Recurve tuning question

[razorback]

I just twisted up a new string for a friends PSE Impala. It is 60" and 55# @ 28". It has a glue on arrow rest. I made the string the same length as the continuous loop string he had on it and used 16 strands of B50. I took a shot with the new string and had to pick up my fillings that fell out with the noise and hand shock. When I checked the brace it was 6". I put the original string back on and it was the same, 6" and noisy. His nocking point was also below the shelf.
Any suggestions for how to set this bow up. I took the plastic arrow rest off and increased the brace to 7" and this seemed to help a little. Would the arrow rest upset the timing on the limbs causing some of the noise. I think I will twist up a new string to get the brace closer to 7 1/2-8" and play with the nocking point. He has been shooting 2117 which are way too stiff and he has a 26" draw.

[SCATTERSHOT]

Not sure what the correct brace is for that bow, but 6" is WAY too low. You are on the right track with 7 1/2 - 8". You could evn go a little higher if you need to. Start with the nocking point 1/2" above horizontal, and go from there.

[hart2hart]

What fletching are you shooting??Feathers or vanes?
Did you prestrech the new string?
Vanes off the shelf are quirky to say the least.
Calls for more info,please.
Yarn padding around the loops and down the string will help a lot.
Mike

[razorback]

Yes string was pre-stretched. I made it shorter than the original and then left it on the bow overnight. It came out a little long and then I twisted it to get the same length as the original. Problem is the original is too long. Shooting feathers off the shelf but the arrows are too stiff to start with. Needs a whole new tuning set up as everything was wrong with it.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

B-50 string is like shooting with rubber bands vs a good fast flight string... You may want to try using a better quality non-stretch material....

Btw... i'd start out bracing at 7.5" to 8" and find the sweet spot. and be sure and get your arrow weight up over 9 gpp. 10 gpp is better. That will help a lot with vibration.

[woodchucker]

Between the brace height, and nock point, you should get things quieted down. B-50 will stretch... But folks have been using it for years!!! It's all I use on my old Bears.

Keep twisting it up to about 8" and let it stretch out as you're shooting. As for nock point height... Is he(you) shooting 3under???  have all my old Bear's set at 5/8" above the shelf, but you may need to go higher.

[razorback]

Thanks guys. He is shooting split finger. When I mentioned 3 under his jaw literally dropped, he didn't know it was possible. I'm going to play with the set up for about a week and give him back a much sweeter shooting bow. Does the plastic rest make any real difference to the timing of the bow or its tuning.

[mgf]

Nock point location and brace height (within the manufacturers limits) are tuning parameters. Do what you have to do to get the arrows flying right.

Of course that assumes arrows of a spine and length as to be tunable.

[razorback]

Do you guys put your arrows on top or below the nock point. I put my arrow on top of the nock point but I know others who go under it. Is there a correct way of doing it. Putting the point 1/2" high means about 3/16ths difference depending on which side you put the arrow.

[mgf]

I use two nock points and put the arrow nock between them. That's probably the most common today. I shoot three fingers under with a little bit of a crawl to further reduce gaps.

Howard Hill and John Schultz put the arrow above the nock point. They shot split finger.

I don't know which is "correct" beyond what works for you.

You have to tune for the way you do it though...unless you're of the school that says you really don't have to tune?

A wise man (Sheck Exley) said "What works, works.".

[ron w]

You said 2117......what is the weight up front? Increase your point gr's once you get things sorted out. B-50 will work just fine, no matter what the bow!!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I wasn't saying that B-50 string wont work, or isn't still used a lot by many archers. It's just that it is always moving, and you are always going to have to keep an eye on it.

It's kind of like fishing line.... For many many years we all used monofilament line and many guys still do.... Then they came out with braided dacron line that had less stretch to it, and you could feel the bottom of the river and the fish bite a lot easier, and it was stronger at smaller diameters.... Now days they have far superior fishing lines that are much stronger than the dacron lines with very small diameters that do not stretch much at all...and the lines life span is much longer.

Bottom line is.... once you've grown accustomed to using a high grade bow string that doesn't stretch or creep. you are going to get higher performance, the strings life is going to be much longer, and you don't have to mess with adjusting your brace constantly...... I can string my bow and run 3 months without touching the brace or even unstringing the bow and shoot hundreds of arrows without the brace moving at all..... you can't do that with B-50.

[mgf]

I find that once a well made b-50 string settles in, it's pretty stable.

My brace height has been 7.5 inches for several months without me having to do anything.

Several months for me is thousands of arrows. I shoot hundreds almost every day.

You can do that with b-50. It stretches but not forever.

[woodchucker]

Yup!!!  

Btw, I tried fast-flight on my few "custom" bows. Never liked it.....

[razorback]

Ron, he was using 2117's with 125 upfront. I'm going to use Stu's calculator to get much closer and then we will fine tune them. I think he needs something more like 2016's.

[SCATTERSHOT]

... Or even less. 2016s spine at 61#. BTW, 2117s spine at 81#.

He might get away ith 2016, but leave them full length to start, maybe with a 145 grain point.

Good luck!

[duncan idaho]

2117's with a 145 or 175 point, 29 inches in length should not be too stiff for 55#.I shoot them out of a high performance SS recurve at 58#. If the bow is rated for FF, I dont understand using B-50.

[razorback]

I'm using B50 for 3 reasons. Bows I make are mostly board bows and not good for fast flight. I don't make enough strings to justify the cost of FF and B50 is what I've got. If I get a little more serious about strings I will definitely get some FF.
Duncan, the bow is 55# but he only draws 26". 2117 will work but I think I will need to add about 200+ gr up front.

[Bladepeek]

I like FF strings on nearly all my bows, except for my older Bear bow. Having said that, I could shoot B50 strings with no major regrets and not have to change much in my arrow setup - maybe go to a slightly heavier point is all.

I would bet once you get close with the arrow tuning, brace height and nock point, your B50 string will work just fine and that bow will shoot like he's never seen it shoot before. You might want to try the dual nock points - one aboveand one below. I really like not having to worry about the arrow sliding on the string at release.

[ron w]

I had some 2117 that did not fly well from my 47# bow. I took the 125 gr point out and used 200 gr field points and they flew like darts. Try every combo you can......you'll get it.