length, couldn't you just untwist the second loop, untwist the two bundles back to the first loop, and then remake the string from there using more backtwists?  I've done this before when the string turned out longer than I wanted, and then remade the string a little shorter, and it turned out fine.  I won't say it was fun, but no worse than stripping off worn fletching from an arrow and then refletching it.

I agree with the comment above about cabling really being nothing more than a cosmetic issue.  I had been making strings for about 20 years before I ever heard about backtwisting, but, as someone else mentioned, it's the kind of thing that might bug you every time you look at the string, as opposed to feeling great every time you look at it after you repair it.

Great point- I didn’t think about that. At this point, I have the bow braced so it can stretch. The two bundles that didn’t mesh together are well above where the top of the serving will be (I haven’t served it yet)- so I don’t think it will matter for this string. I’m chalking this up as a learning experience! I’ve been involved with archery for almost 25yrs and I can’t believe I waited this long to make a string…
Best,
Eric