Making a bowstring strecher

[traditionalman]

Any plans  out there for making a strecher to pre strech your bowstrings?

[Shakes.602]

A Nail and a 25# Weight and a Month for hanging Maybe??  

[Keefer]

I made one this summer using a rachet strap bolted to one end of a 2"x3"x8' and an I bolt at the other end with an "S" hook crimped onto the eyebolt...I also put measurements when it was under slight tention and marked every half inch up to about 70" so I would know how much I stretched it...I am thinking of doing another using a different method...The more gears or teeth a rachet has would be better so you only stretch it about 1/8th to  1/4" at a time...I'm sure there are better ways and don't over crank the rachet or you can bend the  eye bolt or open the "S" hook and have the thing smack ya...I just saw one using a Boat trailer crank that I'm going to make and sure it would be much better... God Bless and hope it sheds some light on how it can be done... Keefer's <")))><

[Hootsbow]

I use a bar clamp with a nylon strap and s hook,put a lag bolt in the end of a 2x4 and hook bar clamp on other end

[Keefer]

Lee,
  If you weren't eating them backberries you would of beat me to it!  

[Adam Keiper]

Easy.  All you need is 2 round shafted screwdrivers.  Put one screwdriver through a bowstring loop, lay it on the floor, and stand on either end of the screwdriver.  Put the second screwdriver through the other loop, and lift it chin-up style.  Pull up as hard as you can on the upper screwdriver to stretch the bowstring, and give it a bunch of very hard upward snaps (20 or so).  That takes most of the stretch out.  Then string it up, shoot a dozen arrows, and you're good to go.

[Night Wing]

Just curious. Does anyone have a photo of their string stretcher?

[mwosborn]

I used Adam's method only one screwdriver in the vise and I pulled on the other one.  Put my scale in it to see what I was pullin - pulled to about 100 lbs several times and it seemed to stretch it out.

[Gordon martiniuk]

i  use a 5 gal pail of nuts and bolts hung from a screw in the floor joist of my house 1 or more days works for me

[Gatekeeper]

Ryan shows one here in his video.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8EghWvyUcA&feature=youtu.be


Its on his workbench. It has a scale on one end and a boat winch on the other end. It looks to be pretty simple to build. The big mystery is how does he keep is table top so clean?

[Ryan Sanpei]

LOL Tom!!!        

Here's some pics.


Crank side
 

Scale side
 

I used two 2x4s just because I had them laying around.  I would've preferred to use some kind of box tubing, but come to think of it wood is more "taditional" HA!    :D   just joking......

[Shawn Leonard]

The rachet strap and a big eye bolt seems to work well, I have seen several in use. I have to start making my own strings, simple and it would save me a bundle! Shawn

[Keefer]

Shawn,
 I like ryans as well and I'll post mine as soon as I get the camera and off of here..It's a ratchet strap and cost was under $20.00 if I remember correctly.....Ryans is a good idea cause he has the scale and I noticed something that's very important as a safety factor in Ryan's..He has a metal plate that is under the bottom and I'm sure his reason is because there is quite a bit of tention and can pull the eyebolt and move it or possibly bend it...I already want to build a better an more improved version of mine and just want to say Good idea Ryan!  

[Keefer]

Here's mine with just a rachet strap and I didn't know how to get the whole length of it but it's on a full 2"x3"x8' board....I put a string on there to give you an idea...Keefer's <><
 
 
 
 
 
 

[2elkhunt]

Here is the one I made from a piece of unistrut,2 j-hooks and a piece of 1-4 20 all thread.

I can pre-stretch strings,burnish them,serve them and add silencers on it.

After I pre-strech my D97 strings they stay right on the money.I really like to pr-strech them before I put themon my bows.

[BCWV]

I made mine out of inch square tubing with an upright on each end. I put an eye bolt on each end and use an old spring scale and a ratchet strap.
 I put 120 to 130 pounds on a new string and leave it over night. It seems to work out well.

[Keefer]

See what we can dream up when we all put our heads together! Anyone else have any they would like to share?

[Osagetree]

Okay, I hang the loop on a nail and hang a metal bucket from the other end. I then proceed to load it with two 12" sections of rail road track and other heavy tools that may be handy. Hang it for an hour or two. Gives very little if any stretch once strung.

Am I over stretching it? Never weighed the bucket laoded and I know it aint the same each time.

[Keefer]

Joe,
  I played around with the one I made using 450 plus to see how far I could stretch it..Well lets just say I never broke the string with the rachet strap and had a very hard time getting the handle down....I ended up bending that "S" Hook of mine and string loop snapped out....Now there is no need to over stretch a string but I wanted to see just how much it could take....If you make a lot of strings I would invest in a scale like Ryan has and build the same kind of stretcher...I think his has a better controll with the crank arm and you also have a safety lock on the gear....I have a scale like his and planning on another string stretcher in the near future....I doubt you are over stretching it Joe....Your method is just as good and I used the same style with a bucketbefore I made mine but the good thing with the board jigs is you can put your string silencers on,wrap the string loops with wool yarn,serve the string and make your own tie on nocks if you want...Now here's a thought if you have a work bench just use a ratchet or a boat winch and mount it on one end of your work bench and an eyebolt at the other with an S hook to put in the string loop and where the string starts to get tight then mark the bench at the S hook on the eye bolt side and measure out as far as you want like 72" or so and you will also see how much you stretched the string...I bet if you look around you can get an inexpensive crank or rachet strap and eyebolt with an S hook for under $20.00!

[Downsouth]

Just go to the hardware store and get a turnbuckle, should do the trick.